“Love isn’t love if it’s earned.” — Cathy Heller

I was listening to Cathy’s podcast on Valentine’s Day and it hit me right in the consciousness. Although I’ve been on this journey of cultivating more self-love for myself, it still hits me every time to realise that I’ve been ‘outsourcing’ my love to others, always seeking for approval in order to feel loved.

I am grateful for the great sense of self-awareness I have developed in acknowledging all the unhelpful beliefs or learnings I’ve adopted over the years, but to fully unlearn them comes with practice and lots of self-compassion.

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Want to start a podcast? Take courage. Want to start a Youtube channel? Take courage. Want to end a toxic relationship? Take courage.

Yes, of course, it’s not as simple as that, but it all begins with taking courage, knowing that what you are about to do is extremely terrifying but — doing it anyway. …

It begins with self-awareness, the awareness that something needs to be changed in your life, your way of being, and the deep desire to find solutions and answers for yourself. Everyone is constantly in search of the things that their heart truly desires and ways to live better, but how does one go about doing so?

You have to walk that journey yourself, experience all the good and bad, each of them will help you to re-calibrate your path and give you more accurate data to find your true north. But how often do we get swayed by the external…

“The best thing about life is that everything I’ve ever lost, has been replaced with something better. I never lack, I just transition.” — Unknown source

I came across this quote while scrolling my positive feed Instagram (using social media for the better) and it hit me deeply. It’s so easy to think of all that we’ve lost especially in the past year. With a simple reframing, the situation totally shifts and paves the way for more constructive thinking patterns.

It’s way too easy to focus on the negatives and dwell in them. Easy to blame, point fingers and feel…

The 3 Ps to Hold By

Through the past few years and especially in 2020, I became more and more aware of how my own thoughts are hindering my own growth and healing. I also realized that so much of our unnecessary stresses come from things that are actually not in our control. Why don’t we focus on things that we can control instead? And what are those things?

It was through the process of having a strong desire to change things for the better that I discovered beautiful things like Positive Psychology and fell in love with brain science…

“If you love someone, the greatest gift you can give them is your presence.” — Thich Nhat Hanh

Back in August when I first published my relationship story, I never gave it much thought and simply wrote from my heart. The piece took off and was surprisingly curated. In the past few months, I have had many more readers trickling in and it overwhelms my heart with gratitude, joy, and encouragement.

It has encouraged me to continue to share even more as I go along on this journey, finding ways to transform my challenges and experiences into something meaningful. …

“I understand” was all it took to dissolve the tension, pain and anger in my heart. I have been carrying lots of emotional baggage with me in the past years and with the right connection and support, it became lighter and lighter each day.

It is especially important in these times that we show our support and care to ones we love and express our empathy, softening the tough situations we are all going through. Empathy is not just saying “ I’m sorry for what you are going through”, where people often confuse sympathy with empathy. …

“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” sums up 2020 for me. The past year may have seemed like a havoc for many, disrupting plans, travel and life, but I have learned to always look for the silver lining, having a newfound sense of appreciation and gratitude for all the little things in life that we may have taken for granted previously.

An everyday grocery shopping trip has become a special activity for me. A simple walk in the woods is deeply cherished for my tired screen-bound eyes. Baking and making home-cooked meals, home-brewed coffee became regular and joyful activities…