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Posts tagged with “wisdom”

Accepting Yourself as an Introvert and Loving Your Inner Tortoise

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“We can’t underestimate the value of silence. We need to create ourselves, need to spend time alone. If you don’t, you risk not knowing yourself and not realizing your dreams.” ~Jewel

Tortoises are out of fashion. They are no longer the wise ones, taking one patient step after another, coming out victorious in the end. Today, they are the ones who can’t cross the road fast enough, the ones most likely to get hit by a car.

There is shame involved in being a tortoise.

And so I have spent a considerable chunk of my life trying to turn into …

3 Powerful Benefits of Accepting Yourself and Your Differences

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“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

Our common culture is one that values acceptance from the group over self-acceptance. We base our self-worth on how we measure up against who society tells us to be, and our culture views those who are different as being anomalies that could bring the group down.

And yet deep in our hearts (and in the books that tell our collective history) we know that individuals who go against the grain are the …

What to Do When It Seems Like Your World Is Falling Apart

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“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’” ~Mary Anne Radmacher

The moment I gave thanks to the universe for placing me in the Philippines and giving me the courage to pursue a happy life of simplicity and love…

That very moment, riding on the back of a motorcycle, the wind rustling my hair and cooling me down from the sweaty heat that envelops the Philippines, a truck smashed into my left leg and shattered my knee.

Choosing to leave for the Peace Corps program in …

How to Stop Stressing About Being Perfect (So You Can Enjoy Life)

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“The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.” ~Anna Quindlen

I finally learned I wasn’t Superman.

It was a hard concept for me to grasp. You see, I was always the good child. The one that did everything without complaint or supervision. I was the one who didn’t need help in school, who knew how to plan, who did the chores without having to be asked twice.

As I grew older this idea that I was “the good child/person” grew. My grades had to be perfect. …

What Happiness Depends On

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Source: The Daily Quotes

Using Our Passions While We Can And Never Giving Up

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“Never underestimate the power of passion.” ~Eve Sawyer

I am a runner in my heart and in my body. Running has provided me with so many life lessons that I cannot even count them. But having to fight for running has given me the most important ones.

I still remember that day in September of 2002 when I went to my first cross-country practice. The coach told me it would only be an easy six-miler.

Only? Easy? And a six-miler?

“How does that even belong to the same sentence?” I wondered. I didn’t even know what miles were (being originally …

Be Who You Are

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Source: My Chill Thoughts

How to Be Happier Without Really Trying

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“Happiness is the absence of trying to strive for happiness.” ~Chuang Zi 

I sat in the café wondering why I wasn’t happy.

I had been listening to all the happiness and self-help gurus. I was meditating every morning. I ate a healthy diet. I exercised four times a week. I was working hard on projects I was passionate about. I wasn’t wasting time and watching my life tick away.

Yet somehow, as I sat in the café, I wondered how I could have been “doing it all right” and yet everything felt incredibly wrong.

There is no mistaking the feeling …

Getting More Out of Life When You Have Less Money

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“The real measure of your wealth is how much you’d be worth if you lost all your money.” ~Unknown

When we find ourselves not having “enough,” times may be rough; however, this is only our first glance, our perceived perception.

Not all who have little are poor. None who live simply fit into the status quo. And none of us deserves to be judged for what we do or do not own.

Poverty lines are a general measure of separating the classes, but they fail to feel emotions, see our genuine qualities, or tell the stories of our lives.

They …

Turn Dreams Into Plans

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How to Heal a Broken Heart and Wounded Spirit

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“We do not heal the past by dwelling there; we heal the past by living fully in the present.” ~Marianne Williamson

My life fell apart on a warm August evening a few years ago. It had been a full summer: family visits, plans for a cross-country move, barbecues, and plenty of travel. We were happy, my husband and I.

Or so I thought.

On that August night, my husband came home to our cozy New York apartment, sat down, and told me, behind a smother of hands and hunched shoulders, that he’s in love with another woman. Well, not so …

Stop Waiting on Your Dream: Take Tiny Steps to Make “Someday” Now

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“The beautiful things about setbacks is they introduce us to our strengths.” ~Robin Sharma

It was morning, March 2009. My alarm announced another ho-hum weekday.

On the outside, I had it pretty together. I was living the corporate NYC life with a great apartment, a steady relationship, and a solid paycheck. But in the back of my mind, I knew I wasn’t as happy as I made myself out to be.

I didn’t know what I really wanted, and I constantly felt like I should just stop complaining in my head and make the best of things.

So, with every …

Buddha Doodles: Every Moment Of Life

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Knowing What to Do When the Path You’re On Feels Wrong

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“Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today.” ~Cherokee Proverb

Age is a funny thing, isn’t it? It’s both an internal and external measurement by which many of us, consciously or not, judge our successes and failures, and it’s how others often judge us: “She’s so young to be CEO.” “He’s too old to be a quarterback now.” “Those guys should have stopped touring years ago.” “How old is that woman he’s dating?”

Measurement is part of our culture.

Paradoxically, we initially choose our life paths when we are the least prepared to understand the significance of our decisions.…

Hugs Keep Us Alive

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How to De-Stress Dating and Stop Tying Your Worth to Relationships

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“Your value doesn’t decrease based on someone’s inability to see your worth.” ~Unknown

I’m all too aware that dating can feel like a grinding, painful roller coaster to nowhere.

If you’ve hit your head against the wall as many times as I have, you know how frustrating, depressing, and downright disheartening it can be. Meeting someone new, going on a few great dates, getting excited, having one/both of you sort of stop calling; then repeating the process over and over is enough to make you want to give up for good.

The ups and downs in this cycle can make …

How to Live a Full Life and Smile Your Way Through It

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“There are only two mantras, yum and yuck, mine is yum.” ~Tom Robbins

I recently had my thirty-first birthday. I am officially in my thirties. This leads to reflection; what have I accomplished with my time as an adult?

I recently started over yet again, making this the fifth state I’ve lived in seven years. I have a roommate, half of the stuff in my room is hers, and I’m temping for a living. I was more prosperous at twenty friggin’ three…

…externally.

If you were to see a photo of me at the age of eighteen next to a …

How to ROCK Your Rock Bottom and Reinvent Yourself

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“When something bad happens you have three choices. You can let it define you, let it destroy you, or you can let it strengthen you.” ~Unknown

I wasn’t always the ridiculously attractive (and humble) Jason you see before you. No, from a very young age I was overweight. I am an only child raised by a single, very hard-working mom. Her crazy work schedule meant that cooking meals was rarely a feasible option. This meant we ate at restaurants or had fast food quite often.

Couple that with my extreme TV watching habits and only going outside when forced, and …

Overcoming Fear and Perceived Threats to Work Toward Your Dream

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“Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.” ~Pema Chodron

I awoke with a jolt. I heard the steady breathing of my sleeping partner next to me. I checked the clock; it was 3:30 AM. With a deep exhale, while rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I reached out to my bedside table to grab my phone.

For a moment, I hesitated. I knew that tickets went on sale at 4:00 AM New Zealand Time and that they would be going fast.

The U.S. event I wanted to attend would require a considerable financial investment (air travel …

Be Kind to Unkind People

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