Tag: inspiration
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This Reading Challenge Was a Strange Mix of Privilege and Desperation
Excess & Limitations Last year, I began my 52-Book Reading Challenge because I needed a change. If you have read some of my content, you can probably tell the types of things I was struggling with at the time: health issues, toxic relationships, and questioning lifelong unhealthy beliefs. That being said, the opportunity to read… Read more
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5 Ways to Calm Down in 1 Minute or Less
Do you ever feel yourself getting wound up and out of control, unable to stop the feeling? For me, I start to grit my teeth, my breathing gets faster, my hands ball into fists, and I have trouble concentrating. In this state, life feels overwhelming and effort seems pointless. But I have learned 5 quick… Read more
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More Images to Help Regulate You
I’m learning to look for the beauty in the world- not only that, but intentionally cultivate and create it. There is so much to notice and make, once you get past all the noise. I want to lose myself, getting up close to pretty things; to examine them and question them; to philosophize with them… Read more
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Images to Help Regulate You
I used to think that being online was over-stimulating, but now I realize that not only can I find peace online, I can intentionally cultivate it. So instead of endlessly scrolling social media, I have been taking time to appreciate beauty- without metrics, comparison, or anxiety. Just pretty things to calm my mind and help… Read more
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The Word I’d Be Most Honoured to Receive
The Different Types of Gift-Giver I recently read Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella, just in time for the holidays. It gave me a lot to think about regarding my own shopping habits. In the book, there are the typical holiday archetypes: the shopaholic, the regifter, the “just buy me my usual aftershave” type, and the eco-conscious. I… Read more
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The Long Road to a Split-Second Decision: How Character is Built Before the Moment
The Making of an Impulse Our split-second decisions might feel erratic, but they aren’t random. They are connected to our long-term behaviour. It isn’t an obvious, direct correlation. Sometimes we can surprise ourselves in the moment; we might be overcome with panic, confusion, or another strong emotion. But other times our responses are entirely predictable.… Read more
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A Split-Second Impulse, a Lifetime of Consequences
The Impact of Our Impulses I recently read The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom and reflected on the lessons it teaches in my latest post. But something else struck me. In each of the five lessons, one factor played a critical role, sometimes for good, sometimes for bad: the impact of our split-second decisions.… Read more
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The Awkward Ethics of Creating Online
Am I a Contradiction? I was quite critical toward influencer culture in my latest post regarding the fictional novel People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd. The book follows an influencer mother who shapes her life, and the lives of those around her, for the sake of content. It is a timely and unsettling read. I discussed the… Read more
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How Our Parents Shape Our View of God (And How to Rebuild Your Own)
“Problems with (emotionally immature) parents may have affected your impression of God and your trust in religion. Kids often form their image of God based on their parents…” – Lindsay C. Gibson, Disentangling From Emotionally Immature People Our View of Religion is Affected By Our Parents In her book Disentangling From Emotionally Immature People, psychologist Lindsay C.… Read more
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Understanding Values: Why They Don’t Always Mean the Same Thing to Everyone
Comparing Your Values to Others In her book Disentangling From Emotionally Immature People, psychologist Lindsay C. Gibson suggests a simple yet eye-opening exercise: compare your values to that of the emotionally immature person in your life. Doing so might explain why the relationship feels strained or misaligned. I would like to do this, but in a… Read more
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How To Grow Your Original Voice in 5 Steps
The Evolution of My Writing & Creativity At the beginning of my Reading & Blogging Challenge, I lamented how clunky my thoughts and words were. They felt like hardened toothpaste struggling to leave the tube. Recently, I posted my 118th blog post of the year. This one was about the book Disentangling From Emotionally Immature People by Lindsay… Read more
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The Hardest Part of Any Goal? The Middle
Midway Discouragement in a 52-Book Reading Challenge This year, I am reading 52 books and documenting how my life improves because of it. I have read 30/52 books so far, which means I am about 60% through this challenge. While this Reading Challenge has been an incredible success, I’ve been slipping into moments of discouragement… Read more
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The Beauty Around Me: What I Noticed When I Finally Looked Up
Noticing the Beauty Around Me I am trying to be a happier person these days- more appreciative and less pessimistic. So I am intentionally putting effort into noticing the beauty of the world around me. A few days ago, I was at the park. I was by myself and laid down a blanket under the… Read more
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Failure Vs. Mistakes
Did You Make a Mistake or Fail? What if failure wasn’t a sign that you did the wrong thing? Maybe you were doing something incredibly right. Will Gompertz makes an important distinction in his book Think Like an Artist: the difference between failure and mistakes. He explains that a mistake happens when you are wrong. It… Read more
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Book #26- Reflections on “Think Like an Artist”
Book #26 Think Like an Artist By Will Gompertz Lack of Confidence in Creative People It is ironic that a lot of creative people suffer from a lack of confidence and imposter syndrome- since creative fields have some of the lowest standards of entry. You don’t need to pass a test to be a song… Read more
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Book #25- Reflections on “The Fellowship of the Ring”
Book #25 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring By J.R.R. Tolkien Enjoying My Favorite Childhood Book This was one of my favorite books growing up so I thought it would be nice to pull it off the shelf and dust it off, especially now that I am recovering from not feeling… Read more
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The Difference Between Fiction and Non-Truth
Why Some Fiction Feels More “Real” Than Other Fiction I recently wrote a blog post discussing the difference between true and untrue fiction. By “true” I don’t mean factual, but rather having strong internal logic and authority such that we collectively believe in its intellectual merit. “Untrue” fiction, by contrast, includes works like fan fiction. These may have strong… Read more
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Front Seat vs. Back Seat Imagination
Books Expand Your Perspective I have just read the 24th book of my 52-Book Reading Challenge: Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor. It follows an unlikely protagonist: a disabled Nigerian immigrant who is the family oddball. I’ve already written a post about that book, but I wanted to talk a little bit more about the value books… Read more
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Book #24- Reflections on “Death of the Author”
Book #24 Death of the Author By Nnedi Okorafor This book was exactly what I was looking for. I have been musing a lot about storytelling and technology lately and this book combines the two. It has two storylines; that of a fictional author and the contents of the science fiction book she creates. It… Read more
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Book #22- Reflections on “Rejection Proof”
Book #22 Rejection Proof By Jia Jiang Second Guessing Yourself My social anxiety could never handle doing a rejection experiment like this. I thought briefly about doing some sort of rejection therapy as part of this Reading Challenge, but I know myself well enough. For now, I just have to live vicariously through Jiang who,… Read more
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Leaving Busyness Behind to Find Peace in Nature
I Am Playing a Dangerous But Lovely Game As I write this, I am in the middle of the woods. I am only about a mile or two from the nearest building but that seems perilously far because it has been raining on and off and I am out here with all of my devices… Read more
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9 Differences Between Toxic and Healthy Relationships
As many of you know by now, I have struggled with toxic relationships in the past. I had poor boundaries, which had been encouraged for my whole life. I was taught not to question things and just work hard. Now, I am moving toward healthier communities and the difference is striking. Healthy relationships have a… Read more
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Book #20- Reflections on “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck”
Book #20 The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck By Mark Manson Good Recommendation, Ms. Funnily enough, this book was recommended to me by a very spiritual, church-loving senior citizen. That intrigued me. If the language wasn’t enough to scare her off, then maybe there is something to it. Even after getting just a… Read more
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Excessive Test-Taking Creates Academic People Pleasers
How Schools Train, not Teach Students My theory is that the current method of test-taking and applying for universities trains students to be educational and workplace people pleasers. They try to do what the teacher, university, or their boss wants, in order to be “successful”. To be fair, from all my years of education I… Read more
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Book #18- Reflections on “Field Study”
Book #18 Field Study By Helen Humphreys The Calming Effect of Nature and Books This book is simple and profound. I felt as though the author and I briefly met (at least through her written word) before each going on our individual year-long journeys. There was a certain parallelism to the way we spent our… Read more
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Book #17- Reflections on “Steal Like An Artist”
Book #17 Steal Like An Artist By Austin Kleon This book has been on my TBR list for a long time. I can’t believe how long it has taken me to get around to reading it considering it’s actually pretty short. It has a lot of wisdom in it, though. I wanted to devote this… Read more
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Why Emotional Awareness Matters in Today’s World
Society Doesn’t Pause for Trauma We never seem to be given much time by society to process traumatic events. A person gets assaulted, well too bad because you’ve got a test to take on Monday morning. A parent dies, you get a few days off, then back to work. Brianna Wiest talks about this in… Read more
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From Isolation to Connection: Understanding Your True Self
“… needing solitude too often usually means there is a discrepancy between who you pretend to be and who you actually are.” – Brianna Wiest, The Mountain Is You From Bubbly to Isolated Welp. I feel called out. I used to be very bubbly and outgoing, but now I spend a lot of time alone.… Read more
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How Scandal Affects Perception
Why Public Trust Matters I have talked recently about the importance of public trust- both in individuals and institutions. It creates healthier, happier, and more productive individuals and groups. However, this has certainly been decreasing in my own society lately. I know my public trust has decreased and that is an early warning sign of… Read more
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Book #16- Reflections on “The Mountain Is You”
Book #16 The Mountain Is You By Brianna Wiest “When we self-sabotage, it is often because we have a negative association between achieving the goal we aspire to and being the kind of person who has or does that thing.” – Brianna Wiest, The Mountain Is You Hmmm okay, interesting. Let me think about this.… Read more