In fifth grade, I had a tough experience that stuck with me. In front of a packed lunchroom, my school principal, Sister Katherine, scolded and intentionally embarrassed me, accusing me of causing chaos—including dancing on a table. None of it was true.

She then pulled me into her office, where she...

Stress and anxiety are at an all-time high, while happiness feels harder to reach. But the research is clear: happy people have different habits than those who struggle.

Happiness isn’t accidental—it’s built through consistent, healthy actions. Make time for your mental wellness now, or life will e...

We took a pottery class together as a family, and it turned out to be a great experience. There was some hesitation—and even a bit of anxiety, myself included—but by the end, everyone was glad they gave it a try.

You may look forward to time with friends and family, only to fall back into old pattern...

Decision making can be one of the biggest challenges in life. Getting stuck in indecision leads to lost opportunities, leadership failure, damaged relationships, and tremendous anxiety.

Few things bring as much relief as getting decisions made. With practice, you can improve your ability to make qu...

Change is hard and unavoidable. Both positive changes like getting married, a promotion, or a new child, and negative ones like job loss, divorce, or the death of someone you love, can derail us if not handled properly.

3 Keys to Successful Life Transitions

1: Don't Go It Alone

We were not made t...

Most people procrastinate because they fear failure, and psychologically, they view something that's not perfect as failure. Their avoidance, driven by anxiety, can make them appear lazy.

Clients share with me frustrations about not getting things done. They put off reading, exercise, eating health...

I love great poetry. It has a way of bringing clarity and revealing the next steps I need to take. Like many people, I often place myself in the poem--as if I'm a character in the story--and reflect on how its message aligns with where I'm headed.

The most powerful poems do more than stir emotion--...

If you want to excel in life, being able to stay calm when feeling overwhelmed is an essential skill. The consequences of not doing so can be significant (e.g., addiction, damaging relationship, job loss, etc.).

You have three choices when feeling overwhelmed

Choice #1: Supressing your feelings by...

Keeping a journal is an often underutilized tool that provides incredible insight when done properly and consistently. It's essential to clarify my thoughts and feelings and to identify the lies I'm believing.

I find that one of the biggest challenges to getting started with journaling (aside from ...

We all have seasons in our lives when it's very hard to be positive. I can easily view myself as the victim. Gratitude is one of the only things that can end my pity party.

Focusing on gratitude has helped me on my darkest days. It helps me get focused on what's right rather than what's wrong.

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A vision is a mental picture of how good your life can be in the future. It focuses on potential, opportunity, and possibility. One essential to clarifying a vision is that you make if big and idealistic. A healthy and inspiring vision is always idealistic.

People are 100 times more motivated movin...

I'm a middle child from a loud and emotionally expressive family. Growing up, everyone expressed how they felt - except me. I decided at a young age to hide my feelings and live inside my head. Not a strategy I would recommend.

From age 16 to 22, I used negative coping mechanisms to numb and attemp...