mentalstrength Archives

Let’s talk about rest, baby!

Back to guilt-free relaxation Do you sometimes wake up and don’t want to get out of bed? Do you feel empty? Like you cannot enjoy anything? Like you don’t care much about your work anymore? And you don’t really want to talk to anyone? At the same time, you might think your life is actually pretty great and you cannot pinpoint what the problem is:You have had amazing experiences over the past year, you and your family are happy and healthy, you were meeting a bunch of interesting people. You’re jumping from one thing to the other. You even manage

freedomxx October 13, 2021 No Comments

No, you’re NOT too broke/busy/old/whatever to change…

Recently, I found this tweet in my inbox: And I was like: Yes! It’s bold and takes courage. And you might think: “Yeah well if you have the financial means and time to make such a move, congrats — that’s just not me.” Or: “I’m too old to learn something new.” Or: “This is going to take too much time.” Or — as Chris Powers says himself: “As I approach 37 I realize how crazy the story actually is.” Let’s flip each of those reasons around and do some soul-searching: No money, no time Even if

freedomxx October 5, 2021 No Comments

At peace with your body, at peace with your mind

“Why do you live in your body like you will be given another? As if it were temporary. You starve it, you let anyone touch it, you berate it. Tell it that should be completely different. You tug at your soft flesh, wish it thinner, wish it gone. You fall in love with those who praise the way it sighs under their hands, but who praises the way it holds up your weight, even when you are falling apart?” — Warsan Shire How much time do you spend thinking about how you look?A bit each

freedomxx September 21, 2021 No Comments

A little closer to being at peace with yourself by living now

“If you are depressed you are living in the past if you are anxious you are living in the future, if you are at peace, you are living in the present.” — Lao Tzu For the last few weeks, our focus was on learning how to appreciate our now.Trying to live now compared to somewhere in the past or in an uncertain future is a task to tackle every day. A lot of us get stuck on the idea of being happy when we arrive at a specific goal. While we dream of being there

freedomxx September 14, 2021 No Comments

For me to be rich, you don’t have to become poor

For me to be rich, you don’t have to become poor A little closer to an abundance mindset for a better now Photo by Alexander Schimmeck on Unsplash Last week, a friend and I remembered how the Corona pandemic started — and how supermarkets and drugstores ran out of toilet paper. Luckily most people have come to their senses and stopped buying toilet paper in bulk. It’s worthwhile noting that there was never too little toilet paper, actually. But somehow people’s fear of toilet paper scarcity under the pressure of a new threat — the Corona pandemic — made everyone a little more crazy than usual.

freedomxx September 6, 2021 No Comments

“One today is worth two tomorrows”

A little closer to feeling thankful for your now every day Photo by Kenrick Mills on Unsplash Lao Tze said it, Osho said it, Benjamin Franklin said it — there’s probably an endless list of smart thinkers who in one way or another had something to say about living now instead of yesterday or tomorrow. And yet, we find ourselves dwelling in our past or dreaming of a future in which we’re finally happy and content. We cannot say it’s completely useless to mentally travel back and forth. Past experiences are important to learn from and to get a sense of

freedomxx August 24, 2021 No Comments

Are you living your own life?

Taking control and living life on your terms. Mammatus Clouds — Özgür Kusakoglu Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about the impact of other people’s expectations on my life. How can I be sure what I do isn’t controlled by my inherent need for harmony compared to what I really want? I guess it’s always going to be something to question and re-adjust. Awareness is probably a good start. “Am I living my own life?” is a good question to ask ourselves. A passage in Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga’s book “The Courage to be

freedomxx August 17, 2021 No Comments

Feel awkward… then still do it!

Telling yourself positive affirmations is pretty weird and extremely effective Photo by Magdalena Smolnicka on Unsplash ************************************************************* Standing in front of the mirror: Is anyone at home?•No.•Good.•Okay, let’s try one.•“I show up and let myself being seen.”•Giggles.•Try one more!•“I am good enough!”•Smiling. ************************************************************* Have you ever tried affirmations? These positive sentences you are supposed to tell yourself? Are you suspicious they are simply another weird self-help gimmick!? Or, similar to me, you just have a hard time taking yourself seriously while saying good stuff about yourself? And then, how often do I catch myself thinking:“That was stupid.” • “I

freedomxx August 10, 2021 No Comments

Shaping the world around you before it shapes you

“Our environment, the world in which we live and work, is a mirror of our attitudes and expectations.” Earl Nightingale Photo by Patrick McManaman on Unsplash Mindset or Environment? There’s a lot of different concepts around what helps us to strive, learn, grow and become better. One big part is how we think about things that happen to us. Another part is about who and what surrounds us and the opportunities that come through our environment. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what has a bigger impact on a successful, happy life: mindset or environment. I also strongly believe these two

Carolin Stoffels February 19, 2021 No Comments

One question to guide your actions every day

Photo by Tina Floersch on Unsplash There’s these days you are more cynical, get easily irritated or are just stuck in your tiredness. And that’s very human, don’t get me wrong. The question is though: how do you snap out of it (if you want to)? Recently, I had one of these days: the little one crashes our sleep, I wake up particularly tired, she whines as she doesn’t want to go to daycare and makes a huge mess while having breakfast, outside someone comes too close walking by, a car driver honks at us

Carolin Stoffels February 8, 2021 No Comments

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