If your life were a movie, and you were the hero, not the victim, what would the title be?
(This challenge comes from the upcoming book Tiny Buddha’s 365 Tiny Love Challenges. Pre-order before October 6th and get $300+ in free bonus gifts!)
“Maybe it’s not about the happy ending. Maybe it’s about the story.” ~Unknown
Growing up, I often pretended my life was a movie, and created quite a few awkward situations by trying to force real life to look like a romantic comedy.
In the movies, everything was so electric.
People didn’t just care about each other; they adored each other. They didn’t just date; they had a montage of amazing memories, complete with tandem biking, skipping, hand-in-hand, in a field of flowers, and dancing in the rain.
That’s the kind of love I wanted—the intense, always exciting, never disappointing, made-for-the-big-screen …
“Being happy doesn’t mean everything is perfect. It means you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections.” ~Unknown
It’s the question we’re all trying to answer: What is happiness and how do we get it? We fill our lives with the busyness of searching for happiness in many things, yet it’s possible that the very pursuit is taking us further away from the goal.
I spent many years following society’s recipe for happiness.
I was settled with my partner, climbing the career ladder, dining out, buying clothes, and planning nice holidays, but I was so busy chasing happiness, I missed out …
“Sometimes things fall apart so that better things can fall together.” ~Marilyn Monroe
Whether we’re processing disappointment or a tragedy, heartache can seem irrevocable, as if our entire existence has been nuked into bleak devastation.
While it can be hard to consider the possibility that these barren circumstances could be necessary, or fruitful, heartbreak can show us a great inner strength that exists in unsuspecting, subtle ways.
I was never the kind of person who was convinced that consuming, true love was real. (You know, the kind that Celine Dion sings about.) Yet, that is exactly where I found myself …
“Don’t settle for anybody, just so you can have somebody.” ~Unknown
Here I was again, sitting in front of my computer looking at things I could involve myself in to occupy my time now that I am newly single.
Should I pay $125 for a private tennis lesson and still be terrible afterward? Could I buy a soul cycle package and not eat lunch or dinner for the next month? How many paint nights could I do over the course of the summer? Do I even have enough friends to join me?
As I sit here and think about what …
“If you’re still looking for that one person who will change your life, take a look in the mirror.” ~Roman Price
For years and years I was in denial. I denied the obvious dysfunction in my marriage, and how terribly unhappy I was in it.
I told myself over and over that things would change and get better, that it wouldn’t be this way forever, and that I could find a way to be happy with how things were.
I had long given up hope that my spouse would change, but I have to admit, I joyfully splashed around …
“There are no failures. Just experiences and your reactions to them.” ~Tom Krause
I had spent years training for this race. This was the big one. If I won and made the qualifying time, I would go on to compete in the Canadian National Track and Field Championships.
I was burning to win. Only the winner of this race would qualify. Second place wouldn’t cut it.
Competing at the national level could lead to all kinds of opportunities: sponsorship, athletic scholarships, and a career in athletics.
My favorite form of self-torture was the 110-meter hurdles. I lived and breathed sprinting …
When Adriana Lopez’s students serenaded her with the song I’m Gonna Love Through It, after she received a breast cancer diagnosis, they brought her to tears. And I can see why—they brought me to tears too!
“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” ~Wolfgang von Goethe
I was one of the lucky few people that always knew what I wanted to do with my life when I was young.
Unfortunately, when the time came to pull the trigger and go full steam ahead toward my passion, I got talked out of the dream.
When I brought up what I wanted to do (Chinese Medicine) to people I knew, I saw them raise their eyebrows:
“Chinese medicine? How much will you make when you graduate …
“One of the most freeing things we learn in life is that we don’t have to like everyone, everyone doesn’t have to like us, and it’s perfectly okay.” ~Unknown
I have a confession to make: I am a recovering people pleaser.
If I had a dollar for every time I did something that I didn’t want to do because I didn’t want people to be angry or disappointed if I said no, I would be a rich woman.
I say that I am recovering because, as with any ingrained pattern, sometimes I slip back into the tendency to put other …
“No one saves us but ourselves. We alone must walk the path.” ~Buddha
I got a frantic message from a friend last night.
Everything was going wrong—her job, her relationship, her life—and she didn’t know what to do.
“Help me, please,” she kept saying. “I don’t know what to do.”
I tried hard to stifle a giggle. I know, completely inappropriate. But I found it really funny.
Why? Because I’m the last person anyone should be asking for advice. If I knew what to do, if I knew how to help her, I’d have:
“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” ~Confucius
What stops so many people from changing their lives is a lack of momentum. They feel daunted by the sheer size of the task ahead and so revert back to inertia. It’s so much easier to just trudge along and hope that one day it gets better.
I used to get up at 5.30 in the morning every Tuesday to attend a business networking breakfast. It was a severe shock to the system at first, and as I drove to the hotel where the event was held, …
“Pain can change you, but that doesn’t mean it has to be a bad change. Take that pain and turn it into wisdom.” ~Unknown
Experiencing a death of someone, no matter how close you were to them, is a shock to the system.
One moment you’re just drinking your morning cup of Joe and then suddenly, you’ve collided with the uncertainty of existence.
Daily, we do everything we can to numb ourselves from our own fragility, but sudden death reminds us all that impermanence is still there under the surface, throbbing.
The other day, I logged onto Facebook and received …
“Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.” ~Simone Weil
It’s so easy in our busy, results-driven world to lose track of ourselves in a drive to address the needs of others. What with your work performance demands, evening dinner preparation, the Facebook post from a friend that requires your response before the sender gets upset… Wow, I’m feeling overwhelmed just writing about it!
The world demands our constant attention, and we willingly give it. But what about attention to ourselves?
Underneath every hood is an engine, behind any piece of artwork is the artist, and beneath your ability …
From the upcoming book Tiny Buddha’s 365 Tiny Love Challenges. Pre-order before October 6th and get $300+ in free bonus gifts!
“If you keep your feathers well oiled the water of criticism will run off as from a duck’s back.” ~Ellen Swallow Richards
We all seek love, approval, and appreciation, don’t we? We sometimes obsess over what people think of us. When we receive feedback that seems less than favorable, we speculate for days about what it might mean.
Usually we attach the wrong meaning to it, and this drains our energy and might even cause us to withdraw and quit what we are doing.
Is there a way to avoid this? How can we keep our feathers well …
“Don’t hide yourself. Stand up, keep your head high, and show them what you got!” ~ Joe Mari Fadrigalan
Do you struggle with social anxiety or shyness?
Is this anxiety affecting multiple areas of your life?
Are you yearning to break free from feeling isolated?
Like many people, I was shy as a kid. But I wasn’t just shy—I was painfully shy. I would avoid social situations like the plague. And I barely spoke because I stuttered.
My shyness followed me well into adulthood. I stayed away from social situations, fearing the embarrassment of stumbling in my speech. …
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