We all face sorrows. In fact, grief seeps into many moments of our lives. Strangely, as common as grief is, many of us feel tempted to squash those feelings. Too many times our desire to stay strong makes us weaker. Let’s try to release those feelings instead. In doing so, we’ll lighten our load. All that water we hold will drown us otherwise. Understanding Trauma Sadness comes in many forms. If we don’t get what

In The Empire Strikes Back, Luke remarks that raising his X-Wing out of the swamp is different from using the force to move stones around. Yoda says, “No! No different! You must unlearn what you have learned!” He then tells him that it is only different in his mind. Our minds are our greatest asset and greatest enemy. When we believe something so strongly about ourselves and the world around us, it can prevent us

When someone tells you something is impossible, don’t take it personally. They either don’t want to see you succeed or don’t think it would be possible for them. They are projecting their own insecurities onto you, which is why you can’t take unsupportive words to heart. It says a lot more about their limiting beliefs about themselves than you. When you set big goals, you are challenging any limiting beliefs you have. You are taking

Have you ever gotten your hopes up and made elaborate plans only to end up disappointed? Maybe you expected to go to a certain college and bought all its merchandise, only to be rejected in the end. Or you planned to marry your high school sweetheart with whom you planned an entire destination wedding, only to break up with him a year later. Life is unpredictable and anything can happen, but that’s not necessarily a

In the 1993 movie Cool Runnings, Derice asks his coach why he cheated. And his coach (played by the late great John Candy) replies that he made winning his whole life and when you do that, you have to keep on winning no matter what. Derice tells him that he doesn’t understand because he “had it all”, including two gold metals. His coach shakes his head and says, “A gold medal is a wonderful thing.

How often have you had to face someone hurting you, for seemingly no fault of yours? Whether it is the bully in school, a close friend who suddenly lashes out at you, or the belligerently competitive coworker who seems to have a life-long grudge against you, sometimes people hurt us for what appears to be no reason. In that situation it can be easy to feel hurt, perhaps even angry, and possibly fight back. If

When we are kids we learn behaviors from those around us. In 1984’s The Karate Kid, the protagonist, Daniel LaRusso has been attacked by Johnny and his friends from Cobra Kai. Mr. Miyagi saves Daniel-san by fighting off all the boys. Mr. Miyagi says that the boys have a bad attitude and that karate is for defense only. Daniel replies that the boys in Cobra Kai aren’t taught that…Which leads to Mr. Miyagi announcing that

Have you ever met someone who is wealthy, yet they don’t seem satisfied? Even as they acquire more things, they just don’t seem happy. We often get caught up in the race of wanting more. It’s like the quote from the book Fight Club, by Chuck Palahniuk – “We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.” First, we just want a job. Then, we want a