How striving for less taught me to love myself more.
In a world where more is deemed better — more success, more money, more followers, more of more — choosing less seems highly contradicting.
Over the past year, I’ve proudly identified as a minimalist. Most of my family and acquaintances dig it, and some of them tease me about it. To some, having under 100 pieces of clothing or a shower that contains only one type of soap and one shampoo is deemed impossible (especially from the women in my life) or a sign of light obsessive-compulsiveness.
Minimalism is a movement that has skyrocketed in the past few years, and…
Perspective to remind you to celebrate the small things in life
Last week, I committed to writing 30 articles in 30 days. A classic writing project launched in the hopes of benefiting one’s personal career.
Unoriginal, I know. Yet I successfully got up earlier every morning and wrote 7 articles in 7 days. I even got to witness 75% of them get picked up by publications, which was quite exciting if I may say so myself. And then, surprise — after 3 days off, I self-declared that I flopped.
Here we go, I initially thought. Just another thing to add to the list of “things I can’t see through” — spoken…
At the end of the day, they are masters of simple, intrinsic happiness.
I spent a day at the beach yesterday with my sister-in-law and my niece. Alongside the perfect weather and our legendary picnic setup, I couldn’t help but marvel at my niece’s invincibility and carefree frame of mind.
Nothing could bother her that day. There was frozen, murky water to play in (that repelled me but was the most exciting attraction for her), there was food to eat, and there was always something to laugh about. There was no annoyance (past, present, or future) that could’ve ruined her day.
People who’ve had children have watched them grow and learn to control…
Can it really make you a better person?
I became a different person when I got my first pet. I like to think that the same way a child rocks a new parent's world — not only with a heap of new responsibilities, but also with newfound awe for life itself — my cats changed mine.
With all of the positive things that my pets brought into my life, I couldn’t help but wonder: can my pets actually make me a better person?
After a quick round of online research (that goes a bit deeper than the typical Buzzfeed story), I came to a conclusion that yes —…
All you have left to do is to savor them
Let’s be real: for most of your life, nothing extraordinary happens.
Basing your level of happiness on ecstatic events such as a trip to Mexico, a lucrative job promotion, or passionate yet fleeting relationships won’t sustain your happiness until the end of time.
On the other hand, if you find happiness through the simplest moments that occur daily in your life, your joy is likely to remain constant — regardless of where you are, what the weather is, or whatever troubles you might be going through.
Finding these moments of stillness and beauty throughout your day is proven to improve…
Recognizing you are on the path to self-destruction as opposed to self-betterment.
Ever since being diagnosed with SAD in 2018, I had been on the lookout for every physical and mental health trick I could find. I’d go to the gym 5 days a week and I’d drink a ton of water. I took up yoga and I saw a therapist. I adopted up all the possible lifestyle modifications research showed to improve overall health, adding in fad trends whenever I felt I could be doing more. Fasting, meditation, green smoothies, CBT, habit building, sleep training, new ways to manage anxiety…the list went on.
When I took up copywriting for a handful…
The most valuable tip of all: nobody is you.
Through the first worldwide lockdown, my quarantine hobby was to read books and take photos of my cats around my house. Fast forward to today: I have a niche of small clients for whom I create lifestyle image content on the regular and I am deeply in love with the process.
Across practicing on the regular and ranking as one of the 50 most downloaded contributors on both Unsplash and Pexels, I’ve picked up a few tips and tricks along the way to make my photos stand out in my short time as a (dare I say) photographer.
Whether you…
How reframing your thoughts can banish your recurring self-doubt
I’ve gotten to a point where I’ve concluded I could be the poster child for imposter syndrome. Having long been victimized by my own thoughts, I decided not too long ago that I was sick and tired of living in constant self-doubt.
Since my psychology degree has drilled academic research into me, I decided to take up the matter in my own hands. After pouring through loads of psychoanalysis research, I have discovered a few techniques that can – at the very least – make it more manageable. …
Because avoiding burnout and becoming a healthier you doesn’t have to be so difficult.
It takes a hell of a lot of discipline to instill productive habits. However, it takes even more of it in order to learn to listen to the body’s cues and to simply slow down and breathe.
Considering the way brands love to commercialize self-care, there are copious amounts of data that show we have enormous trouble managing our stress. While we put so much emphasis on tapping into our maximum productivity and best wellness habits, we clearly don’t put that same amount on proper rest.
Rest doesn’t only mean sleeping well or lying on your back and staring at…
You are simply a human being with unmet needs.
Controversial, I know. But hear me out.
Johann Hari explains in one of my favorite Ted Talks to date that despite all of the causes we associate with depression, it is only proven to be caused by 9 things — only two of which biology is shown to be responsible.
While your innate genetic coding can definitely make you more susceptible to these problems, it is ironically comforting to know that your brain wiring is not the sole factor in writing your destiny.
A Story
A Cambodian farmer stepped on a mine in a rice field and lost both an arm and…
