You Deserve More Credit Than You Likely Give Yourself
Letting Go of the Life You Were Told to Want
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ever since I was about four years old, I knew I was different from the other kids. I was always on the outside looking in. As I approach middle age, I’ve never shaken that feeling—the knowing—of being different.
We live in a noisy world where we find whatever we seek. If we’re looking for validation that we don’t belong, that’s exactly what we’ll find.
While flawed, the standard ‘life blueprint’ hasn’t quite sailed off into …
The Unexpected Therapy I Found on My Phone
“Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” ~Dr. Seuss
The notification pops up on my phone: “Jason, we made a new memory reel for you.” I pause whatever I’m doing, probably something stressful involving deadlines or dishes, and feel that familiar flutter of excitement. What chapter of my life has Google decided to surprise me with today?
I tap the notification, and suddenly I’m watching years of Father’s Day adventures unfold. It started accidentally—one Father’s Day trip to the Buffalo Zoo that somehow became our tradition. Instead of buying me something I …
The Prowler in My Mind: Learning to Live with Depression
“There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” ~Leonard Cohen
When depression comes, I feel it like a prowler gliding through my body. My chest tightens, my head fills with dark whispers, and even the day feels like night. The prowler has no face, no clear shape, but its presence is heavy. Sometimes it circles in silence within me. Other times it presses in until I don’t know how to respond.
In those moments, I feel caught between two choices: do I lie still, hoping it passes by, or do I rise and face it? Often, …
Why Narcissistic Abuse Doesn’t Define You and How I Found the Love I Deserve
“When it hurts to move on, just remember the pain you felt hanging on.” ~Unknown
There was a time when I thought my heart would never heal.
I’d been lied to, betrayed, and broken by a man I thought I loved. A man who turned out to be nothing more than a beautifully packaged nightmare.
If you’ve ever been hurt by a narcissist, you know that the pain cuts deeper than most people can imagine. You know the way it seeps into your bones, the way it makes you question your worth and replay every moment, wondering if you could …
3 Surprising Causes of Burnout That Most People Miss
“Love yourself first and everything else falls into line.” ~Lucille Ball
The first time I experienced burnout, I was twenty-six.
I was at the height of my career in London, doing it all, and yet I somehow found myself back at my parents’ house, sobbing in my mom’s car, after signing myself off from work, not having a clue how I landed there.
Burnout isn’t just about being tired from overexertion. It’s when we reach physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion after pushing ourselves past our capacity for too long.
When we finally stop, often against our will, all the confusing …
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