One of the many things I’ve taken away from my newfound meditation practice is this: slow everything down. Drive slower. React slower. Listen to slower music. Speak slower. Take more time to respond when asked a question. Take the route that may be longer, but brings you less stress. Don’t rush food prep. Don’t think ahead so much that you don’t notice what’s actually going on right in front of you. Walk around your day slower,…

Many of us have an appreciation for good, strong relationships. We know how much better life is when they’re in a good place, and we know how so many areas of our lives are affected when they’re not. We know how good it feels when the people we want to be close to (family, friends, etc.) want to spend time with us, reach out and open up to us when they are struggling with something,…

I’m the sort of person that lies awake at night dwelling over something I did wrong during the day, as if I’m the only one that’s ever __________ .  I take whatever the one thing is and make it out to be everything.  I convince myself that everyone noticed, everyone is talking about it, no one has ever done the same thing, no one has ever done WORSE, and I will forever known as the girl…

I suspect that I’m not alone in occasionally being guilty of having a warped approach to making healthy food choices. Take snacking, for example. Just yesterday, I was on the prowl for something and saw a container of berries in the fridge. I thought about it, then decided that I had already had sweet potatoes with my eggs for breakfast, so I should ease up on my carbohydrate intake a little. No less than 3…

Distractions have a bad wrap. But, I think they can be useful if they’re done well. I did a workout this morning that was bookended with about a 4 minute Assault bike. On the front end, I switched between watching the numbers on my screen and being distracted by what was going on around me. On the back end, I started out doing the same thing…but, about halfway through, I decided to close my eyes…

Something sort of magical happens when you use someone’s name when you’re speaking to them. I know there’s actual research explaining the chemicals that get released into the brain when it happens, but I don’t need to know the exact science surrounding it…because I witness it in action every single day. There’s a short piece in Kat’s book about her memory of the very first time Annie used her name when addressing her. I heard…

I don’t believe in ANYthing being EVERYthing.  Some things carry more weight than others, and some things are higher on my list of priorities. But, I am very careful about being disciplined with maintaining a healthy balance of all of the parts that equal the wholeness of who I am. My mental and physical health is arguably my most important focus because I know that without it, I am limited in my success in all…