SHAME – Should Have Already Mastered Everything
I’ve taken yoga classes where I felt fantastic. My flow was strong, my body moved with ease, and I left feeling like I had nailed it. But after knee surgery, everything changed. I had to relearn how to use my leg, starting with physical therapy and slow, careful steps. When I was finally able to […]
FINE – Feelings Inside Not Expressed
There have been times when I’ve felt so low, but I didn’t ask for anything. Not because I didn’t need it, but because I couldn’t bring myself to say it. It felt embarrassing to admit something as simple as I need love and affection right now. I wanted the comfort, but I also wanted the […]
HOPE – Hold On, Pain Ends
Pain rarely comes one piece at a time. It usually arrives in waves, piling up until it feels impossible to catch a breath. It’s not just one bad day at work—it’s an argument with someone you love, a financial hit, and a phone call with terrible news, all landing at once. A few years ago, […]
FEAR – False Evidence Appearing Real
Fear has a way of making things seem way bigger than they actually are. I’ve avoided so many things—not because they were impossible, but because they felt impossible. But looking back, most of the time, what I feared wasn’t reality. It was just False Evidence Appearing Real. One example that sticks with me is when […]
WAIT – Why Am I Talking?
I had to find a way to stop myself from getting trapped in the same frustrating cycle—repeating myself, saying the same things over and over, desperately trying to get someone I love to finally understand me. I’d catch myself in the middle of a monologue, saying it again for the 58th time, hoping that this […]
Master Pressure Like a Game
When I’m under pressure, my first instinct isn’t always the best one. I catch myself rushing, overthinking, or reacting too fast—like I’m button-mashing in a game, hoping something works. But that usually just makes things worse. (And no one likes playing with the button-smasher.) Good players don’t just hit buttons at random. They move with […]
Reward Progress Like a Game
Sometimes, the thing that will help us move forward—the thing that actually leads to the life we want—is the boring thing. The thing we never really feel like doing. And that’s probably why we avoid it. So, how do we get ourselves to do it? We build systems like a game. Games are designed to […]
Recharge Like a Game
Some days, midday hits and my energy crashes. It feels like I’ve been drained of everything I need to keep going. Like I just ran out of steam, all at once. But when I really look back, there were always signs—hunger, thirst, tension, or just a general sense of overwhelm. I decided to try thinking […]
Bounce Back Like a Game
Life doesn’t always move in a straight line. Sometimes, it feels like just when we’re climbing up, we hit a slide that sends us back down. It’s frustrating, disheartening, and often, it feels unfair. I’ve felt this in so many ways. In my 40s alone, I’ve faced open-heart surgery, a serious knee injury, and being […]
Level Up Like a Game
Some days, life feels like a series of frustrating problems, and it’s hard to know how to move forward. But what if we borrowed a mindset from games? In games, challenges are levels to beat. They’re not roadblocks—they’re opportunities to advance. When we start thinking of challenges as levels, something shifts. Instead of feeling overwhelmed […]
