We’re all human. (Or, if you're not human and reading this, holla! We’re all living beings.) And to be human (and alive) is to make mistakes. We all make them, and that's perfectly okay. However, in our society, mistakes are often met with judgment. If you've grown up with judgment from others (who hasn't?), it’s easy to internalize this and start judging ourselves and others as well. With judgment comes shame—the fear of being excluded from the group. While this may have been a life-or-death issue when we were all hunters and gatherers, it’s more emotionally painful in our modern times.
Finding Peace in Change: How to Control What You Can for a Happier Life
I’ve written quite a bit about change—not surprising for a therapist! Wanting change, fear of change, it’s pretty much the only reason any of us go to therapy. My most recent post about change we choose touches on how difficult change can be, but change that’s forced upon us—without choice—is a whole different ballgame.
How to Be Mindful When Being Interrupted (by Construction)
On Mourning During the Coronavirus
Mindful Monday: How to Accept Things
Last week I talked more about what acceptance actually is. Which is all great and dandy. But how the heck do we do it?
There was a point in my life, before I became an acceptance master. Who am I kidding?! I’m a hard core work in progress on this one.
But there was a point when I didn’t understand this concept in the slightest. So what did I do? What any modern day human does; I googled “how to accept things.” And every other form of that phrase I could think of. I’m nothing if not thorough in my research. But it didn’t help at all. Google failed me! I was no closer to knowing how to accept anything.
Mindful Monday: Acceptance Doesn't Mean Letting Bad Things Happen
Acceptance has been on my mind more than usual lately as I’ve struggled to accept certain things in my life and the world as a whole. I’ve also noticed people around me and society as a whole struggle to accept what is. Through these observations, I realized that even though I’ve mentioned acceptance in many of my writings, I’ve never actually defined it or gone into much depth as to what I mean when I say acceptance.
Mindful Monday: When It's Hard
On the Messiness of Life (Or Being the Dirty Kid)
Mindful Monday: Acceptance
Mindful Monday: Letting Go
At one point in my life, when I was much less mindful, I googled the phrase “how to let go.” It was a lifetime ago, so I don’t remember what I was struggling to let go, but if I was asking google, I must have been struggling.
The google search didn’t turn up much that was useful.
That’s because, as I learned in the years since, there isn’t a set algorithm to letting go.