Health & wellbeing
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Happiness is …
“Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it.” ~Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love Sometimes we get lazy. We believe that happiness just happens if we’re lucky — or when it’s bestowed upon us. We might think that happiness is a reflection of good fortune that other people have. In today’s quote, Elizabeth Gilbert suggests that happiness is an active noun. She believes happiness is…
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Competition
“Inside the Great Mystery that is, we don’t really own anything. So, what is this competition we feel then, before we walk, one at a time, through the same gate?” ~Rumi Lately I’ve been thinking about competition. Is competition rooted in sibling rivalry or is it simply human nature? Do we compete because we lack something, feel inferior, or need validation? Is competition necessary for our survival? Do trophies and awards really matter? Are we all driven to win or outshine others? Growing up an only child, I learned that many folks — often those from larger families — expected me to be “spoiled” and stingy and attention-seeking. And so,…
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Seize the day!
“Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast.” ~Oscar Wilde Oscar Wilde wouldn’t agree, but studies show that early risers have several advantages. For starters, they typically go to bed earlier — in step with healthy circadian rhythms — and are more likely to get eight or nine hours of sleep. Researchers at Northwestern University found that early risers are slimmer, probably due to the fact that body weight is influenced by exposure to natural light. According to this study, people who had most of their daily exposure to bright light in the morning had a significantly lower body mass index (BMI) than those who had most of their light exposure…
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Find your own shoe
“The shoe that fits one person pinches another. There is no recipe for living that suits all cases.” ~Carl Jung, psychiatrist and author There’s something called the theory of social comparison, which suggests that comparing and contrasting ourselves to our peers is key to our identity. Social comparison helps us form or solidify our values, preferences, and feelings of self-worth. If our friends or favorite celebrities are wearing a particular style, for instance, we’re likely to mimic or mirror it — whether we genuinely like it or not. This explains, in part, the dubious trend of spending top dollar for ripped jeans and painful footwear. Things get even more complicated…
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Boundaries
“We live in a time when people have unprecedented access to us. Bosses and coworkers expect you to read emails and DMs late at night, friends and family go into long rants over the phone or texts and expect instant feedback. Sometimes we have to say, ‘I don’t have the capacity to hold you right now because I’m trying to hold myself.'” ~Melanie Santos Stone walls, fences, and guard rails define our limits and announce our boundaries. They protect our property or keep us from falling over the edge. Along these lines, emotional boundaries helps us guard our time and privacy. While the internet serves as an invaluable communication tool,…
