Posts tagged with “wisdom”
When You’re at the End of Your Rope: 7 Tips to Help Yourself
TRIGGER WARNING: This post deals with an account of sexual assault and may be triggering to some people.
“Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.” ~Bernice Johnson Reagan
During my first year away at college, I struggled with depression and anxiety. I felt broken, hopeless, and lost, and I didn’t know how to cope.
At times, I thought about jumping out of my fourth floor dorm room window.
Thankfully, I didn’t.
It all began on the day I moved into my dorm in August of 2008. My parents took me …
How to Really Embrace Yourself (Even in the Face of Criticism)
“Above all, be true to yourself, and if you cannot put your heart in it, take yourself out of it.” ~Unknown
Sitting at a party minding my own business, I wasn’t expecting it. I had no reason to. A comment filled with sarcasm and authority shot out at me from a across the room.
“Shut up Kathryn.”
It hit me like a bullet aimed straight at my heart.
I wasn’t even aware I was being particularly quiet. I was simply being me. Taking in my surroundings, quietly observing, listening to the conversations that encircled me.
But someone had noticed …
A Small Act of Kindness Can Make a Big Difference
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” ~Dalai Lama
I had an old trench coat that was balled up on the floor of my garage, gathering dust near the washing machine. It was raining. It was unusually cold (for California, anyway).
I was driving home when I saw a man in a short sleeved shirt wandering through our neighborhood, pushing a shopping cart. He was walking painfully slow. He was dripping wet.
I paused at the intersection to my street and watched him for several minutes, thinking. My heart was …
25 Ways to Make a Difference in the World Every Day
“The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.” ~Socrates
When I started Tiny Buddha, my main goal was to make a positive difference. I think that’s a goal many of us share.
I’ve stumbled upon countless blog and books written by people who say their purpose in life is to help people.
I suspect it’s how most of us infuse our lives with meaning: trying to somehow leave the world a better place than we found it.
I recently read a somewhat old blog post by ex-Microsoft employee Scott Berkun that …
Dear Santa
Source: Positive Outlooks
5 Reasons to Use Your Gifts and Do What You Love
“Man is only truly great when he acts from his passions.” ~Benjamin Disraeli
Like many of us, I had a difficult childhood. My parents’ relationship was unhappy and unhealthy, and their misery left me feeling alone, afraid, and anxious most of the time.
My environment was so unpredictable that I often withdrew from family and friends, losing myself in the comfort of my own creativity.
I fell in deep and indescribable love with music at a very young age. The radio became my confidant, my protector, my therapist, my escape. I would sing and preen and pose like a rock …
Realizing You’re Enough Instead of Trying to Fix Yourself
“If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” ~Oprah Winfrey
Seven years ago I discovered a world of healing, energy, and spirituality. It came at a particularly hard time in my life. Everything that could go wrong seemed to have.
First, I picked up a bug while travelling, which left me unable to hold down food for over eight weeks, and doctors told me there was nothing more they could do.
Then, there were secondary infections, which I learned I might have to live with for life.
I was being bullied at work and …
How to Heal From Rejection: 5 Steps to Soothe the Pain
“Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.” ~F. Scott Fitzgerald
I spent years training as a psychologist, waiting for the day I would graduate and finally have time to explore my second passion—writing.
When I opened a private practice I left my mornings free, and over the next fourteen years I wrote six screenplays, two novels, and a children’s book. But mostly I wrote letters, thousands of them, to agents, editors, and producers, asking them to read my work.
They rejected every manuscript I sent them.
After fourteen years of rejection, my mood, my confidence, my motivation, and …
Let Yourself Be Instead of Pushing to Get Things Done
“When you try to control everything, you enjoy nothing. Sometimes you just need to relax, breathe, let go and live in the moment.” ~Unknown
Recently I went to an annual fall retreat for my graduate program. This was exactly what my heart was longing for up until this point. I felt overworked by school and overwhelmed by the busyness of the city and suburban life. I needed something different, something that would help me feel more grounded and at ease.
We went out to Middle-of-no-where-on-top-a-mountain, California, where the only sign of civilization was the four-way highway down below. I’m originally …
Mystical Moments: 10 Ways to Feel More Engaged and Alive
“Your daily life is your temple and your religion. Whenever you enter into it take with you your all.” ~Kahlil Gibran
I had to learn the hard way that you don’t have to walk across hot coals or move to the desert and eat locusts and honey in order to have a mystical, life-changing experience.
As a young man I was anxious and driven, always looking ahead to another goal, always hoping to find some ultimate experience. I believed that life was a challenge that needed to be constantly tackled. Often, this meant feeling overworked and pulled-apart, and I failed …
Release the Fear of Not Measuring Up and Share Your Light
“You’re imperfect, and you’re wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.” ~Brené Brown
I believe that it is part of the human condition to want love and connection with others. For some of us this comes much more naturally and abundantly than it does for others.
The universal thing we all share is that at some point along our life journey, there will come a time when our self-worth is on the table for questioning.
I can clearly recall the first time my self-confidence was rocked. I was seven years old and full of energy, life, …
When Trying to Be Positive Brings You Down
“Serenity comes when you trade expectations for acceptance.” ~Unknown
How many of us have caught ourselves feeling as though we’re imposters when we’re trying to talk about a difficult situation in a positive light? We’re often fed the idea that how we feel is in how we decide to see life, which, I agree with; however, sometimes I think that idea gets taken to a deceptive extreme.
In the midst of one of my mini-meltdowns the other day, I called my friend and told her what had been going on in my head the last few months.
“It’s sounds as …
Letting Go, Trusting, and Allowing Yourself to Be Happy and Free
“Letting go gives us freedom and freedom is the only condition for happiness.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh
First, let’s be clear about something…
Surrender is not about giving up, handing power over, or failing. It is not waving the white flag of defeat.
We are so used to striving and trying so hard for an outcome that anything outside of that formula seems like self-sabotage.
It isn’t. In fact, surrender is the pinnacle of evolved and enlightened behavior.
Surrender is the beautiful soft space of acceptance. It is an allowing—allowing life to unfold and to be what it is, irrespective of …
How Do You Motivate Yourself: With Love or Fear?
“The heart is like a garden: it can grow compassion or fear, resentment or love. What seeds will you plant there?” ~ Jack Kornfield
My whole life has been a story of discipline. I started exercising and eating healthier in eighth grade. I planned out my studies meticulously so I would finish school assignments exactly on time. I always arrived five minutes early for any appointment or meeting. Disciplined.
When I began my yoga studies in earnest at the age of twenty-two, I applied the same disciplined nature to my yoga practice. I had extensive practice plans and had scheduled …
5 Tips to Help You Take Action to Overcome Your Fear
“Thinking will not overcome fear, but action will.” ~W. Clement Stone
I made it all the way to my thirtieth birthday without learning how to drive. After I turned twenty-one, people often asked me why I hadn’t learned yet. My go-to story was that I lived in a place with abundant public transportation options and never had any intention of buying a car.
The truth is that I wanted to learn, but I was terrified, and the fear grew with each year.
What if I got in an accident? What if people laughed at me for learning so late or …
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