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4 Simple Steps to Freedom

By in Blog, happiness & fun, letting go

Happy woman sitting on the beach

“I know but one freedom and that is the freedom of the mind.” ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Once upon a time my mind was filled with negative talk and self-doubt. Those thoughts were so loud I could not hear my authentic self shine through. On a deeper level I knew she existed, but I didn’t how to connect with her.

I believed I would have to work at it, change myself, somehow be good enough so I could be free to be myself. I believed the key to happiness was figuring out how to fix everything that was wrong with me…

5 Rules of Happiness

By in Fun & Inspiring

5 Rules of Happiness

Source: Dave’s Words of Wisdom

3 Tiny Phrases That Can Help You Solve Big Problems

By in Blog, change & challenges

Thinking

“At any given moment, you have the power to say: This is not how the story is going to end.” ~Chris Mason Miller

I was faced with an impossible problem, so like all the great thinkers throughout history, I shut myself in the bathroom and vowed not to come out until I had solved the problem.

It had plagued me for two-and-a-half years, and for seven years—the length of time during I’d lost my voice for and had suffered from chronic tendonitis respectively.

Such was the consequence of an obsessive guitar habit, one that saw me practicing up to fourteen …

Releasing the Need for Certainty and Trusting Our Decisions

By in Blog, letting go, mindfulness & peace

Peaceful Woman

“If you worry about what might be, and wonder what might have been, you will ignore what is.” ~Unknown

If you’re like me, you’re hard on yourself—and I mean hard.

You analyze your decisions and try to somehow calculate the results of your actions to feel a sense of certainty. Little did you know that searching for the certainty causes all of your insides to do flips and only causes more uneasiness.

What I always wonder is where did the need to know come from? I remember being a free spirit with no worries as a child (as …

Patience Is…

By in Fun & Inspiring

Patience

Source

Why We Don’t Need to Try So Hard to Be Happy

By in Blog, happiness & fun

Smiling

“Happiness is the absence of striving for happiness.” ~Chuang-Tse

Everywhere we turn these days we seem to be bombarded by it.

TV commercials try to lure you into buying their products on the promise they will give you it. Magazines scream it from the front pages via sultry images and sexy block titles. Gossip magazines practically have a mission statement that fame will guarantee it. Corporations equate money with it.

So what exactly is it? What’s this one common denominator that seems to be a worldwide obsession? Happiness!

There are thousands upon thousands of articles, seminars, webinars, TV …

When You’re Anxious to Finish: Being Patient with Your Passions

By in Blog, meaning & passion

Man and Mountain

“Patience is passion tamed.”~Lyman Abbott

It was 2:13am. My skin stuck to the bed sheets as I realized I was lying awake, listening to my belabored heartbeat. This was the first physical anxiety attack I had ever experienced—one that I hope won’t be repeated. And it happened only two nights ago.

Apparently, the past two years have been more intense than I realized. It’s quite obvious, really, when you see that I’ve failed to write much, for Tiny Buddha or my own blog, in that time.

I wish I could say that I’ve been too busy accomplishing goals, or …

Happy Are Those Who…

By in Fun & Inspiring

Happy Are Those Who

Source: Live Life Happy

Releasing Pressure and Expectations to Make Room for Life

By in Blog, mindfulness & peace

Free

“For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them.” ~Thích Nhat Hạnh

My husband and I bought our first house two years ago. Expecting a child and excited to move on to the next stage in our lives, we listed all of the ways we would make the house perfect.

As first-time homeowners and parents, we assumed this list was manageable. Surely the house could be painted in a weekend! Of course we can get work done while the baby naps!

Indeed, it seemed manageable and, therefore, (to me) mandatory.

To …

How to Reach Your Goals Faster: A Simple Technique to Try Today

By in Blog, change & challenges

“Stop being afraid of what could go wrong, and focus on what could go right.” ~Unknown

I used to think that getting to a goal only required tangible action. It was a simple equation:

  • Study hard in high school = getting admission to a good university.
  • Or, diet + exercise = losing weight.

Yet, life is not always that straightforward. It’s not always just about physical action.

Just a few years ago, when I was building my first business, there was something getting in my way, something that had nothing to do with the physical action I took. It was …

The Ultimate Guide to Feeling Awesome & Ultimate All the Time

By in Fun & Inspiring

If you don’t feel awesome or calm today, you may enjoy this cute, inspiring picture book, from Tiny Buddha contributor Lise Esile.

Wearing a Mask

By in Fun & Inspiring

Wearing a Mask

Source: NotSalmon.com

How to Overcome the Pain of Rejection

By in Blog, change & challenges, love & relationships

“Live your life for you not for anyone else. Don’t let the fear of being judged, rejected or disliked stop you from being yourself.” ~Sonya Parker 

Hearing this word probably makes you think of not being good enough or not reaching certain standards. As unpleasant as it is, rejection is part of life, and my life is no exception.

From being the last to be chosen to join the volleyball team to receiving a college admissions response in the dreaded “thin envelope,” I quickly learned that not everybody thought the highest of me.

As years went by and I took …

When Things Go Right: Dealing with Success with Humility

By in Blog, work fulfillment

Jumping for Joy

“We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men.” ~Herman Melville

Recently I experienced a triumph in my career. The details are not important and frankly, many people might even consider it a trivial accomplishment, but it was important to me.

Usually when things go our way there are two ways someone might react: humility or boasting. I decided to try something completely different.

Boasting isn’t really part of who I am. Raised to be humble, take praise with many grains of salt, I play down accomplishments. But, this course never seems to get …

Buddha Doodles: The Master of Your Destiny

By in Fun & Inspiring

Master Of Your Destiny

Source: Buddha Doodles

Find Happiness Now Instead of Chasing It in the Future

By in Blog, happiness & fun

Happy

“You can only grow if you’re willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.” ~Brian Tracy

I found myself at a crossroads last year. I had reached the end of my time in college, and I had no post-graduation commitments.

I was working at the time on my applications to medical school, as I have wanted to become a doctor for a long time. However, I knew that medical schools are inundated with qualified applicants every year, but only have a few seats to offer. Thus, my vision of myself as a doctor still seemed to be …

How to Turn Pain into Strength and Wisdom

By in Blog, change & challenges

River Man

“The pain you feel today will be the strength you feel tomorrow.” ~Unknown

Some would say that when it rains, it pours—a fitting statement for the events that have recently taken place in my life.

In mid-September my life took an unexpected turn. My wife, to whom I had been married for only four months (having been together for six years prior), had been acting strangely toward me.

She was suffering from fits of depression that would range from her sobbing on the couch to sitting by the fireplace, drinking heavily while listening to songs that would make your heart …

How Strong You Are

By in Fun & Inspiring

Knowing How Strong You Are

20 Things We Should Say More Often

By in Fun & Inspiring

What do you think we should say more often? Soul Pancake’s Kid President has some great ideas—twenty to be exact.

The Best Way to Help Someone Who’s Grieving (Including Yourself)

By in Blog, change & challenges

“Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have—life itself.” ~Walter Anderson

Yesterday marked the second anniversary of my stepmother passing away. I still remember that day vividly; I remember going to work like it was any other day, mulling over life, and then making my journey back home from work. As I walked into my apartment building …