The critical nature of creativity
My first creative risk resulted in failure. It was my final year of high school and I was a straight A student. We had a short story assignment and I attempted science fiction. My English teacher asked if I was ESL and gave me my first D. It’s only in recent years that I connected that […]
Thoughts on chocolate and inner peace
“No. I can’t. I shouldn’t. I mean—” “But you’ve been so good this week! Come on, just do it. Everyone else is having some.” “But it’ll ruin my diet! And I’ve been working hard for weeks… I’m almost skinny now.” “But it tastes soooo good! Are you really gonna deprive yourself? Fuck your diet. C’mon, you’re drooling already. […]
Is trying to look skinny making you fat?
They say the best attempts often fail. Here’s an example of one of mine that failed on a much deeper level: (Note: For some reason there’s some background static on this one… The audio is ok but not amazing. I’m off to the cottage for the evening and don’t know how to fix this yet, so […]
The truth about your perfection
I don’t know about you, but whenever I’ve heard someone tell me, “you’re perfect just the way you are,” I’ve usually found it pretty hard to believe. I think it’s the timing (it’s usually pretty shitty): right after you’ve bombed a job interview, had a bad date, or are experiencing some other moment of crisis or rejection. Although […]
Are you flushing valuable info down the toilet?
I’m a huge advocate of listening to your body. Our bodies are full of wisdom. We just need to pay attention and know what to look for. There are many ways that we can do this. Here’s one… I realize this topic’s a little taboo — and this may not be something you’re inclined to […]
Why we should all stop trying to be happy
There’s a lot of advice out there on how to be happy, and it’s easy to get caught up in trying to follow it all. But trying to be happy isn’t the same thing as being happy. I’m convinced that the pursuit of happiness can drive it even further away, and that’s why I think […]
How to cultivate positivity
I was talking to someone I volunteer with the other day. We’d just been informed that our fundraising possibilities won’t be what we’d hoped, leaving the team frustrated and discouraged. It was a sad scene. She pointed out that my response stood out: I could see the opportunity in the setback. It gave her, and the others, […]
3 reasons to never diet again
They say that most diets fail because they’re not lifestyle changes, and this is true: You can’t expect a temporary solution to yield a permanent result. But the real issue with diets is far greater than the lack of true change; it’s actually much deeper than that. A diet mentality can rob you of your […]
How to turn your body into a source of confidence
Our culture’s obsessed with bodies. Everywhere we look — books, magazines, TV shows — there’s someone telling us how to exercise and what to eat and when to eat and how to dress… All to achieve a certain body image: A photoshopped one. It’s no wonder we think that we’d be better off in a better body: “If […]