I Don’t Need Anyone
My Path to Purpose and an Unexpected Impact
I wanted to be Mary Tyler Moore’s “Mary Richards” TV character from the 1970s. She had exactly what I wanted: independence and an exciting life! But growing up as the first girl in a traditional Italian family, I knew she was not the right role model.
Nonetheless, I ignored the expected path (much to my parents’ dismay) and spent twelve years in corporate America becoming Mary. That is, until two questions rocked my world. I dramatically left my job, career, and Mary for a more purposeful path that was mine, and I never looked back.
As a nine-year-old girl in …
6 Mindset Shifts to Overcome the Need for External Validation
“Relying on external validation to understand your worth is not sustainable. If you depend on people to build you up, you also give them the same power to break you down. You are worthy regardless of their opinion.” ~Unknown
In my heart of hearts, I knew I wasn’t supposed to rely on others for validation. Yet, for the longest time, I found myself seeking external approval to define my worth.
I was constantly seeking reassurance from friends, family, and even strangers. Their validation became the measure of my self-esteem, leaving me trapped in a cycle of doubt and insecurity.…
Forge Your Own Path: How to Know When It’s Time to Walk Away
“Walk away from people who put you down. Walk away from fights that will never be resolved. Walk away from trying to please people who will never see your worth. The more you walk away from things that poison your soul, the healthier you will be.” ~Shaista Saba
“Are you coming to my dress fitting tomorrow?” Sam asked.
Holding the phone to my ear, puzzled, I replied, “I didn’t know you had a dress fitting tomorrow.”
My stepsister, Sam, paused. “Didn’t Mom invite you?”
“No, but I’d love to come,” I offered.
“Oh, I assumed she asked you. You’re my …
The Magic of Celebrating Every Little Win
“Celebrate what you want to see more of.” ~Tom Peters
In a world that often only celebrates grand achievements, it’s easy to overlook the small victories that pave the way to lasting change.
BJ Fogg, PhD, a Stanford behavioral scientist and author of the transformative book Tiny Habits, offers a powerful insight: If we want to get great at creating habits, we must celebrate. He insists that immediately after we do our new habit, or even approximate it, we must celebrate. This. Isn’t. Optional.
Why is celebration so crucial? That’s what wires the habit into our brain. When we …
4 Ways to Help Someone with Mental Health Challenges
“Just being there for someone can sometimes bring hope when all seems hopeless.” ~Dave G. Llewellyn
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where someone told you something deeply personal and traumatic and you were stuck on what to say to them, how to act, and how to behave?
This happens to me regularly, and it’s not that I don’t have feelings or emotions about what’s happened to the person. I feel deeply sorry for them. But I sometimes freeze and don’t know what to say or do.
When it comes to mental health issues, this can be even …
The Truth About Grieving: There Are No Rules for Healing
Here’s what I know about grief: There is no measuring stick.
The loss of a mother, father, sister, brother (or all of the above), the loss of a husband, wife, lover, boyfriend, girlfriend, or life partner, the loss of a best friend, dear friend, or close friend, the loss of a mentor, teacher, guider, inspirer… Who’s to measure? Who’s to say how profoundly those losses may or may not break our hearts?
There are no rules.
The loss of a happy, loving relationship may be far easier to survive than the loss of a troubled one.
A lover may feel …
The Amazing Healing Power of Talking About Our Anxiety
“Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness. If, in our heart, we still cling to anything—anger, anxiety, or possessions—we cannot be free.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh
I have dealt with anxiety for as long as I can remember. There are times when I don’t experience it and times when it seems unbearable. It’s sort of like a rollercoaster that just never stops. And I am the first person to admit that anxiety can take over your life if it goes unmanaged.
The toughest part about anxiety is that it can be hard
The Ultimate Guide to Better Boundaries
“Boundaries are the distance at which I can love you and me simultaneously.” ~Prentis Hemphill
I was talking with a friend about some aspect of a challenging relationship (I don’t even remember what it was now), and she lovingly informed me that I needed better boundaries. I nodded in understanding, but later I realized that I didn’t really know what that meant. Like, what do better boundaries actually look like? And how does one go about developing them?
It’s all fine and dandy to know that “No” is a complete sentence, but how does that apply to a …
Lessons from a Late Bloomer Who Wanted to Be Famous
“You are not too old and it is not too late.” ~Unknown
I’ve been indecisive since I was a child. When I was small, I wanted to be a ballet dancer. My parents even bought me a ballerina cake topper for one of my birthdays. As I grew a little older, I wanted to be a singer, which led me to go to a performing arts high school. I even learned how to read music notes and play a little piano during my time at that school.
I believe my desire to be a singer was influenced by my experience
The Beautiful Gift of Finding Presence in The Ordinary
“For a long time, it had seemed to me that life was about to begin—real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, or a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last, it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.”~Alfred D. Souza
I recently came across an old photo album from when I was in my twenties. All these snippets of my life back then—going out clubbing, those harsh Canadian winters, walking in the back field
8 Compelling Reasons to Adopt a Whole Food Diet
“The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison.” ~Ann Wigmore
Why aren’t we taught optimal nutrition in school as adolescents?
I remember briefly learning about the food pyramid, which doesn’t even include water, by the way.
Do you want to know what I vividly remember? Growing up during the peak of diet culture, when models and actresses who were unrealistically skinny were the only ones who were considered pretty or good enough.
My dad died from a heart attack at age forty, and my single mother …
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