Most of us have been conditioned to believe that failure is a bad thing, and we try to avoid it at all costs. Sometimes we’ll go to great lengths to avoid experiencing failure in any form, even to the extent that we refuse to try at all, which is far more damaging than failure itself. Have you ever berated yourself because you failed to do something well? Have you even personalized your failures and allowed

In Games of Thrones, Tywin Lannister tells his son Jaime, that a lion doesn’t concern itself with the opinion of sheep. He is mad that Ned Stark is still alive and when he asks Jaime why, Jaime tells him that it wouldn’t have been a clean kill. Tywin then tells Jaime that he spends too much time worrying about what other people think of him. While it is natural to care about what others think

Throughout our lives, we develop certain coping mechanisms that help us feel safe and secure. Depending on your early life experiences, you may have learned that it was necessary for you to hide your feelings. Or perhaps even repress them completely, especially if you felt certain “unacceptable” emotions like anger or defensiveness. You may have developed a habit of ignoring problems because they were too intimidating, which only allowed them to get worse over time.

Do you try to resist change when it shows up in your life? It’s understandable that you might feel some resistance when facing negative or unwanted changes. But do you also try to resist even positive change, just because it feels too different or scary? Like many other people, you might prefer your life to be stable and predictable. When life throws an unexpected curve ball your way, suddenly it feels as if you’re standing

In the book A Game of Thrones, when referring to the Lannisters, Ned’s feelings are described as “some old wounds never truly heal, and bleed again at the slightest word.” I think many of us can relate to this feeling. When someone has wronged or hurt us in an immeasurable way, any reminder of it can instantly re-open those wounds. How does one move on from a wound so deep? Last year I wrote a

The more time you spend holding onto someone who isn’t as committed to the relationship as you are, you lose yourself in the process. You find yourself focusing on whether you even mattered to them to begin with. Then, if you’re like me, you get yourself stuck in a vicious cycle trying to prove your worthiness to them. I can’t tell you how much time I spent in my younger years chasing after basic love

Life is always going to throw us curveballs and we will experience hurt and suffering. And it is totally okay to spend some time with those feelings and take the time we need to process them. Where we tend to get stuck is when we focus only on the hurt and suffering. Last year, I wrote a post about how misery loves company. People who stay stuck replaying pain and suffering become miserable. And how

I had a laugh when I picked out this quote for today’s post. I often pick more serious quotes. But one, who doesn’t love Scooby Doo? And two, well, there is actually some wisdom in this quote. In Scooby Doo, Scooby and Shaggy are often persuaded into doing things with the rest of the gang by receiving Scooby snacks. There is usually some danger ahead and they are scared to go, but they can easily