Posts tagged with “wisdom”
Don’t Respond to Drama and Drama Won’t Come Back Around
“When you are not honoring the present moment by allowing it to be, you are creating drama.” – Eckhart Tolle
One day several years ago, I was fraught with anxiety over with how to handle an uncomfortable personnel situation at work. I had an employee that was borderline explosive and insubordinate. I was a wreck over how to best handle the situation because before I was this employee’s manager, I was her friend.
I found myself wanting to fix the problem by delving deeper into her drama, wanting to know why she felt a certain way, what I had …
Becoming More Positive When Negativity Feels Instinctive
“Dwelling on the negative simply contributes to its power.” ~Shirley MacLaine
If you have ever felt the depths of depression, you know it’s not the same as being sad or having “the blues.” It’s the hopeless, overwhelming feeling of melancholy where nothing, not even the people you love, can pull you out.
It can feel like being under water in the ocean while the waves keep washing over you, pushing you further and further underneath, while no matter how hard you try, you can’t seem to break the surface to get that much needed air in order to survive.
Unfortunately, …
Emotionally Overloaded: Are You Taking on Too Much of Other People’s Pain?
“All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.” ~Havelock Ellis
I would have done anything for my friends, until one of them nearly broke my heart and spirit. He was my best friend. We felt like platonic soul mates.
We had a standing lunch date every week, called each other terms of endearment, cried together, laughed together—the standard best friend things.
Then, tragedy struck him. Over and over.
His long-time partner left him. Then he lost his executive-level job. Next, he had a string of major medical issues that put him in …
Do You Define Yourself and Your Life Negatively?
Growing up on military bases I learned to make friends quickly. My family moved a half dozen times before I was out of the second grade, so I didn’t have many other options. But while living on base it was easy, because all us military brats were in the same boat.
In third grade my dad retired from the Air Force and we went to live in a small town just south of Nashville, Tennessee. Once we moved everything changed. Instead of living with the sons and daughters of service families, I went to school with the children of the …
8 Limiting Beliefs That Keep Us Stuck (and How to Overcome Them)
“Smile, breathe, and go slowly.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh
For almost three years, I’d been living out of a suitcase, relocating every three to six months. To some people, this lifestyle sounds adventurous and exciting. But anyone who’s ever lived like this understands how exhausting and scary it can be: I felt unsettled in my career, unhappy in my relationships, and completely alone in the world.
While I knew I was unhappy and that I wanted to make a change, the truth is that I felt completely stuck in the lifestyle I’d chosen for myself. When I brainstormed about what was …
When People See the Worst in You: Perceptions Aren’t Always Accurate
“If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people.” ~Virginia Woolf
If you’ve ever listened to someone’s description or opinion of you and it sounded completely alien, you probably found yourself wondering where on earth they were coming from.
We are told that on a universal, spiritual level, the way you perceive someone is more than just an opinion; it’s actually a reflection of you being projected onto that person.
So if someone tells you that you’re beautiful, kind, or have a good heart, they can only do so because those qualities are …
How to Be Your Real Self and What’s Been Stopping You
“The more of me I be, the clearer I can see.” ~Rachel Andrews
This past year has felt a lot like I was running through a supermarket, naked.
But not as chilly.
As a life-coach for women, one of my brilliances has to do with supporting women in showing up fully as their shining, marvelous selves—and guiding them through all the work of facing fears, looking at self-worth, re-training brains to focus on abundance and feeling powerful, vs. scarcity and victim-hood, and so many other powerful pieces.
I make no secret out of the fact that I have had …
How to Recognize and Help When Someone Needs Support
“When we get too caught up in the busyness of the world, we lose connection with one another-and ourselves.” ~Jack Kornfield
After planning the next three months of my life in my head, trying to focus on my breath and recounting the plans for tomorrow, I decided my battle with insomnia was going to win. I got up, careful not to wake my husband, and decided to start reading.
Nestling into the lines of my latest library book well after midnight, my phone began to beep.
Even in the most quiet of the night, are we ever really alone?
I …
Making Friends When You’re Afraid People Won’t Understand You
“The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.” ~Elbert Hubbard
Tonight I am troubled because I have graduated college, and as I am looking back, I am hyperaware of my losses.
In the past few years, I have had the opportunity to make many friends and lose many friends, largely because of my inability to understand and articulate my bipolar disorder to others. I am ashamed at times because of the mood swings that others seem to dismiss as problems that are “all in my head.”
I have lost countless friends, …
A Surefire Way to Improve Your Life: 7 Reasons and 5 Ways to Be Mindful
“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child—our own two eyes. All is a miracle.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh
I remember it clearly, the day it all began to click. People talk about epiphanies that changed their lives in an instant, and mine was no different. Problem was, …
5 Meditation Tips for People Who Don’t (Yet) Like to Meditate
“Don’t wait for your feelings to change to take the action. Take the action and your feelings will change.” ~Barbara Baron
I own a series of CDs called “Classical Music for People Who Hate Classical Music.” We know we should like and listen to classical music—they’re the classics after all! But when I actually find time to listen to music, I reach for Mumford & Sons, not Mozart.
Some of us have a similar relationship with meditation.
We know we should meditate—it has so many mental, emotional, and physical benefits, and who couldn’t use a bit of slowing down in …
Opening Up to the Possibility of Love: 3 Things to Remember
“Love takes off the mask that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within.” ~James Arthur Baldwin
I sat silent on one end of the phone. I could hear my own breath and heart pounding in my ears. I was sitting on the precipice of greatness, and all I had to do was express what I was feeling. Sounds relatively straightforward, so why did I feel so anxious?
To say that I have worked hard at rediscovering my authentic self would be an understatement. I have been on this quest in one form or fashion since …
Tiny Buddha’s Recreate Your Life Story eCourse Launches Today!
If you’re new to the site, you may be wondering who I am. Hi there! I’m Lori, and I’m the founder of Tiny Buddha.
If you’re not new to the site, you may be wondering where I’ve been, since I haven’t written much lately.
There are a few reasons for that. For one, I’ve focused a lot more on curating and editing blog posts from other community members. Secondly, I’ve been traveling, as I mentioned in a post in April.
But aside from that, I’ve spent the last several months working on my first ever eCourse, Recreate Your Life Story: …
Stop Asking Yourself Questions That Keep You Stuck
“Life is inherently risky. There is only one big risk you should avoid at all costs, and that is the risk of doing nothing.” ~Dennis Waitley
We often see success stories about people who have achieved something big. They inspire us and on some level show us that it is possible to achieve our goals.
However, they rarely help us deal with what goes on in the middle, the point in between starting something new, when we’re full of energy and excitement, and actually succeeding.
That middle part is generally not pretty. How do you tackle that middle bit?
Let’s …
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. 