Challenging people pleasing and ensuring you are not saying yes, to your own detriment, are some of the most powerful ways you can take care of yourself.

It’s not sexy … but long-term change happens only with small changes done consistently over time.

Exploring your relationship to distraction and what Mary Oliver calls “the intimate interrupter,” and what to do when it inevitably shows up.

Six reasons why I’ve pulled back from social media … and am better for it.

Wilson Pickett’s raw version of ‘Born to be Wild’ teaches us that language matters.

Making tangible, concrete items with your hands is correlated with reduced depression and anxiety, and improved overall emotional wellbeing.

There are consequences to living in a future-oriented way: Doing so robs you of your very life. You prevent yourself from being fully present and engaged in the moments of your actual life, which is occurring right now, by always looking forward to the next thing. And, if you cannot be satisfied with this moment as it is, you will not be able to appreciate – or be satisfied by – any other future moments as they are.

Recognize that you have a choice with regard to whether these thoughts define you … or not. Know that this inner critic, this negative voice, has become an accepted part of your identity, and it will take considerable time, effort, energy, and most especially compassion, to root it out. But, it can be done.

Your negative voice, your inner critic, has been created by your individual circumstances, the things that you have placed emphasis on, the things you feel ashamed about, and the things you think are wrong with you and must be changed. This critic will therefore be a very specific, individualized manifestation of you. The more detailed and specific you can embody it to your own experience, the better you’ll be able to craft personalized, effective responses to it.

Sourdough baking, should you choose to heed the call, provides an opportunity to reflect, look within, and improve your emotional wellbeing.