How to Have a Healthy Relationship

Photo by aeschleah

Guest Post By Mika Maddela

“All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today.”
~Proverb

Our relationships with the people around us are among the most important aspects in our lives. That’s why we go through such an emotional roller coaster ride when our relationship is in trouble and we crave to have that healthy relationship.

The possibility of losing the one we love and the relationship we’ve invested so much time in can be utterly daunting.

Take me for example. I consider myself to be in a loving, satisfying and healthy relationship with my partner. But from my perspective, it wasn’t always like that.

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Filed under: relationships | 4 comments

How to Set Goals – To Create the Best Year

Photo by Kevin Russ

Editor’s Note: We’re giving away a $265 stunning energy necklace at the end of this post. Remember to leave a comment to enter. Don’t miss it. :)

By Tina Su

For New Year’s Eve 2011, Jeremy and I sat down and made our goals for the year. We made sure the goals were measurable, challenging, and lead us in the direction we wanted to go. After all, the experts say to set SMART goals. As diligent students, we complied.

Well, I accidentally opened up this document last week, for the first time since we created it (more than a year ago). I had completely forgotten about it. Reading through every line of the document, I felt a surge of guilt and disappointment.

You know that feeling in your stomach, almost ashamed that nothing on the list—of supposedly important items—were achieved. I didn’t end the year with 30K facebook fans, I didn’t do yoga everyday (In fact, not even once for the whole year), I didn’t become an early riser, and my living & working space is still messy.

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Filed under: clarity, motivation, wisdom | 126 comments

7 Lessons from a Broken Heart

Photo by Rosie Hardy

Editor’s Note: Even though this story contains life lessons from a broken heart (a painful break up), its lessons are applicable to many other life situations. I highly recommend reading this, even if you are not going through a broken heart.

By guest contributor Kayla Albert

“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities
brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.†~Charles R. Swindoll

Nine months ago, as I carted my meager belongings into my parents house–a move that was supposed to be temporary–my world came crashing down. It was an apocalypse I was anything but prepared for.

After envisioning a walk down the aisle, my relationship of six years came to a screeching, and quite unexpected, halt. My heart was broken. I lost several freelance jobs I had come to count on, and my already shaky income became non-existent. Worst of all, I endured a blow to my self esteem that left me curled up on the couch unable to do anything more than sleep and sob.

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Filed under: clarity, relationships, wisdom | 13 comments

The Power of Rituals

Photo by Valerio Boncompagni

Editor’s Note: This is a story by guest contributor Jordan Alam

“The more I broaden my interpretation of what can be called a ritual, the more I find them, and find myself creating them in my life.†~Lisa Weiner

I was sitting with my therapist in the midst of college finals. It was one of our last sessions together before I would return home for the long summer vacation. It stunned me that my sophomore year at college was coming to an end. Where had the time gone?

“I feel like it’s too soon,†I told her, “Like I’ve worked through all these changes, and now it has to come to an end. It’s strange, but I almost don’t want to leave anymore.â€

She looked me in the eye. We both knew I had gone through a hard semester, both academically and socially. That year, I met my biological parents for the first time, reconnected with family in a country 14 hours away, and lost myself in working too much and sleeping too little. I had contemplated not returning to school or taking off time the next year. It was surprising to both of us that I might actually be enjoying my time there—right when it was about to end.

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Filed under: clarity | 4 comments

Simplify Your Life This Year

Photo by Rosie Hardy

By TSN Contributor Rajiv Vij

This is the season for resolutions. I reckon you have considered one or two yourself.

Unfortunately, as the year progresses, most New Years resolution tend to fall by the wayside and end up as mere intents.

Here’s an insightful approach towards creating a life that’s not only happier and more fulfilling, but one that also automatically responds to your most meaningful resolutions.

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Filed under: productivity, wisdom | 6 comments

How to Live

Photo by Vanessa Paxton

By Cat Li Stevenson

“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul and
paints his own nature into his pictures.†~Henry Ward Beecher

“Okay, let’s say life is a blank canvas. Anything you want. What would you paint, babe?†I asked my husband.

There was a brief pause. He grabbed a few Almond Rocas off the kitchen counter, made his way to the couch, and then sat there … like a happy, modern Buddha.

He responded, “I don’t think about what to paint, I think about how to paint.â€

Irritation quickly spread throughout my entire body. Regardless of the Zen reading and Vipassana training I had been doing, that was not the response I’d anticipated.

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Filed under: clarity, mindset, wisdom | 15 comments

Forgiving Yourself (A Story)

Photo by the talented Jon Jacobsen

Editor’s Note: This is a story by guest contributor Bobbi Emel

“To forgive is to set a prisoner free
and discover that the prisoner was you.â€
~Lewis B. Smedes

I sat in the middle of the large wood-cabin conference hall and scuffed the pine floor with my hiking shoe. The flames in the huge rock fireplace danced as I gazed at them, lost in thought. 

I hadn’t wanted to come to this retreat.

“What’s it like?†I asked my friend, Bruce, one of the organizers of the retreat. “There’s no dancing around the fire in loincloths with mud on our faces, is there?â€

Bruce gave me his wry smile. “No.â€

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20 Ways to Be Grateful

Editor’s Note: This is a guest contribution by Daniel Wong

I work as an engineer, and I recently returned to the office after a one-week break.

I checked my e-mail inbox: 100 unread e-mails. A sense of dread washed over me. “There goes the next four hours of my life responding to e-mails,†I thought.

Reading those 100 e-mails made me sad. Not one of them was written with the intention of expressing gratitude or encouragement! All of them were focused on customer complaints that needed to be addressed and problems that needed to be fixed.

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Filed under: Gratitude | 47 comments

The Power of Love

Photo by Shannon

By Rajiv Vij

The last few months have been a difficult time for my family – during which, we lost a close family member who I loved deeply.

The shocking news from her sudden diagnosis of a lethal cancer and subsequently losing her within weeks of diagnosis have left us distraught. Yet, this whole experience has been a humbling source to reflect upon some of life’s important lessons.

As we reconcile to this irreparable loss, we have been reflecting on the entire crisis and searching for the lessons it offered us. While there are many lessons to be learnt, I would like to share what I felt to be the most important one: the power of love.

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Filed under: wisdom | 4 comments

Gift Ideas that Inspire

By Tina Su

A few years ago, when I first started this site, I used to do posts on gift ideas around Christmas time (like this one and this one). I haven’t done another post like that, mainly because the gifts I like to give are quite boring (to the outside) and are usually non-fiction, inspirational type books.

Maybe it’s a personal preference, but I feel that “things” don’t last, but books do. A good book will move us, it will motivate us to take different action, and it will inspire us to see the world differently. In essence, a good book will change us.

If you’re been reading this Blog for awhile, you’ve probably already head of me recommending “The Power of Now“, which I believe it’s a must read for everyone (the audio book doesn’t count). That book changed my life and was the basis upon which this site got started, but that was over four years ago.

Since then, there are other books I’ve fallen in love with and do highly recommend. I thought to share some of them with you, just in case you were curious and/or was looking for gift ideas.

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Filed under: happiness, wisdom | 7 comments