Breakthrough is not only the moment the dam bursts but all the while as the water builds. — Breakthrough is a powerful word. It’s associated with a tidal wave shift, the moment when you arrive somewhere you weren’t sure you would ever make it and suddenly everything makes sense. Everyone is waiting for their life-altering moment, this quantum leap, without realizing that breakthroughs happen in small ways every…

What if instead of treating your priorities as a collection of broad ideas about what might make a good life, you start using them as the building blocks toward actually creating yours? — The word priority comes from the Latin prioritas which means first in rank, order, or dignity. Today we talk a lot about priorities, but even if we can successfully narrow ours down to a few, how many of us know which one comes first? How many of us are aware…

There is no progress in perfection, but there is grace in growth. — If you take life too seriously, it’s probably because you have seen the consequences of not taking it seriously enough. If you incessantly worry about the possibility of making mistakes, it’s probably because you know just how much they can cost you. Based on your past experiences, you might be…

A guide for all of us in the moments when we take life a little too seriously. — The overwhelming message we hear about life is that it’s hard. What no one tells us is that it’s often, if not always, up to us to make it easier. …

Read this whenever you feel the urge to give up. — People say starting is the hardest part but sometimes the hardest part is finishing. Sometimes the hardest part is choosing not to get frustrated or down on yourself when things turn out to be harder than you ever thought they would. It’s showing up day after day not because you…

An essay on identity, belonging, and finding home. — Ever since I moved to Italy four years ago, I haven’t felt normal. Looking back, I’m not sure I’ve ever felt normal, but more like an actress playing a role, studying the likes and dislikes of the current cast of people in my life until I can copy their choreography…

You can’t outrun pain but you can learn to walk through it using this visualization technique. — There are forces in the universe that we can’t see but we can experience if we know how to tap into them. Unfortunately, many of us deny their existence before we explore them for ourselves. Psychotherapists Barry Michels and Phil Stutz are trying to change that with their book, The…

“The question is not what you look at, but what you see.” — Henry David Thoreau — An epic sunset with cotton candy clouds is enough of a reminder that the best things in life are free. Family. Nature. The miracle of waking up every morning with another chance to make it count. Personal expression. Creativity. Love. Connection. …