What We Think We Become
That Horrible Job You Hate Might Just Change Your Life
“What you do today can improve all your tomorrows.” ~Ralph Marston
Before I started my business, I spent three years at an ad agency and a little over a year at an international furnishings retailer. I also waitressed, wrote freelance articles, designed and developed a church website, and worked in an incredibly boring mailroom.
Some of those jobs (let’s be honest, most of those jobs) totally sucked.
In the mailroom, my boss was a sexist jerk with a Napoleon Complex.
In waitressing, I spent too much of my time being other people’s emotional punching bag.
And at the ad agency—the …
Follow Your Heart: Stop Playing It Safe and Start Really Living
“If you do nothing unexpected, nothing unexpected happens.” ~Fay Weldon
After an extremely harrowing time dealing with big life changes while working a very stressful job, I snapped.
No, I didn’t reach for the nearest stapler and start attacking my colleagues (though this was a secret fantasy when the going got really tough). The words of that song by The Animals came to mind and I decided, “I got to get out of this place.” At least for a little while.
And so, after much planning, globe spinning, and Google searching, I finally cobbled together an itinerary and nervously asked …
The Collaboration Project: What Do You Love?
The people at JacksGap asked their audience to send video messages via Skype answering the question “What do you love?”
After receiving over 2,500 responses from twenty different countries, they created this touching short video that reminds us there’s so much beauty in the world, so much that we can all appreciate, regardless of our differences. What do you love?
Emotions Are a Strength, Not a Design Flaw
“Eyes that do not cry, do not see.” ~Swedish Proverb
Just get over it. Don’t be so sensitive. You should toughen up and grow a thicker skin…
I’ve heard this advice so much over my life, but I’ve never seen it make anyone happy.
Advised to toughen up with thicker skins so we can protect ourselves, we end up just bottling it up inside and pushing away how we feel, hoping it looks like we’re strong.
It’s like trying to avoid our own shadow. We believe it’s gone because it’s behind us, but it’s totally visible to anyone else who …
How Sensitivity Can Be a Gift (And How to Give it to the World)
“We cannot be more sensitive to pleasure without being more sensitive to pain.” ~Alan Watts
Are you good at noticing subtle details? Are you able to learn without really being aware that you are learning? Do you notice other people’s moods? Do these moods affect you?
Are you sensitive to pain? Are you equally sensitive to beauty?
If you answered yes to these questions, chances are that you, like me, are a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP). Chances are, you are constantly trying to make sense of how being sensitive fits into a world where a certain amount of insensitivity is …
7 Simple (and Surprising) Tips to Help You Realize Your Dreams
“Don’t be pushed by your problems; be led by your dreams.” ~Unknown
It’s tricky sometimes, isn’t it?
Trying to find our place on this planet.
Tapping into our inner desires.
Sometimes we know what we want but not how to get there. Sometimes we know “this isn’t me,” but we have no clue who “me” is. And sometimes we think we’re already there, then something out of the ordinary happens and we realize, this isn’t me at all.
At each stage there are pitfalls than can keep us looking in the wrong direction, stuck in fear, or stressed about …
Doing Your Best Without the Stress of Perfectionism
“Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly.” ~Robert H. Schuller
Have you ever been stopped in your tracks by perfectionism? Would you rather not do something if you can’t be sure it will be perfect? Although this kind of thinking doesn’t make much sense, I understand it, because I’ve been there.
I’d like to share with you some insights that helped me overcome my own deeply ingrained perfectionism and the unhappiness and stagnation it caused me.
Avoiding perfectionism doesn’t mean avoiding quality work and high achievement.
I am someone who loves making sure that even the …
Doing What’s Best for Us Even If Other People Don’t Like It
“What other people think of me is none of my business.” ~Wayne Dyer
I got the call late one Sunday afternoon while sitting at work. “Babe, your toilet tub and shower are backed up.” What?
“It’s bad babe, and getting worse.” Okay, I thought, I’ll call my landlord.
“Hello, this is so and so and you’ve got my voicemail. Please leave me a message and I’ll call you back as soon as I can.”
Damn. Answering machine. Message left.
Text message time. Left that one too.
I wrapped up work and raced home. Yuck. It was bad. And like …
Stop Worrying About What Other People Think and Be Yourself
“Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.” ~Oscar Wilde
Confession: I’m a master wallflower.
In high school, a friend and I decided to skip our dreary computer class and roam the halls instead. The following day, our crabby teacher immediately reprimanded my friend for skipping class. I sat directly next to her, giggling and rubbing it in her face.
The teacher didn’t even know my name, let alone that I had skipped his class the previous day. I rejoiced in my anonymity thinking, “It pays to be unknown.”
To an extent, it was true. My friend was so disruptive and …
Why We Don’t Need to Feel Bad About Feeling Bad
“Feelings are just visitors. Let them come and go.” ~Mooji
I once thought that the goal of meditation was to reach a state of constant positivity, a natural euphoria in which a person simply does not get angry or depressed.
I think that a lot of people begin practicing meditation thinking that their teacher has reached this euphoric state of being. I have learned, though, that these negative feelings are never permanently banished from anyone’s mind.
As someone that has been struggling with anxiety and depression disorders since early childhood, I turned to meditation as a teenager as a …
Fast Lane: The Slide
This little video put a huge smile on my face! It’s amazing what a little fun can do. It not only makes life more joyful; it helps us see each other for the light-filled beings we really are, underneath the guise of busyness and separation.
The Power of Silence: How to Free Yourself from Painful Thoughts
“Within you there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at anytime and be yourself.” ~Hermann Hesse
As a child, I hated when someone told me to sit still and be quiet, and rightly so. I was young and full of energy; every minute of being still and silent was a minute of missing out on this magnificent life.
Then, as I grew older and entered into teenage and young adult years, it grew into a fear with a capital “F” of being still and silent; for as soon as I was quiet and still, the …
Why We Talk More Than We Listen and What We Gain When We Stop
“What makes you vulnerable makes you beautiful.” – Brene Brown
I like to talk. A lot.
It’s how I get ideas and work through concepts I’m not quite clear on. It’s how I get myself motivated or calm myself down.
If you let me, I would probably talk your ear off all day. As a creative grasshopper, my mind runs a mile a minute, and has no shortage of ideas to explore.
But a conversation in which people are talking, but not listening, is not really a conversation. It’s selfish, unsatisfying, and does absolutely nothing to build real connections.…
Though I run this site, it is not mine. It's ours. It's not about me. It's about us. Your stories and your wisdom are just as meaningful as mine. 