Throughout history, we’ve had artistic revolutionaries who weren’t afraid to express the unspoken. From master polymaths like Leonardo da Vinci to literary giants like Jane Austen, these artists pushed the boundaries of traditional art, experimenting with new techniques, styles, and subjects. Even if you aren’t an artist in the traditional sense, you are an artist…
Victim Mentality: Why Blaming Others Holds You Back
A victim mentality is when someone claims that bad things keep happening to them more than others and differs from feeling sorry for themselves right after bad things happen. A person under the influence of a victim mentality blames someone or something else for their circumstances and refuses to take control of their life. If…
Stories We Tell Ourselves: How to Rewrite Yours So It Empowers You
As humans, we’re natural storytellers. Stories help us make sense of the world and organize experiences. We also tell ourselves stories about our lives, building narratives about the past and the present while imagining how it might all unfold in the future. Whether true or false, our stories significantly impact how we feel about ourselves…
Hero Worship: The Problem with Putting People on Pedestals
Hero worship is “a feeling of extreme admiration for someone, imagining that they have qualities or abilities that are better than anyone else’s.” We tend to elevate people to this level because they are brilliant, beautiful, glamorous, or have a quality or talent that we value deeply. Hero worship can negatively impact all aspects of…
How Making Emotional Decisions Impact Our Outcomes (and how to do it right)
When faced with big decisions, some prefer to make a detailed list of pros and cons, while others check in with their feelings and prefer making emotional decisions. But there’s another aspect we fail to consider: how we process what we know. Decision-making is conventionally believed to be a logic-driven process. However, emotions drive most…
How to Find Balance Between Being Content with Striving for More in Your Life
When you think about your work, finances, social life, relationships, or the number on a weighing scale, where do you have to be to feel content in each area? You may have noticed that being content has a short shelf-life. It’s not easy to hold onto that emotion unless we intervene with deliberate thoughts about…
When Imitation is the Best Form of Flattery (and when it’s not)
We’ve all heard that imitation is the best form of flattery. When someone copies your social media posts or outfits, they like what they see. If they’re imitating you, they are indirectly praising you. But at what point does imitation become too much? How much copying is acceptable and falls within the realm of fair…
Contingency Plans: Why You Need One to Make Room for the Unexpected
A contingency plan is a prepared set of actions you can take if something unexpected happens. Think of it as a plan for a “what if” scenario for turbulent live events, like a shift in your finances or health. Most people go through life without a plan B, without seeing the need for planning for…
Why it’s Important to Focus on the Process, Not the Outcome For Success
In our pursuit of success, the process takes time and effort. Our society contributes to our disdain for the process of achieving our goals—we reward winners and disregard the ones who tried. We don’t get to see the steps that led to glory. But there’s no shortcut to success, and we must do our due…
Can You Find Your True Self? The 7 Layers of Identity Can Help.
Your true self is what makes you who you are. There are parts of you that have a sense of “rightness” to them, however, finding your true self is not straightforward. It’s a layered process with many stages of realization. The seven layers of identity are one of many systems you can use to find…