Posts tagged with “wisdom”
Your Deepest Knowing
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How I Created a Beautiful Life on the Other Side of Burnout
“If you don’t give your mind and body a break, you’ll break. Stop pushing yourself through pain and exhaustion and take care of your needs.” ~Lori Deschene
For forty-five minutes, I lay on my yoga mat in child’s pose, unable to move.
The exhaustion in my body felt like a thousand kilos, and the ache of failure pricked my eyes with tears.
Despite all my early morning runs, after-work bootcamps, and restricted meals, my body did not look like the bikini models I saw on Instagram.
Despite all my energy, efforts, and attention, my romantic relationship had
The Consequences of Perfectionism and How to Embrace Life’s Messiness
“Perfectionism doesn’t make you feel perfect. It makes you feel inadequate.” ~Maria Shriver
My name is Steffi, and I am a recovering perfectionist. This might come as a surprise to those who know me because I don´t fit the stereotype. The inside of my bag is as messy as my hair, and I always give off the impression that I left the house five minutes too late (which is usually true). My wardrobe is not color-coordinated, and I haven’t organized a flawless birthday party yet.
It also goes against how I have always seen myself. My greatest life skill is …
5 Pillars of Mindful Awareness That Transformed My Life
“When things change inside of you, things change around you.” ~Unknown
When I was twenty-three, I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety. It was not until two years later, when I stopped taking medication, that I discovered I had a mental health disorder linked to my menstrual cycles.
Meditating daily has been foundational for my well-being. It helps me manage the physical expressions of anxiety and bad moods. It allows me to be more accepting of myself and grateful for the many positives in my life.
But it is the awareness journey that mindfulness has paved over these last …
The Benefits of Vipassana Meditation and How to Start Your Practice
“Meditation is not a way of making your mind quiet. It’s a way of entering into the quiet that’s already there.” ~Deepak Chopra
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the chaos of daily life, longing for a sense of calm and clarity? That was me a year ago, trapped in a cycle of overwork and unhealthy habits. It wasn’t until I rediscovered meditation, particularly Vipassana, that I began to find true peace and transformation. Here’s my story and how Vipassana changed my life and how it could change yours too.
My Personal Journey with Meditation
I’ve always been drawn …
4 Fears That Create People-Pleasers and How to Ease Them
“It feels good to be accepted, loved, and approved of by others, but often the membership fee to belong to that club is far too high of a price to pay.” ~Dennis Merritt Jones
Like a lot of people, I grew up putting others’ needs and wants first. I learned early that doing things for other people and accommodating their wishes gained me attention and approval. It was only in those moments that I felt good enough and deserving of love.
As a child, I liked nothing more than feeling indispensable and being told I was a good and …
The Dangers of Safety and How to Live Fully
“A ship in a harbor is safe, but that’s not what a ship is built for.” ~John Augustus Shedd
Growing up in the Midwest in a traditional family steeped in Catholic values, safety was paramount. We adhered to conventional roles: father, mother, brother, and sister, with me as the baby sister.
My parents were loving, but my mom parented through a lens of fear, constantly worrying about potential dangers. This fierce protection was a testament to her love, yet it ingrained in me the belief that taking the safe route was the only way to navigate life.
One day, when …
The Importance of Setting Strong, Healthy Boundaries
“If you love yourself, it doesn’t matter if other people don’t like you because you don’t need their approval to feel good about yourself.” ~Lori Deschene
I spent my whole life trying to please other people. I would put myself through stress and discomfort to fit in with what they wanted or needed. I would rarely feel confident enough to communicate what I wanted because when I did, I would be met with frustration or anger, and I’d often come away feeling stupid.
When I was growing up, I would feel my emotions very strongly, so a lot of …
Healing from Chronic Fatigue: The Amazing Impact of Self-Compassion
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” ~Dalai Lama
In my mid-thirties, my active and adventuresome life as a broadcast journalist collapsed. It began with a trauma, followed by flu-like symptoms that stuck around for thirteen years. Almost overnight, I lost the pep to walk around the block, much less file reports for the evening news.
A battery of doctors diagnosed me with chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), among other diagnoses. They said I’d have to live this way since there was no reliable cure. I became one of the …
How I Changed My Life by Becoming a Thought Snob
“Loving people live in a loving world. Hostile people live in a hostile world. Same world. ~Wayne Dyer
Driving home from another visit to the pediatrician, Mother reiterated how puny I was: “You’re just like Mommy. She was so frail. You get sick easily.” I’d say I was five years old when I wholeheartedly accepted this hogwash as fact. I’m not exaggerating when I tell you I stayed sick for three decades because I truly believed I was prone to illness.
I come from a long line of women who never got what they wanted. They settled, conformed, and were …
The Breakthrough That Helped Me Stop Comparing Myself to Others
“Comparison is the thief of joy.” ~Theodore Roosevelt
In March 2020, the UK went into its first Covid lockdown, and the country was swept with anxiety and sadness. When would we see our loved ones again? Would our health be okay? Was my job safe? And more pressingly, how the heck was I expected to teach my kids?
Along with everyone else, I first received the news with a sense of impending doom and tried to make the best of a bizarre situation. “Normal life” consisted of stressful home schooling, online working, mask wearing, and (in the UK at least) …
Shadow Parts: How to Recognize and Release Them
“When we are aware of our weaknesses or negative tendencies, we open the opportunity to work on them.” ~Allan Looks
Last year, I took my then-six-year-old son to a kite festival. He was ecstatic about flying his kites, and we spent a lot of time doing just that!
At one point, his kite string got tangled with another lady’s kite string. Both kites crashed to the ground, and the lady and I started working to untangle the strings.
In his excitement, my little one repeatedly asked if we were done yet and if he could fly his kite again. I …
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