Category Archives: Mindfulness

On Scarcity and Being Enough

On Scarcity and Being Enough

By Jessica Downs

Many of us walk through this world, lost in a hustle—we are exhausted, worn out, and often unsure of why we are where we are. With the ever-growing, ever looming presence of social media, and the pressure from our cultural values to perform and perfect, it’s hard to catch a break from all the things we are not, and that can work to create uncertainty and anxiety.

  • There are not enough jobs for me to find one that will make me happy.
  • I’ll never have the time to be the parent I want to be.
  • I’m not making enough money
  • My house is dated. My wardrobe is dated. My face is looking older—I’m dated!
  • I’ll never be as good-looking, fit, well-liked, successful, talented or witty as “so-and-so.”

And so we hustle. We pin, and we post, and we self-loathe because we are just not keeping up. Continue reading

Quieting the Inner Critic

Quieting the Inner Critic

Photo by Simon Wijers on Unsplash

Your Personal Drill Sergeant

We have all had some exposure, likely through Hollywood movies, to the overbearing drill sergeant yelling at a group of soldiers:

  • “You’re a maggot!”
  • “You smell like failure!”
  • “You’re worthless! . . .  Drop and give me twenty!”

The drill sergeant’s objective is not to provide care and compassion, but to yell, push, and criticize in order to prepare the soldiers for threats. It may be hard to identify at first, but if you slow down and notice some of messages you tell yourself, you may find that a voice similar to the overbearing drill sergeant has taken place in your mind. This is called the “inner critic.” Continue reading

Seize the Day

Seize the dayby Lisa Rosen

I used to wake up each morning with a laundry list of thoughts and tasks swamping my mind. Once awake, my mind would pull me back and forth between feelings of worry and hope, like an internal tug-of-war. Some days I would find myself somewhat impaired by my fears, feeling stuck in a daily routine and unmotivated to move toward any new goals.

Something was missing.

Too Busy, Too Fast, Too Much

In a society filled with never-ending stress, working lunches, and constant accessibility to email, it is easy to get lost in the vortex of whatever is coming up next. You might sometimes feel trapped in feeling you have to keep up with the frantic pace of others around you. When Monday comes, you can’t wait for Friday. Then Friday arrives and soon it will be Monday again. It’s exhausting, and when you’re caught in the trap of busyness, you know that something important is missing.  Continue reading