Latest Blog Posts
3 Little Words That Change Everything
Thoughts are powerful. We often blame our circumstances for how we feel by saying things “this is so frustrating” or “he made me so mad.” The truth is that your emotions are caused by your thoughts, not the situations in your life. If you’re tired of feeling anxious,...
How to be Nicer to Yourself
Would you talk to your best friend the way you talk to yourself? Most people would NEVER do that. And yet, we tell ourselves self-critical thoughts all day long. Most of us (especially my fellow Type A perfectionists) think that if we’re too nice to ourselves, we...
Thoughts that are Saving My Life Right Now
Emily P. Freeman likes to share the “things that are saving her life right now” every season on her podcast, The Next Right Thing. She got this idea from Barbara Brown Taylor, and while the name of the list sounds a bit dramatic, it includes all kinds of things (both...
A Letter to My 18 Year old Self
Recently I was listening to Elevation podcast (which is AMAZING, by the way!) and Pastor Steven Furtick was talking about what his wife does when she notices that he’s taking things for granted. She likes to ask him “what would 18 year old Steven think if he could see...
Why Affirmations Don’t Work (and What to Try Instead)
You’re probably familiar with positive affirmations – short phrases like “I love myself”, “my body is beautiful”, or “I radiate confidence”. Many people like repeating these phrases to themselves – in an effort to replace negative self-talk with kinder thoughts – but...
Talk to Your Brain More Than You Listen to It
Is one of your New Year’s resolutions to complain less or to stop worrying so much? Most of us realize that we have unhelpful thought patterns, but we’re never taught HOW to change them. The average person has somewhere between 30,000-60,000 thoughts per day. The...
A More Realistic Lovingkindness Meditation
“The tragedy of life is linked inescapably with its splendor; you could tear civilization down and rebuild it from scratch, and the same dualities would rise again. Yet to fully inhabit these dualities—the dark as well as the light—is, paradoxically, the only way to...
Gratitude and Grief Can Coexist
My mom asked me the other day if I still remember what my step dad was like before he was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s…because she feels like her memories of him pre-Alzheimer’s are slowly slipping away. I still remember what he was like back then, but...
I’ve been here before. Why is it so much harder this time?
*Disclaimer: this is not meant to replace professional mental health help. If you are experiencing symptoms of severe anxiety, depression, or another mental illness, please seek professional help. “I’ve been here before. Why does it feel so much harder this time?”...
Why I’m Not Setting Big Goals This Year
I’ve always been an overachiever, and I like to set crazy goals like paying off $127,000 of debt in 4 years (done), moving across the country just because we can (done), and going on an around the world cruise even though I get seasick (on my bucket list). But lately...
Anxiety Isn’t a Problem
If you google “how to deal with anxiety”, what you’ll likely find is a long list of things you can do to get rid of (or reduce) anxiety. The authors of these articles might recommend that you exercise more, try yoga or meditation, pray, listen to music, make time for...
20 Things I’m Learning Right Now
Hi there! It's been a while...but I'm back! I took a hiatus from blogging for a while to study for the PHR (Professional in Human Resources) exam and I passed! :) I hope everything is going well for you. During my blogging break, I spent some time thinking about the...