Written by Colleen Walsh Jednak, Life Coach, Happiness Coach, Writer/Speaker, Lifestyle Coach Colleen Walsh Jednak is an expert in happiness, holistic health, and creating blueprints for a balanced life. She is the founder of Strong Mamas, LLC. We all remember the famous scene from the sitcom “Friends” in which Ross was trying to get a couch up a very narrow staircase in NYC and was shouting with greater intensity as the challenge proved more difficult by the moment. However, does yelling “pivot,” or any other command really work when you or your friends/family/colleagues are already feeling stressed? The answer is a resounding “no.” What might prove more effective when life calls for a change in direction? Have you ever felt the need to make a change at work or at home but felt paralyzed? What might be causing this roadblock? Often, we feel concerned that people will be disappointed or angry with us, and this keeps us locked in place. Other times, we are afraid of the unknown. We may just feel too busy to take the necessary steps to put the process in motion. How to be a change-maker and pivot Take some quiet time to define the problem. Is it work? Your living situation? Family? Financial? Regardless of the issue, you are unlikely to make a change if you cannot spell out your goals. Do not rush through this stage. Once you have assessed the challenge, what would you like to do to change it? Listen to your gut. Our intuition is often right on the money when it comes to figuring out what we really need. Do you need to change jobs? Sleep more? Move? Give yourself the space to figure this out. You will know when you have arrived at the correct solution. Action time! As Ross found out in the Friends episode, yelling at the people trying to assist us is rarely helpful. Talking to mentors, a trusted friend, or a professional may help you to decide which direction and steps to take. Write them down. If there is a cost involved, create a budget. This will help you to succeed and to reduce stress. Take the steps. Baby steps. Create a timeline and commit to it. Do not overthink it. If your plan is not working, go back and make adjustments, but do not give up on yourself! Change is hard when you try to do it all at once or by yourself. This is why we reached out to trusted others to form a team and a game plan. Assess your progress along the way. Breathe. Keep going. Look around, are you on course? The baby steps help keep you on track. You can pivot. You can do this. Reach out to your team when you need to. If you need a laugh, you can always yell pivot. Daydream about what your success will look like. Write it down. Succeed, and then smile at your success. You can do hard things. You can change and grow. How do I know? I have pivoted, changed, moved, grown, altered my course, glittered, wept, and succeeded. I know you can too! Follow me on  Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website  for more info! Read more from Colleen Walsh Jednak Colleen Walsh Jednak, Life Coach, Happiness Coach, Writer/Speaker, Lifestyle Coach Colleen Walsh Jednak is an expert in happiness, holistic health, and creating blueprints for a balanced life. She is the founder of Strong Mamas, LLC and has been helping mothers of all ages decrease their feelings of stress while improving their physical and emotional health. Her mission is Health, Hope, and Happiness.

Written by Crystal D. Woods, Certified Transformational Life Coach Crystal D. Woods is best known for her transformative work in empowering individuals to reclaim their power, master their mindset and rediscover their authentic selves. She is a Certified Transformational Life Coach, Speaker, Founder of E.L.L.A. Method, Author of "Reclaim Your Power: The Journey Back to Self," and founder of the E.L.L.A. Method. As the holiday season approaches, we are often reminded of the spirit of giving. Twinkling lights adorn our streets, festive music fills the air, and an overwhelming sense of cheer begins to take hold. Yet, amid the hustle and bustle, it’s essential to pause and reflect on what it truly means to embrace the season of giving. Let’s prioritize kindness this season, which is an impactful action that has the power to transform the lives of those we meet in deeply healing ways! The spirit of kindness Kindness is more than just a fleeting gesture to make others feel good; it is a mindset that encompasses empathy, compassion, and connection. When we practice kindness, we acknowledge humanity in one another, creating a sense of belonging and community. It doesn’t take grand gestures to make an impact. Often, the small, everyday acts resonate the most, whether it’s a warm smile exchanged with a stranger or a helping hand offered to someone in need. Waves of giving When we embrace kindness during the holiday season, we initiate a ripple effect that can reach far beyond our immediate circle. Studies indicate that acts of kindness frequently encourage a "pay-it-forward" mindset. Think about it: when you receive a thoughtful gesture, how often do you feel compelled to do something kind for someone else? This contagious nature of kindness can create a wave of positivity that elevates entire communities. For instance, volunteering your time at a local shelter or food bank not only supports those in need but also fosters connections with fellow volunteers and the community. Your willingness to lend a hand can inspire others to join in, creating a powerful force for good that ripples outward, impacting more lives than you may ever know. Finding meaning in giving Embracing the season of giving is also a reminder of what truly matters: connection, love, and gratitude. The hustle of shopping for the latest gifts can often overshadow the deeper significance of the season. Instead of focusing solely on material possessions, consider how you can give of yourself your time, your talents, and your heart. Consider participating in a 30 Days of Gratitude Challenge, where you express appreciation to someone in your life every day. These small, heartfelt gestures can strengthen your relationships, lift your spirits, and even inspire a chain reaction of charitable deeds. Each day, take a moment to express your gratitude through a note, a text, or a simple conversation about how much someone means to you. The gift of gratitude In our fast-paced world, it’s easy to lose sight of what we have and focus on what we lack. This holiday season, cultivate a practice of gratitude. Pause each day to appreciate the blessings in your life, no matter how small. Gratitude shifts our mindset from scarcity to abundance, allowing us to embrace the true spirit of giving. We become more inclined to share with others when we appreciate what we have. Write down three things you are grateful for each day and notice how this practice opens your heart to kindness. The more we acknowledge our blessings, the more we want to spread that joy to others. Creating a lasting impact   As we embark on this holiday season, let us embrace the spirit of giving with open hearts and open minds. Remember that kindness is not just a seasonal endeavor; it can become a lifelong commitment. By choosing to lead with kindness, we not only transform our own lives but also inspire others to join us in creating a more compassionate world. Embracing the season of giving means understanding that our actions matter. Whether it’s through a smile, a helping hand, or a heartfelt note, every act of kindness contributes to a greater good. This holiday season, let us celebrate the transformative power of kindness and its ability to connect us all. Together, we can foster a culture of generosity and compassion that echoes far beyond the holidays, leaving a lasting impact on our communities and the world. As you embrace the season of giving, remember kindness matters. Let’s make it the heart of our holiday celebrations and beyond. Happy holidays! Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn and website for more info! Read more from Crystal D. Woods Crystal D. Woods, Certified Transformational Life Coach Crystal D. Woods is a leader in personal transformation, mindset mastery and authentic self-discovery. Having overcome her own life and career challenges, she developed powerful strategies to reclaim her power and align her passion with purpose. Now, as the CEO of CDW Innovative Solutions, LLC and founder of Growth Mindset Coaching, she dedicates her life to helping others unlock their full potential. Crystal's core mission is to equip others with the tools and encouragement needed for an enduring and meaningful transformation so individuals can live a more authentic, fulfilled and abundant life.

Written by Sonya Gammon, Level 2 QHHT Practitioner Sonya Gammon is a Level 2 QHHT® practitioner and spirit travel guide who enjoys helping clients delve into their past lives and connect with their highest selves and friends on other dimensions. She is the author of From Old to New Earth: Exploring Planetary Changes through QHHT® and is working on a new book, The Secrets of the Light of Life. What is karma? How do you make karma and how do you balance it? What if you’re done with your karma and your current life circumstances are a test you chose for yourself before you took incarnation? How can you tell? Read on. It’s complicated.  What is karma? People generate negative karma by going against the Maker’s law. The law is complex, but here is the simplest way you can look at it. Life is sacred—your own and other people’s. If you act in a way that does not honor the sacredness of life in yourself or others, you make karma. Karma is the energy you send out with your actions, inactions, thoughts, and intentions. That energy always returns to you.  If you are a soul on the path of light, you seek to neutralize the negative energy you have sent out throughout all of your lives in whatever form the energy went out. If you are a soul on the path of darkness, the dark energies keep changing your light into darkness, and you can continue doing anything you like, but you have to steal the light of others in order to survive. Dark souls don’t pay the price of karma unless they turn back toward the light. My guides discuss this in depth in my upcoming book, The Secrets of the Light, which is set to come out by the end of 2024. However, let’s focus here on the journey of the souls of light who are paying the price of light and who have chosen to balance their negative karma. Three ways we make negative karma 1. Wrong actions This is what people most often think of when the subject of karma comes up. Killing someone results in the heaviest karma. If you kill as a soldier in a war, the karma won’t be as bad. Self-defense is also a different matter, but premeditated murder carries the highest karma. I killed two people in a previous life. I wasn’t acting alone and I had good reason, so those details lessened the price I had to pay. In the life after that, I was born a girl into a nomadic desert tribe where the men treated the cattle better than they treated the women. I successfully atoned for the previous life’s actions through this 60-year life of constant work and hardship.  Suicide is another action of killing and you will have to return to the same circumstances in another life and choose to live through it all to balance that karma. Dolores Cannon  talked about this, too, but I know the truth of it firsthand. In one previous life, I committed suicide at the age of 15 after years of torture. I was allowed to start atoning for the suicide during my subsequent lives through persistent illnesses, and in this life, the same man reincarnated to provide me with similar life circumstances. I had to choose to live through it for the first 49 years of this life to balance most of that karma of suicide. At least I didn’t have to do it in 15 inhumanely torturous years. Grace is real. I chose the circumstances of the life where I committed suicide because I was a lightworker who wanted to evolve and also mitigate the darkness of the individual who abused me. All souls of light on the planet have done this, so your difficult life circumstances and the abuse you have suffered in your current life may not have come about because of anything you did to someone else, but because you wanted to evolve and bring more light into a dark world. The price you have to pay for raping or abusing people might take many forms. You might have to be a victim of rape and abuse. You might work with rape victims and help them in some way. If you steal, you might have to be a victim of theft or financially support your previous victim in one of your subsequent lives. The ways of balancing karma are many, and I have found through my own experiences and my work as a Quantum Healing Hypnosis TechniqueSM practitioner  that the karma you generate in one life is usually paid in the following lives, not that same one.  2. Not taking action when you should If you are a member of a group of people who are watching as someone beats up/rapes/tortures/abuses someone else, you will incur karma, even if you don’t actively take part in the victimization. One way to pay the price for inaction would be to become the victim in a subsequent life and not get any help from the people around you. If you are in a difficult life situation or a bad relationship and you fail to leave, you may have to face a similar situation in a future life so you learn to advocate for yourself and evolve as a soul. You could be in that situation to develop the will to take action and leave.  Matt Kahn , one of my favorite spiritual teachers, offered a teaching on soul contracts about nine years ago that helped me break free of a restrictive life situation. If any type of abuse shows up in any relationship, that soul contract becomes null and void, he said in a YouTube video I watched. So, that’s one way spirit works to bring you messages. What he said really hit home for me. The life circumstances I was in were karmic and I had to go through them. As soon as I heard that teaching, I knew within myself that I was free to take action to leave that situation behind. 3. Thoughts and intentions Putting a curse on somebody is never advisable. You will pay for it somehow. Even though you are not actively doing anything physically to hurt someone, the energies you put in play can cause harm, even if it’s only through sticking needles into dolls or repetitively wishing something bad would happen to another person. Life is all about energy. The energy you expend will always come back to you in some form.  Forgiveness If someone kills you or hurts you and you die with resentment toward that person, that results in karmic entanglement. The bigger the resentment and the desire to get even, the worse the karma will be. This is the cycle of karma that most of the world is caught up in. The men who victimize women may come back as women in their next lives and the men who victimize them are the women they themselves victimized as men in their previous lives. The roles are reversed again and again until the cycle is broken. The fastest way to break any karmic cycle is through forgiveness.  You don’t have to forgive anyone for the actions they took, but you have to release that person from your revenge. If you want to take revenge on someone or you actively wish them harm because of what they did, those desires alone will generate karmic entanglement. The Maker’s law will prevail, no matter what. The people who wrong you will always get their comeuppance. You may never see it happen, but the law is the law, and the Maker’s law is ironclad whereas human justice often fails. World karma and evolutionary testing All souls of light have come to this planet for the purpose of raising its vibration to free it of the dark elements that have had the run of the place since the very beginning. Sure, light souls have made karma, too, but the biggest chunk of karma for many lightworkers may be the world karma they have agreed to shoulder and transmute. The balancing of world karma has come in the form of suffering without cause. We’ve all been crucified in various ways throughout our long sojourn of hundreds of lifetimes on Earth. Jesus may have died for our sins, i.e., a small portion of world karma, but we still have to be responsible for our own sins/karma and the world karma we have agreed to balance. In addition, our souls seek to be tested to further our evolution in every lifetime. The human conundrum is, of course, that we have no memory of what we planned for ourselves before we took incarnation. Our human selves have to contend with the circumstances and testing without remembering we chose everything beforehand.  How we balance karma: A summary Karma is not transmuted by doing mantras or reciting prayers. They may raise your vibration and help you deal with your karma, but they don’t erase your karma. You balance your karma through living and surviving.  Your karma are the circumstances you are born into. Your karma are your parents, your family members, and other important people in your life, the psychological patterns they stamp on you, and the abuse you suffer in their hands. Your karma is the place you grow up in, your friends, your schools, your teachers, and the educational opportunities you are given. Your karma is the person you marry. Your karma are your children. If you killed someone in a past life, one of the ways you can pay is having that person become your child and you have to provide and take care of that child. Sometimes your children have been with you in many past lives, and sometimes they’ve been your parents or other relatives, too, and there are issues and psychological patterns you have to resolve with them. Your karma is the people you meet and how you deal with every situation you have to deal with. It’s the way you make your living and the coworkers you have and the bosses you have to please. It’s the way you manage your relationships and break up with your spouse. It’s the way you settle the divorce and custody. It’s the way you have to or don’t have to take care of your parents when they grow old.  If you survive everything life throws at you and you learn and grow from everything, congratulations, you have balanced your karma and passed your tests! As souls of light get older, they can become free of their karma. They can discover new ways of living the rest of their lives in happier circumstances and they can have more positive outlooks than during their active karma-bearing years.  The volunteers and karma-free souls As Dolores Cannon wrote in her book The Three Waves of Volunteers and the New Earth , some souls who are incarnated on the planet now have come here straight from the Source to help raise the Earth into the fifth dimension. They have no karma, and the challenges they face have come about only because they have wanted to evolve and to bring more light here.  It’s possible you may be a volunteer or a soul of light who has balanced their karma and is on the planet now only to evolve further and help raise up the Earth. It’s hard to know for sure if you fall into either one of these categories, but I have found that often those people will start getting clear messages from their spirit guides who will help them understand their situations. A QHHT® or some other kind of spirit journey session may also help shed light on where the soul stands vis-à-vis their karma and evolution. You may visit family during the coming holidays. Seeing the people you may have had conflicts with can generate unpleasant words or situations. Dysfunctional family dynamics may trigger you in ways you might find unpleasant, but please remember that all hardships you go through will either balance karma and/or make you grow on your evolutionary path.  Earth is a hard place to live, but we are getting close to the final jump to the fifth dimension, which is set to happen after the next four years. From now until then, time will accelerate even more, and that also means plenty of opportunities to balance karma and evolve more quickly. So, focus on the light, do good where you can, and be present for any emotion that arises, love yourself, and release the feelings of wanting to take revenge on anyone who has wronged you. Ask for help. Your guides and your highest self are always there. To learn more about QHHT® and the jump to 5D, you can read my book From Old to New Earth: Exploring Planetary Changes Through QHHT® . If you are within driving distance of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, you can book a free discovery call  with me for a session, or find a practitioner in your area . Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Sonya Gammon Sonya Gammon, Level 2 QHHT Practitioner Sonya Gammon is a pioneer in conscious, drug-free spirit travel. She started her spiritual journey at age 12 through meditation groups and grew up in a New Age church that was widely seen as a cult. She worked for a decade as a newspaper journalist before becoming a stay-at-home mother. After Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique℠ helped her heal from a rough divorce, she branched out into providing diverse spirit travel experiences for her clients that transcend the label of hypnosis and bring about deep healing from trauma. Her new book will feature channeled teachings about our planet’s journey into the fifth dimension.

Written by Simone Eiman, Life Coach Simone Eiman, the founder of Emerald Connection Life Coaching, specialises in positive self-worth, emotional well-being and consciousness coaching. When we hear the term enlightenment, we often imagine figures like the Buddha or other revered spiritual masters. But can anyone achieve enlightenment, or is it only for the chosen few? I believe enlightenment is an accessible, transformative journey—not an exclusive destination. It’s an inner light available to us all, deeply connected to our self-worth and our authentic self. This article explores why enlightenment is accessible to all, why it matters for self-worth, and how you can begin this journey by embracing self-awareness, self-acceptance and shedding societal conditioning. Understanding enlightenment: Defining the path to inner light So, what makes a person reach enlightenment and is it really within reach for everyone? The journey toward enlightenment can feel mysterious, but in human terms, it begins with three key elements: Awareness of who you are beneath conditioning: True enlightenment starts with understanding your core self–who you are, how you are in this world, how you fit into the Universal Constellation. To deepen your journey toward enlightenment, you must explore who you are at a soul level, beyond the conditioned beliefs society has imposed. This connection is not just about understanding yourself but recognising how your authenticity affects others’ enlightenment too. Seeing life and yourself without judgment: As infants, we start life pure and unconditioned. But as we grow, we adopt layers of conditioning that define our sense of worth and self-image. The process of stripping away these layers and releasing judgments helps us reconnect with that original purity. Living authentically, free from societal boxes: Ultimately, our journey toward enlightenment is about returning home to our true selves by letting go of boxes and roles that no longer serve us. Enlightenment isn’t about perfection; it’s about self-acceptance. And, no, you don’t need a guru or a secluded retreat to reach this state. Anyone ready to shed limiting beliefs and societal expectations can embark on this path. The importance of enlightenment for self-worth and purpose What happens if everyone is enlightened? Imagine a world of people embracing self-worth, awareness and purpose. Enlightenment isn’t only about inner peace; it’s about creating a ripple effect that lights up the world. Self-worth and enlightenment are closely linked because each step of enlightenment requires acknowledging your intrinsic value and unique light. Enlightenment is seen as a state attained by few, but this isn’t the case. Each of us has the responsibility—and the opportunity—to reach our version of enlightenment, spreading light in our inner and outer worlds. Enlightenment can: Clarify purpose and higher potential: As you connect with your true essence, your sense of purpose becomes clearer. When your goals are aligned with your authentic self, you’re able to bring your unique gifts to the world. Elevate self-worth and self-acceptance: Each step toward accepting all of who you are deepens your journey to enlightenment. By aligning with your true self, you naturally shed conditioned limits and embrace your unique light, whether it’s a gentle glow or a powerful flame. Foster self-acceptance and pride: Enlightenment requires us to see ourselves wholly, warts and all, and recognise our gifts without comparison. Your self-worth empowers you to engage life with confidence, ascending deeper into your inner light. The path of enlightenment: Navigating without a guru Is enlightenment possible without a guru? Yes, but guidance from a teacher, mentor or even a book can offer support along the way. The journey of enlightenment isn’t about external authority but about peeling away layers of conditioning and connecting with our inner truth. The path isn’t limited to monks or spiritual teachers; it’s available to everyone willing to explore and question their current state of being. The enlightenment process is often imagined as reaching an ultimate goal, but enlightenment is more of a journey, a continuous peeling back of layers to your true self. This process can begin with simple self-reflection and grow into a deeper, ongoing practice. How do you know you’re enlightened? Each new insight into your authentic self is a step closer, even if you don’t reach a “final” state and its impact extends beyond personal growth. This path helps us live in greater alignment with ourselves and others, balancing self-love with compassion for the world. Four principles to support your path to enlightenment While enlightenment isn’t something you achieve by checking off steps, a few foundational principles can guide and support you on your journey. Self-awareness: You have a unique energy that brings a special flavour to the world. Recognise and honour your unique strengths and the value you bring. Self-awareness implies acknowledging both the “light” and also the “shadow side” and how to navigate these to your and the collective benefit. Related article: The illusion of authenticity Self-acceptance: Is enlightenment for everyone? Yes, but it begins with accepting ourselves wholly. Embracing all of who you are, without judgement, is essential. Acceptance requires understanding, and self-awareness is a precursor to this acceptance. Alignment: Living in alignment with your values and highest truths is at the heart of enlightenment. The quest for alignment—not perfection—is what fuels this journey. Contribution: By nature, we are wired for connection, but societal norms often push us toward individualism. Shifting focus from “me” to “we” allows us to contribute meaningfully to the collective, enhancing our sense of purpose. Embracing your unique path to enlightenment Enlightenment is an ongoing journey that bridges self-worth, awareness and purpose. Can you reach enlightenment on your own? Yes, and every person’s path will look different. By embracing self-worth, we each illuminate our way toward deeper self-knowledge and fulfilment, shaping a world of shared light. How might embracing your self-worth and your unique path to enlightenment, however grand or subtle, bring greater purpose to your life? Enlightenment is yours to explore—make it count. Related article: What Is Spiritual Awakening Or Enlightenment? 3 Big Myths About   Spirituality Start your journey today Your journey to connecting to who you truly are may feel overwhelming, but you don't have to face it alone. Take the next step towards your journey of enlightenment by acknowledging that you’re worth it just because you exist and you are you. Know that you have the power to rewrite your story and spread your light in the world as who you came here to be. If you're ready to embark on a journey of self-discovery and empowerment, book a free coaching call  here. Follow me on Facebook , LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Simone Eiman Simone Eiman, Life Coach Simone Eiman, a certified life and consciousness coach, empowers clients to build positive self-worth and emotional well-being. Her lifelong journey to mastering self-love and acceptance puts her in a position to assist those dissatisfied or uncomfortable with their appearance, struggling with self-confidence, or feeling stuck by limiting habits, mindsets or patterns. Her mission is to facilitate mindset shifts and behaviour patterns, enabling meaningful action and alignment with personal authenticity: being perfectly you and not perfect by society’s standards.

Written by Charlie McClain, Author, Speaker, Co-Founder, Private Coach Charlie McClain is the author of Ditch the Worthiness Hustle and the newly released Brave Greatness. As a private coach and speaker, she specializes in guiding dynamic women through the challenges of Driven Woman Syndrome to become unapologetic, visionary leaders.  We often associate trauma with loud, dramatic events, those headline-grabbing moments that leave visible scars and upheave lives. But trauma isn’t always loud. Sometimes, the quiet undercurrent subtly influences our thoughts, behaviors, and relationships without us even realizing it.   As a coach specializing in guiding dynamic women through the challenges of Driven Woman Syndrome, a phenomenon characterized by over-commitment and the relentless pursuit of perfection, I’ve seen firsthand how silent traumas can shape our lives. These unseen threads woven into our personal narratives often stem from Adverse Childhood Experiences ( ACEs ) or subtle societal conditioning.   The unseen impact of silent trauma Silent traumas are the cumulative effects of experiences that may not be overtly traumatic but still leave a lasting imprint. They can include:   Subtle neglect: Consistently feeling unseen or unheard during formative years. Unmet emotional needs: Growing up in environments where emotional expression was discouraged or invalidated. Chronic stress: Living under persistent stressors, such as financial instability or familial tensions. These experiences often teach us unspoken rules about our worth and place in the world. For many women, this translates into a deep-seated belief that we must continually please, perform, and perfect to be valued, which is a triple trap that leads to exhaustion, resentment, and insecurity.   Pleasing, performing, perfecting: The triple trap of pleasing leads to exhaustion Many women are conditioned from a young age to prioritize others’ needs above their own. This relentless people-pleasing drains our energy reserves, leaving us physically and emotionally depleted.   Example: We say “yes” to every request, whether taking on extra work projects, organizing family gatherings, or constantly being available to friends without considering our capacity. Performing leads to resentment The pressure to excel in every role can breed resentment. We may feel unappreciated or taken for granted, fueling bitterness towards others and ourselves. Example: Continuously overachieving at work without recognition while managing household responsibilities can lead to feeling undervalued. Perfecting leads to insecurity The pursuit of perfection is a never-ending journey that often highlights our perceived shortcomings. This can erode self-confidence and amplify feelings of inadequacy.   Example: We obsess over minor details in projects or personal tasks and harshly criticize ourselves for any perceived flaws.   Recognizing the whispers within Understanding that trauma isn’t always loud allows us to tune into the subtle signals our minds and bodies send us. Here are steps to begin recognizing and addressing silent trauma: Mindful awareness Pay attention to recurring emotions or physical sensations, such as anxiety before social engagements or fatigue after agreeing to additional responsibilities. Reflective journaling Write down your thoughts and feelings without judgment. Journaling can uncover patterns and hidden beliefs influencing your behavior. Seek professional support Consider working with a therapist or counselor trained in   trauma-informed care  to navigate complex emotions and develop coping strategies. Set boundaries Practice saying “no” when necessary and establish limits that protect your well-being. Boundaries are essential for breaking free from the triple trap. Cultivate self-compassion Replace self-criticism with kindness. Acknowledge that striving for constant perfection is neither sustainable nor necessary.   The path to healing and empowerment Healing from silent trauma is not about assigning blame but about reclaiming agency over our lives. By acknowledging and addressing these quiet wounds, we can: Break unhealthy cycles by recognizing and altering patterns that lead to over-commitment and self-neglect. Redefine success by shifting focus from external validation to internal fulfillment, aligning actions with personal values and desires. Enhance well-being by prioritizing mental, emotional, and physical health through holistic self-care practices. Embracing authenticity over perfection In a world that often celebrates busyness and perfection, choosing authenticity is a radical act of self-love. It’s about embracing our whole selves, the strengths and the imperfections, and recognizing that our worth is inherent, not earned through endless striving.   Listen to the whisper Trauma doesn’t always announce itself with a bang. Sometimes, it’s a whisper, a quiet tug at our consciousness that something isn’t quite right. Giving voice to these whispers opens the door to profound healing and transformation.   If you resonate with the triple trap of pleasing, performing, and perfecting, remember that you’re not alone. Many women share this journey, and together, we can support one another in creating lives rooted in authenticity, balance, and joy.   Charlie McClain is the author of Ditch the Worthiness Hustle and a private coach specializing in guiding women through Driven Woman Syndrome. Her second book, Brave Greatness: The Driven Woman’s Guide to not Having It All, is coming soon. You can find Charlie on   SubStack , aiming to foster a sisterhood grounded in authenticity and empowerment. Follow me on Facebook , LinkedIn , YouTube , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Charlie McClain Charlie McClain, Author, Speaker, Co-Founder, Private Coach Charlie McClain is the author of Ditch the Worthiness Hustle and the newly released Brave Greatness. As a private coach and speaker, she specializes in guiding dynamic women through the challenges of Driven Woman Syndrome to become unapologetic, visionary leaders.  Drawing from her educational background, experience in psychology, and personal journey—from living a millionaire lifestyle to finding resilience after arriving homeless at a shelter for battered women—Charlie brings both academic insight and lived experience to her work. Through her unique method, Inner Alchemy™, she integrates psychological principles with transformative practices, helping clients explore inner growth, redefine success on their terms, and break free from societal stressors and expectations.

Written by Katie Dixon, L icensed Professional Counselor, Business Owner Katie Dixon is a psychotherapist and the owner of Healing in Action Counseling Services LLC. Her areas of specialty include grief, complex relational trauma, self-image and fear-based thought patterns. Katie's mission is to support clients in identifying and exploring the possibilities that lead to lasting change and a more fulfilling life. How long does grief last? Grief never ends. It morphs and changes into something less unbearable. How long will you feel this way? Whatever you are feeling at this moment may always find its way back to you. Over time, this feeling may no longer be so unrelenting in its presence and may simply come and go. In time, your sadness may meld into the ability to share a memory without crying. You may even get to a place where you find happiness in remembering something that once caused great distress. You might start to recognize a shift from feeling numb or empty to more engaged in your life once again. Then, in an instant, the experience can revert back to all the feelings you thought were finally behind you. We want to believe that our pain will subside and that we won't be left feeling terrible forever. The most likely scenario is that over time your experience of grief will feel less intense and less persistent. The loss of a loved one creates a sense of before and after. Your frame of reference becomes what life was like before your loved one died and what your life will be like now that they are gone. You may have lost someone you could never have imagined living without making their loss all the more difficult to accept. The life you once knew will never be the same and you can not go back to the way it was before. How does one even begin the process of accepting this?   Allow your feelings to be what they are and be patient with yourself First, you allow yourself to feel whatever it is you are feeling. Accept any emotions in their entirety and intensity. Don’t be afraid of how powerful your emotions may feel. We can not sustain the most extreme intensity of an emotion indefinitely. It will subside and you will be left with a more subdued version of the emotion. You may find that the emotion changes or goes away completely once you embrace it with complete acceptance. Visualize your emotions as the ocean in its vastness, power and unpredictability. There is a build-up as a wave forms and crashes onto the shore, then the water calms and flows back out to the sea. You represent the shore and the constant. Your emotions are like the rise and fall of the tide. The tide always washes back out just as your emotions may crash over you and flow back out.   Be patient with yourself. You will have some incredibly rough days. On those days, do less or do nothing. On other days, you may feel ready to take on more. There is no reason to judge yourself or hold yourself to the standard that existed before your loss. Allow your expectations to adjust to what is happening now. Moment to moment and step by step, moving from one day to the next, you will carry on with the business of living. There are undoubtedly items on your to-do list that must be done. You can tend to those first or delegate to others who are able to help. If the “would be nice to get done” items remain unfinished for a while, it will be okay. Take your time and allow yourself to feel whatever comes up without judgment, impatience or placing pressure on yourself.   There are no rules when it comes to grief You may be familiar with the Five Stages of Grief identified by renowned psychiatrist Elizabeth Kübler-Ross. These stages include denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Kübler-Ross originally developed this framework to capture the experience of those facing their own death experience. This model has since been a mainstay in therapeutic approaches for any experience of a major change or transition. It is often referenced when working with individuals mourning the death of a loved one. What is less understood about these stages is that they do necessarily take place in a linear fashion. Grief is often more like dots on a page that may happen at random, without any specific pattern or predictable trajectory. Even when someone has experienced one stage at an early point in their grief process, they may find themselves revisiting the same feeling later. Another common experience people describe is a feeling of being stuck in a particular stage. Conversely, other individuals will acknowledge that they did not go through a particular stage at all. Even less talked about experiences include having emotions people never anticipated and may even feel shame about, such as peace, relief, or resentment about feeling abandoned by their loved one. The nuances of anyone’s particular experience of grief are as unique as that individual. The universality of some aspects of the experience may help to feel less alone. All feelings are valid when it comes to grief. There is no right or wrong way to feel about any aspect of the way you are experiencing grief.   From acceptance to moving forward From a therapeutic standpoint, it is important and healthy to reach a place of acceptance about your loss at some point. No one gets to dictate that timeline for you. Once you have reached acceptance, you may find yourself revisiting other stages and coming back to acceptance more easily. Acceptance will allow you to face reality, as confusing and excruciating as that reality may be. Acceptance does not equal moving on. From a place of acceptance, you will be ready to move forward little by little. You will carry your grief forward with you as you continue living your life. Despite what we tell ourselves, grief can coexist with joy, making new memories and discovering new versions of yourself.   Release the expectation of moving on. This is a misguided albeit well-intentioned concept that minimizes the importance of what was and will always be a part of your life experience. We don’t move on from people. We move forward in life because life moves forward irrespective of what has happened. Here is another reality to be accepted: your loved one does not want you to suffer. They would want you to live your life as fully as possible, to remember them with love and to forgive them for their shortcomings. Your time together mattered and your memory of them matters. Your life still matters and you are meant to live it. Release any guilt about experiencing moments of joy. Recognize regret as an inextricable part of grief. We might consider regret to be the unofficial sixth stage of grief; it is so universal to loss. Release regret about things you wish you had said or done when your loved one was still here. If you had spent every waking moment with them and did everything perfectly at every moment, you would still be left feeling it wasn’t enough. Transform regret into becoming a version of you who has learned from a painful experience rather than getting stuck in self-punishment. Tell the people who are still here how much they mean to you, spend time with them, take time for yourself, live more boldly than you would have before in what you say and what you do. This honors your loved one’s memory in a profound way and gives you the freedom to keep living.   Your grief remains. It will not leave you. The time you shared with your loved one will always be. If love had not existed there would be no grief. As painful as that may be, there is beauty to be found in knowing that you miss someone whose life mattered to you. Let your grief move forward with you. Make room for joy, novelty, the mundane and all that life is. Don’t be afraid when grief starts to change. This is moving forward. This is acceptance. Follow me on LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Katie Dixon Katie Dixon, Licensed Professional Counselor, Business Owner Katie Dixon is a Licensed Professional Counselor and the owner of Healing in Action Counseling Services LLC. Through a number of personal and professional experiences, Katie realized that life's most difficult moments can lead to feelings of isolation when connection is often what is most needed. Her mission is to use the power of connection to help her clients heal from painful experiences while navigating their relationships with themselves and others from a place of greater compassion and understanding.

Written by Sanjana Thanik, Hypnotherapist, Reiki, RTT& QHHT Practitioner Sanjana Thanik is a transformative hypnotherapist, Rei ki healer, and expert in RTT and QHHT. As the founder of Mindskapes, she empowers individuals to reconnect with their authentic selves, guiding them to rediscover the parts of their being that have been forgotten or lost. Life is the pulse, the energy that grants us this existence on a physical plane. It gives us the capacity to grow, think, create, and live with meaning. As life flows through us, we experience its stages, moving from infancy to adolescence, youth, adulthood, and into the wisdom of old age. Each stage carries us forward, adding depth and intensity to our existence. But, as we journey through these phases, a question remains: Are you living the best life? What is a “best life”? Living the best life isn’t about chasing perfection or accumulating achievements. It’s about embracing each experience fully, being present in the moment, and acting from a place of authenticity. Living well means aligning with the life force within you—responding to experiences with openness rather than being ruled by past wounds or future anxieties. True fulfillment comes when we release control over outcomes and surrender to life’s natural flow, trusting that each experience, both good and challenging, shapes us for the better. The best life is a harmonious blend of purpose, mindfulness, authenticity, and resilience, supported by deep connections and a commitment to growth. 1. Connecting with authenticity Authenticity is the cornerstone of a well-lived life. But how do you connect with your true self when external pressures constantly pull you in different directions? It starts with the courage to look within and discover what genuinely matters to you. Rather than following societal expectations or being swayed by others’ opinions, authenticity calls for living in alignment with your own values. To connect with your true self, begin by listening to your emotions—your inner guide to what resonates or feels dissonant. Authenticity isn’t something you find; it’s a process of uncovering layers. It requires self-acceptance, vulnerability, and a willingness to live on your terms. In this journey inward, you’ll build a stronger foundation, knowing that you are living from a place of truth rather than external validation. 2. Finding purpose and passion Purpose is a powerful motivator, providing direction and meaning. A life well-lived is often rooted in discovering a purpose that fuels daily actions and gives structure to life’s many chapters. Purpose doesn’t necessarily mean a grand mission; it could simply be something that brings you joy and meaning, such as nurturing relationships, creating art, or serving your community. Living with passion transforms the mundane into something inspiring. Whether it’s in your work, hobbies, or relationships, letting purpose guide you leads to greater fulfillment. This alignment with your passions and talents fuels energy, builds resilience, and makes life more enjoyable and meaningful. 3. Practicing mindfulness and presence Mindfulness is the art of being fully engaged in the present moment. It allows you to navigate life’s highs and lows with grace, as it helps you observe situations without becoming entangled in emotional reactions. By stepping back and viewing experiences from a neutral standpoint, you gain clarity and reduce unnecessary stress. Mindfulness is not only a tool for handling challenges but a gateway to appreciating life’s beauty. By being present, you become aware of simple joys, from the warmth of a sunrise to the laughter of loved ones. Practicing mindfulness brings you closer to experiencing life as it unfolds, rather than waiting for a “better” moment to arrive. 4. Cultivating physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being Our well-being is sustained by four essential pillars: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health. Balancing these areas leads to a vibrant life. Physical well-being: Caring for your body with good nutrition, regular movement, and rest boosts energy and longevity. Emotional well -being: Emotional health requires self-awareness and healthy expression. By allowing yourself to feel and process emotions, you cultivate inner peace and resilience. Mental well -being: Practices like meditation, journaling, or quiet reflection help clear mental clutter and reduce stress, allowing you to navigate challenges more effectively. Spiritual well -being: Embracing a sense of connection to a higher power or life purpose provides comfort and reminds us of the greater whole we are part of. Spirituality fosters hope, grounding you in times of uncertainty and helping you see beyond immediate concerns. When these pillars are in balance, life feels more complete. Holistic health doesn’t mean having everything perfect but creating harmony within yourself so you can fully engage in life’s journey. 5. Contributing to the greater good A life well-lived is not just about personal satisfaction but also making a positive impact on others. When you contribute to the lives of others—whether through your work, family, or community—you find a deeper sense of fulfillment. Contribution can take many forms: mentoring, volunteering, or simply offering kindness in everyday interactions. In giving, we become part of something bigger than ourselves. It reminds us that we all have a role to play in creating a more compassionate and connected world. 6. Building resilience through life’s challenges Challenges are inevitable, and resilience is our ability to adapt and grow through them. Instead of avoiding discomfort, resilient individuals see adversity as an opportunity for growth. Facing challenges head-on allows you to discover strengths you may not have known you possessed. Resilience helps you step out of your comfort zone, embrace discomfort, and persevere. This adaptability enables continuous self-improvement, making you stronger and more capable of handling future challenges with grace. 7. Practicing gratitude and contentment Gratitude is a transformative practice that shifts focus from what’s lacking to what’s abundant in your life. It can be as simple as appreciating a friend’s support or the beauty of a peaceful moment. Regularly acknowledging life’s blessings promotes inner peace, a positive outlook, and strengthens relationships. Contentment is gratitude’s companion. It’s about finding satisfaction in what you have, rather than always seeking more. Contentment helps us step out of the constant pursuit for “more” and discover happiness in the present, which is key to a fulfilling life. 8. Leaving a legacy of goodness Living a life of value often includes reflecting on the legacy you wish to leave behind. Legacy is less about material wealth and more about the impact of your actions, values, and relationships. Whether it’s through raising children with kindness, creating art that inspires, or influencing positive change, your legacy lives on in the people you touch. Leaving a legacy provides a sense of purpose beyond personal achievement. It reminds you that your actions create ripples, impacting others and shaping the world in ways that endure. 9. Nurturing meaningful connections Human connections form the heart of a life well-lived. Relationships with family, friends, and others foster a sense of belonging and support. However, it’s the quality of these connections that truly matters, not the quantity. Cultivating empathy, compassion, and active listening strengthens these bonds. By investing time and energy into meaningful connections, you create a supportive network that enriches life and enhances well-being. 10. Embracing joy and playfulness Life is meant to be enjoyed, not merely endured. In the midst of responsibilities, it’s essential to carve out moments for joy, playfulness, and adventure. Taking time for laughter, hobbies, and lighthearted activities brings balance to life. Playfulness helps reduce stress, fosters creativity, and keeps the spirit alive. When you embrace joy, life feels more vibrant and worth celebrating. In conclusion Living your best life is about balance, authenticity, and growth. It’s about savoring each experience, trusting in the wisdom of life’s unfolding, and committing to growth and connection. It’s a journey of becoming more aligned with who you truly are while contributing to the world in meaningful ways. To live a life that’s rich and fulfilling, embrace these elements: Mindfulness and presence Purpose and passion Authenticity and self-acceptance Well-being and health Contribution and impact Resilience and growth Gratitude and contentment Legacy of goodness Meaningful connections Joy and playfulness By blending purpose, growth, relationships, and joy, you create a life that resonates with depth and fulfillment. True richness in life comes from this balance—where each day is valued, each relationship cherished, and each moment lived fully. Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website  for more info! Read more from Sanjana Thanik Sanjana Thanik, Hypnotherapist, Reiki, RTT & QHHT Practitioner Sanjana Thanik is a certified hypnotherapist, Reiki healer, and practitioner of Rapid Transformational Therapy (RTT) and Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique (QHHT). With her expertise, she guides individuals through deep healing and self-exploration. As the founder of Mindskapes, Sanjana is passionate about helping people reconnect with their authentic selves, unlocking emotional and spiritual well-being.

Written by Heather Rosewood, Manifestation & Business Strategist Heather Rosewood is a leading expert in manifestation and business-building, empowering women to create wealth and success without limits. As founder of The Rosewood Academy and a USA Today Bestselling Author, Heather combines mindset mastery with bold, practical strategies to help others step into their full potential. Have you ever wondered how to think something into existence? In this article, we’ll explore just that. What is the Law of Attraction, and what are the practical steps to get started? Discover how to align your intentions with your desires, cultivate a positive mindset, and attract abundance. Whether you’re a beginner or seeking to deepen your understanding, this guide will illuminate the path to manifesting your dreams. Dive in to learn how you can take control of your destiny!   Background on the law of attraction The Law of Attraction is a universal principle suggesting that like attracts like. It posits that the thoughts and beliefs you hold can influence your reality. This concept has roots in various philosophical and spiritual traditions and has gained significant popularity in the last 15 years. It has brought the Law of Attraction into mainstream consciousness, inspiring countless individuals to explore its potential. The core idea is that by focusing on positive thoughts and visualizing desired outcomes, you can attract positive experiences into your life. Conversely, negative thoughts and beliefs can manifest as unwanted experiences. This principle resonates with the scientific concept of neuroplasticity, which suggests that our thoughts can reshape our brain and, consequently, our reality. Research indicates that cultivating a positive mindset can improve mental and emotional well-being, suggesting that the Law of Attraction has a basis in psychological principles.   Understanding the mechanics of the law of attraction At its core, the Law of Attraction operates on the principle that energy flows where attention goes. Your thoughts emit energy, a vibration, that interacts with the universe, attracting similar energies back to you. This can manifest in various forms, such as opportunities, relationships, or experiences. The Law of Attraction is built upon several key elements that interconnect to help individuals manifest their desires effectively. First and foremost, thoughts and beliefs play a crucial role in shaping one's reality. The core principle here is that your beliefs can significantly influence your actions. When you have confidence in achieving your goals, you are more likely to engage in behaviors that align with those beliefs. Conversely, if you harbor limiting beliefs and thoughts that suggest you are unworthy or incapable, you may inadvertently hold yourself back from realizing your full potential. This underscores the importance of cultivating empowering beliefs that support your aspirations. Another essential component is the role of emotions in the manifestation process. Emotions are powerful drivers of our experiences, and positive feelings such as joy and gratitude can attract favorable outcomes into our lives. Learning to manage your emotions effectively and fostering gratitude enhances your overall well-being and amplifies your manifestation efforts. Vibrational frequency is also a fundamental aspect of the Law of Attraction. Everything in the universe, including your thoughts and feelings, carries a vibrational frequency. You can attract your desires by aligning your vibrational frequency with them, essentially "tuning in" to what you want in your life. This concept is often likened to tuning a radio to the correct frequency to hear your favorite station. When you resonate at a frequency that matches your goals, you create a magnetic pull toward those outcomes. Lastly, visualization is a powerful tool within the framework of manifestation. By vividly imagining yourself achieving your goals, you create a blueprint aligning your subconscious mind with your intentions. Visualization techniques can include detailed imagery of your desired outcomes and the emotions you would feel upon achieving them. Together, these elements form the foundation of the Law of Attraction, guiding individuals on their journey to manifesting a life they love.   Best steps to use the law of attraction effectively Using the Law of Attraction effectively requires intention, practice, and a willingness to shift your mindset. Here are some actionable steps to help you harness its power: 1. Set a clear intention It is essential to define what you desire before you can attract what you desire. Take the time to write down your goals and dreams. Be specific about what you want: financial abundance, a fulfilling career, or a loving relationship. Clarity is critical in the manifestation process. 2. Cultivate a positive mindset A positive mindset is crucial for attracting positive experiences. Challenge negative thoughts and replace them with empowering affirmations. For instance, if you think, “I can’t afford this,” reframe it to, “I am open to new opportunities for financial growth.” Regularly practicing gratitude can elevate your vibration, helping you maintain a positive outlook. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ever get mad or sad; just don’t unpack and live there. 3. Practice visualization Visualization is one of the most powerful techniques in the Law of Attraction. Spend a few minutes each day imagining yourself living your dream life. Picture the details: What do you see? How do you feel? Engaging all your senses in this practice can make it more impactful.   4. Take inspired action While the Law of Attraction emphasizes the power of thoughts, taking action toward your goals is equally important. Listen to your intuition and take inspired steps that align with your desires. This may involve networking, enrolling in courses, or pursuing opportunities that resonate with your goals. 5. Stay open and flexible Sometimes, the universe has plans that are different from those we have. Be open to receiving your desires in unexpected ways. Don't get discouraged if something doesn’t manifest exactly as you envisioned. Trust that everything is unfolding for your highest good, and remain flexible in your approach. 6. Create a vision board A vision board can be a powerful visual reminder of your goals and aspirations. Gather images, quotes, and symbols representing what you want to manifest and arrange them on a board. Place this board somewhere you will see it daily, allowing it to inspire and motivate you toward your desires. 7. Practice self-care Taking care of yourself is crucial when working with the Law of Attraction. Prioritize activities that nourish your mind, body, and soul. Engage in meditation, exercise, and journaling to enhance your emotional well-being and maintain a high vibrational state. 8. Surround yourself with positivity The people you surround yourself with can significantly impact your mindset. Seek positive, supportive individuals who uplift you and share your vision for a fulfilling life. Engaging with a community of like-minded individuals can provide encouragement and inspiration. You can not stay in gratitude while gossiping and venting.   Conclusion The Law of Attraction is a powerful tool that can transform your life correctly. This overview will help you understand its principles and implement effective strategies so you can manifest your dreams and create a life filled with abundance and fulfillment. Remember that the journey of manifestation is ongoing; embrace each step and celebrate your progress. If you're ready to explore Manifestation and the Law of Attraction more and learn more about manifesting your desires, download my free Self-Awareness Assessment  and book a clarity call. Follow me on social media for tips, inspiration, and guidance on your journey to a limitless life! Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Heather Rosewood Heather Rosewood, Manifestation & Business Strategist Heather Rosewood is a sought-after manifestation and business Strategist, USA Today bestselling author, and founder of The Rosewood Academy. Having built a seven-figure business, she empowers women to attract wealth and design lives they love. Through The Rosewood Academy, Heather creates a space where success in life and business feels limitless.

Written by Sanjana Thanik, Hypnotherapist, Reiki, RTT& QHHT Practitioner Sanjana Thanik is a transformative hypnotherapist, Rei ki healer, and expert in RTT and QHHT. As the founder of Mindskapes, she empowers individuals to reconnect with their authentic selves, guiding them to rediscover the parts of their being that have been forgotten or lost. In a world driven by external noise and endless distractions, it’s easy to forget that the most profound answers to life’s challenges lie within us. We search outward for validation, solutions, and clarity, but often, the key to healing, transformation, and growth is found by turning inward. This article takes you on a journey through self-discovery, exploring the power of connecting with your inner being to unlock the wisdom and answers you've always carried inside. We are living in times where external distractions dominate and dictate our lives. Growing up amidst the struggles of keeping up with societal expectations, not feeling enough within ourselves, and constantly comparing our lives to the curated reality of social media, we drift further from who we truly are. The relentless pursuit of conforming and fitting in as a means of survival distances us from our authentic selves. In this process, we lose touch with our uniqueness, forgetting the essence of who we are. The truth is that the most meaningful connection we can cultivate is the one with ourselves. Now, the question arises: what is this relationship with self? The 'self,' in the literal sense, is a person’s essential being, the core that distinguishes us from others. But in the race toward the common goals society sets for us, we forget this unique self. We forget that we are distinct from those whose lives we try to replicate and claim as our own. So, how do we reconnect with this unique self? We begin by delving within. This inward journey starts with self-acceptance. We must first accept where we are as we are. Self-acceptance is the first layer we need to uncover to reach the core of our being. It calls for embracing both our flaws and our goodness, the dark and the light within us. Acceptance requires compassion, and the first to receive this compassion must be the self, which has spent so long trying to fit into what others expect while neglecting what we truly want for ourselves. There are layers upon layers of conditioning built to cater to the outside world that must be peeled away before we can reach the essence of who we are: our authentic, unique self. And in peeling back these layers, there must be both compassion and patience. The build-up of conditioning, beliefs, and mindsets we’ve carried for so long were never truly our own; they were given to us by those who never connected with or understood their own uniqueness. It’s as if we were caught in a herd mentality, blindfolded by ideas that butchered and buried our authenticity. To reclaim who we truly are, we must gently unravel these inherited identities and allow our true selves, the ones that have always been waiting, to emerge once again. Recognising the patterns of life that keep us stuck and addressing them with self-compassion is the only way to break free from the burdens that chain us to our present, unhappy reality. These burdens push us to seek answers outside of ourselves. While seeking externally may bring temporary solace and provide partial answers, lasting solutions to life’s challenges can only be found by looking within. You are the creator of your life experience because whatever passes through you is magnified in your physical reality. To truly shift your reality, you must first seek refuge within. To seek refuge within, you need to become your own best friend. A best friend is someone who knows you deeply, your likes, dislikes, hopes, and desires and stands by you through tough times. To be your own best friend, you must cultivate this relationship with yourself so that when no one else is there, you can be your own cheerleader. You won’t wait for external help to lift you up; instead, you’ll reach out to yourself, providing the strength to feel whole and complete. The best time to let your core self emerge from under the layers of conditioning is when you are waking up in the morning or winding down your day. These are the moments when your subconscious mind is most alive and receptive to the changes you wish to usher in. It is during these quiet, reflective times that your authenticity and uniqueness can rise to the surface and begin to shape your material world. You are an energy being, and your life is shaped by where you focus that energy. Are you directing it toward anger, hatred, complaints, jealousy, or lack? Or are you aligning with the high vibrational qualities of love, compassion, peace, patience, and goodness? The energy you cultivate within becomes the energy you radiate outward, attracting the same into your life. This is not destiny; it’s a direct result of what you allow to flow through you. When you take charge and responsibility for your life and your actions, the need to blame others fades. You reclaim ownership of your destiny. But the journey doesn’t stop at responsibility. You must also recognize that much of the weight you’ve carried for so long was never yours to bear. The burdens of others’ opinions, the expectations you never agreed to, the pressure to always hold it together, all of this has buried your true self. As you peel back these layers, you realize something profound: these burdens were never yours to carry. Now, you understand that letting go isn’t surrendering its freedom. You were never meant to carry the world in your hands; you were only meant to carry you. This realization releases you from the bondage of external pressures and grants you the freedom to live as your authentic self. To guide you on this journey back to yourself, here are steps you can take to reconnect with your core Set aside time at the beginning and end of your day to connect with your energy, reflecting on your aspirations, hopes, and feelings. Let gratitude be your constant companion. Wear it like a robe throughout the day to shift your perspective toward positivity. Practice self-compassion at all times. When you are kind to yourself, it filters through to everything you touch. Be mindful of each activity, whether big or small, paying attention to how you feel and what you think in the moment. Remember that you are resilient. Nothing can waver your stance once you’ve made up your mind. Be your own best friend. Treat yourself with the same kindness and support that you offer others. Use deep breathing to center yourself when anxiety arises. Your breath is your deepest connection to yourself. Spend time in nature, connecting with the elements that also make up who you are. Taking a walk in nature, being by the seaside, and engaging in other outdoor activities that you love reconnect you with who you are and give you clarity. Listen to the inner voice that guides you; it’s always there, supporting you. Affirm daily: “Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better.” Follow me on Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website  for more info! Read more from Sanjana Thanik Sanjana Thanik , Hypnotherapist, Reiki, RTT & QHHT Practitioner Sanjana Thanik is a certified hypnotherapist, Reiki healer, and practitioner of Rapid Transformational Therapy (RTT) and Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique (QHHT). With her expertise, she guides individuals through deep healing and self-exploration. As the founder of Mindskapes, Sanjana is passionate about helping people reconnect with their authentic selves, unlocking emotional and spiritual well-being.

Written by Fergus O'Connell, Novelist, Project Manager, Teacher, Speaker Fergus O'Connell is one of the world’s leading authorities on project management and getting things done. He is the author of eight novels and sixteen business books, including Simply Brilliant, a book about common sense and how to use a power you already have. In a world where complexity often overshadows clarity, the power of common sense is sometimes overlooked. This article delves into the seven foundational principles of common sense that can help us navigate daily challenges with ease and wisdom. By embracing these straightforward yet impactful guidelines, we can make better decisions, improve relationships, and approach life with a balanced perspective.   ‘Common Sense is genius dressed in its working clothes.’ – Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist and poet.   ‘The trouble with common sense,’ the old saying goes, ‘is that it’s not all that common.’ And in my experience, nowhere is this truer than in work or business, where I have seen very smart people, far smarter than I’ll ever be, propose or do some dumb things.  Of course, it’s easy to say that someone doesn’t have much common sense. It’s such a vague statement that it could mean almost anything. So, a few years back, I decided to try to codify common sense. I would write a book that identified the ‘principles’ (if that’s not too grand a word, though I think it probably is) of common sense. More simply, the book would identify a bunch of things, and if you were doing them or even conscious of them, then you would be exhibiting common sense.  The result was a book called   Simply Brilliant . Here’s  what one person said about it. It’s been my best-selling book to date and has been translated into more than twenty languages. Common sense is a skill. It can be learned.  And why would this be a good thing to do? Well, a couple of reasons. The first and most important one is that it gives you a framework for thinking, a sort of mental checklist. If, for example, somebody is proposing a certain course of action project or venture, you can run it by your mental checklist and see if it stands up. The other reason is that you would stand out from the crowd. In my experience, not a lot of people carry around this mental checklist with them. So here, then, are the ‘principles’ of common sense   1. Many things are simple Of course, some things are definitely not simple. Launching, manning, and maintaining the International Space Station, for example, surely have some tremendously complex elements. But most of us aren’t NASA engineers and scientists, and a lot of the stuff we do probably has a simple explanation or solution. So, if you find yourself at a meeting, for example, and the participants are working up some tremendously complex solution to a problem, chances are they’re barking up the wrong tree. The thing to do then would be to call stop. Ask if there’s not a simpler solution. Ask the question, ‘What would be the simplest solution to this?’ or ‘Can we find a simpler solution to this?’ There’s a good chance you’ll be able to.    2. Know what you’re trying to do ‘If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable  – Seneca You need to know what you’re trying to do. And you need to know precisely it can’t be vague.   This may sound ridiculously obvious but it’s actually been the cause of death of a million projects. Does the word ‘Brexit’ sound familiar? Another way of thinking about this is with the idea of ‘boxes and clouds.’ What you’re trying to do has to be a box. It has to be well-defined. You have to know what’s inside the box and what’s not. What are you trying to achieve [‘in scope’ inside the box], and what are you not trying to achieve ‘out of scope’ outside the box?  If you don’t have a box, you’ll have a cloud. Then, you have no real idea what exactly you’re trying to do. If you don’t know, then neither will other people. Such a situation is guaranteed to end in tears.    3. There is always a sequence of events This is how everything gets done. Knowing the sequence of events in advance is called a plan. Knowing them while you’re engaged in figuring them out is called firefighting. Knowing them after the fact is called a post-mortem. (Or often a disaster.) I hope you’d agree that firefighting is dumb. I hope you’d further agree that trying to figure out what happened after everything has fallen apart is completely dumb. That leaves planning as the only option left standing.  If you want to plan anything, if you want to estimate the time something is going to take, the number of people you need, and the cost or budget, you need to figure out the sequence of events. There’s more on this   here .    4. Things don’t get done if people don’t do them I know this sounds ludicrously obvious, but there are a vast number of (especially) bosses out there who believe that work can be done without people. These are the bosses who say things like ‘That’s just the culture here’ or ‘I don’t want to hear anybody using the word “can’t,” or ‘We like a can-do attitude here’ or ‘You’re going to have to learn to do more with less’ or ‘You should be working smarter, not harder [whatever that’s supposed to mean] or ‘You’re being inflexible’ or ‘You’re not being a team player’ or ‘Is this plan based on a five day week?’ or ‘You’re lucky to have a job’ or ‘We have no choice we have to do it’ or ‘That’s not the kind of attitude we want around here’ or ‘We want can-do people here’ or ‘I don’t think you’re suited to the culture of this organization.’ In short, there have to be people to do the work or the work can’t be done.   5. Things rarely turn out as expected In 1920, the US enacted prohibition laws to suppress the alcohol trade. It was felt that this would be good both for the nation’s health and for public morals. Put more simply, there would be fewer men drinking their wages, fewer drunken men beating their wives, and neglecting or abusing their families.  On the face of it, it might have seemed like a good idea. Certainly, American legislators and temperance crusaders thought so.  The result, of course, was that many small-scale producers of alcohol wineries, brewers, and distillers immediately went out of business. And if that wasn’t bad enough, large-scale organized crime set up a vast illegal alcohol industry.  Things rarely turn out as expected.  So, you need to have a contingency in your plans.  You also need to do a risk assessment. This is just a fancy way of saying that you need to do the following: Make a list of all the things you can think of that could go wrong with the venture you’re proposing to undertake. These are the risks to your project.  Grade each of these things as to their Likelihood, i.e., how likely they are to happen. Use a scale of 1-3. 1 is Low, 3 is High, 2 in the middle.  Grade them again as to their Impact and the effect if they do happen. Use the same 1-3 scale. 1 is Low, 3 is High, 2 in the middle.  Now multiply the Likelihood by the Impact. For any items that end up rated a 6 or a 9, identify some actions you can take to reduce or eliminate these risks.    6. Things either are or they aren’t The cause of a million project failures. The terrifying ‘we’re 90% done’ syndrome which generally means that 90% of the time has gone rather than 90% of the thing has been done. Something is either done or it’s not.  Break the project or venture down into the sequence of events, essentially, the list of jobs to be done.  Now, the way to track progress is for each job to exist in only one of two states. It’s either done (and hence, you’ve made some progress), or it’s not done (and so you haven’t made that progress.)    7. Look at things from others’ points of view The so-called ‘Golden Rule’ ‘Do as you would be done to.’ Look at Wikipedia and prepare to be astonished by the number of civilizations and religions that this has been and still is a part of. In all of your working life, you’ll have to deal with people. Sometimes, you may have difficult decisions to make that will affect people. You may have a bewildering variety of choices open to you and possible paths that you could take. In those circumstances, it can be very enlightening to put yourself in the shoes of these other people. How will they view each choice that you might make? And, in turn, how will this affect your decision-making?  US President   John F Kennedy invoked the Golden Rule in a famous civil rights speech delivered on 11 June 1963 . This is what he said: ‘The heart of the question is whether all Americans are to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities, whether we are going to treat our fellow Americans as we want to be treated [my italics]. If an American, because his skin is dark, cannot eat lunch in a restaurant open to the public, if he cannot send his children to the best public school available, if he cannot vote for the public officials who will represent him, if, in short, he cannot enjoy the full and free life which all of us want, then who among us would be content to have the color of his skin changed and stand in his place? Who among us would then be content with the counsels of patience and delay?’   So, there it is, common sense. Try looking at your job / work through this lens for a few weeks and see what happens. Follow me on LinkedIn , and visit my website for more info! Read more from Fergus O'Connell Fergus O'Connell, Novelist, Project Manager, Teacher, Speaker Fergus O'Connell is one of the world’s leading authorities on project management and getting things done. He is the author of eight novels and sixteen business books, including Simply Brilliant, a book about common sense and how to use a power you already have. He founded his first project management company - ETP - in 1991. His disruptive, common-sense project management method, The Ten Steps, has influenced a generation of project managers. In 2003, this method was used to plan and execute the Special Olympics World Games, the world’s biggest sporting event that year. Fergus’ new company, Fast Projects , is again disrupting the project management space by focusing on speeding up projects / shortening time to market.

Written by Maurice F. Martin, Transformational Coach and Speaker Maurice F. Martin, a dynamic 2x bestselling author, transformational speaker, and coach, is forging an influential journey in personal development and leadership. Once an award-winning singer and co-host of the TV show "Getting The Word Out," Maurice is now the host of the Hope Rising Podcast. Have you ever looked around at your accomplishments only to feel like a fraud waiting to be exposed? Maybe you've brushed off praise, thinking you just got lucky. Maybe you've started to wonder if you truly belong in the room. Keep reading to uncover the three lies that might be keeping you stuck in imposter syndrome and how to break free from them. I lay in bed with tears filling my eyes. As a tear began to fall down my face, I angrily wiped it away. Maybe you’ve been there in life, frustrated about being frust rated. I was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. “There has to be more than this,” I thought to myself. I couldn’t figure out what was missing from my life. My life story sounded like something other people dream of as an Award-winning singer. Co-writing songs with Grammy winners. Creating with Emmy winners. National licensing TV deals with my music. Yet, here I was, feeling empty. Lie 1: You need to fake it ‘til you make it “Fake it ‘til you make it.”  How many times in your life have you heard those words? Just pretend to feel something until you reach your destination. It will work, right? Wrong. Instead, you fake your feelings and reach your destination only to feel more fake. Here’s what I know about you. You, my friend, are worth believing in. You are full of talent, potential, and gifts that the world needs. I’m not talking about what you can be some magical, mythical day in the future. Now. Right now. You are already that individual. You are worth believing in. Believing in who you are and what you bring to the table is the exact opposite of faking it until you make it. Throw “fake it ‘til you make it” out the door and embrace “believe it ‘til you achieve it.” Don’t get me wrong, and I understand the heart behind “fake it ’til you make it.” The lesson tells us that if we just get into the process and stick to it, eventually, we will embody those thoughts and beliefs. The problem, however, is that it rarely happens. As a transformational coach and a chemical dependency counselor, I’ve sat down with countless clients over the last few years who faked it, accomplished the great achievement they were shooting for, and then self-sabotaged once they achieved it. Why? Here’s the secret: Once you reach new heights, you must have a new level of belief and character to maintain and sustain that new level of accomplishment. Maybe I said that in too complicated a way. I’ll say it differently: The you of today is full of potential and promise. You must believe in yourself today and then lean all the way into personal development. As you work towards the next goal, you must also be working towards the next version of you. That “lean in” are you leaning into personal development, authenticity, character, and integrity. The difference between that process and faking it until you make it is a difference in intentionality. Faking it ‘til you make it has you intentionally deceiving yourself with the hopes that someday you’ll believe the deception. Believing it ‘til you achieve it has you intentionally believing in yourself with the understanding that in life, we must plant seeds of faith and then water those seeds through intentional learning, living, and cultivation. One is based on luck. The other is based on focus, intention, and faith. Remember that you will perfect whatever you practice. Don’t practice being fake. Practice believing in the power that you have inside of you! Overcoming imposter syndrome  requires more than just pretending; it demands that you confront your insecurities and believe in your true potential. Lie 2: Excellence requires perfection Excellence doesn't demand that you be perfect. It demands that you be authentic, resilient, and relentless in your pursuit of growth. So, stop holding yourself to an impossible standard. Aim for excellence, not perfection. Because excellence, my friend, is what truly makes you stand out. I get it; it’s a common belief in our world that excellence and perfection are one and the same. But I’m here to tell you that couldn’t be further from the truth. Perfection is defined as "the condition, state, or quality of being free or as free as possible from all flaws or defects." Excellence, on the other hand, is defined as the quality of being outstanding or extremely good. One of these definitions does not allow for imperfections; the other simply looks at the final outcome and celebrates what is outstanding within it. Look around you. Do you see any perfect people? Looking in the mirror, is a perfect person looking back at you? When you pursue perfection, you push yourself, your work, and your team to rise to the occasion without flaws or imperfections. But here’s the catch: the pursuit of excellence forces you to face those flaws, overcome them, and grow through the process. This journey includes both success and failure. It is often our struggles that build our character, strengthen our resolve, and mature us into the people we were born to become. If you, as a leader, are finding yourself trying to be perfect, you’re likely hitting walls that leave you feeling not good enough, not strong enough. And sometimes, those walls make you want to give up and give in. But remember, the key to dealing with imposter syndrome at work isn't about reaching some unattainable level of perfection. It’s about embracing your imperfections and using them as stepping stones to greatness. The most effective leaders aren’t perfect. They’re resilient. They understand that failure is not the opposite of success but a part of it. So, aim for excellence, not perfection. Because excellence, my friend, is what truly makes you stand out. In the professional world, it’s not perfection that earns you respect but your commitment to growth and your resilience in the face of challenges. Lie 3: You must always be in control I recently sat in an executive coaching session with one of my clients and the CEO of his company. I wish I could say that the most profound thing said was by me, but it was actually the CEO who delivered the wisdom. He looked at his employee and said, "People are watching you, and they aren't going to stop watching. Don't let them watch an act; make them watch you win." Make them watch you win. Just think about that. We live in a world where we love to give off an air that we always have figured out and are always in control. But think for a moment about your favorite movies, your favorite stories, or your favorite heroes. Most of us love to overcome the person who rises from the ashes to win the greatest victories. It's Michael Jordan being cut from his high school team only to eventually rise to stardom. It's the Rocky Balboa story of being overlooked yet rising to greatness. As a leader, I want you to know that the people you lead are not dumb. They are often much smarter than you think, and they know when you’re "off." They know when you struggle. Sometimes, the greatest leader isn’t the one who pretends to have it all figured out. The greatest leader is the one who can say, "This is hard. I don’t have all the answers, but we will rise above this." The leader who is vulnerable enough to acknowledge the answers they don’t have and the control they don’t possess yet stays in control of their character and perseveres until they lead the team to the next level. That’s the leader who earns respect and loyalty. True leadership isn’t about always being in control; it’s about being adaptable, open, and authentic in the face of challenges. It’s about showing your team that you don’t need to have all the answers to lead them to victory. Instead, it’s your resilience, your integrity, and your willingness to navigate uncertainty that will inspire them to follow you, no matter the obstacles. Understanding this balance is key to overcoming imposter syndrome at work, where the pressure to appear always in control can lead to burnout and a lack of genuine connection with your team. Moving forward Overcoming imposter syndrome isn't a one-time event; it’s a journey that requires continual growth, belief in your own potential, and a commitment to authenticity. You don’t have to walk this path alone. If you’re ready to set clear intentions and would benefit from professional accountability to keep you moving forward, reach out to me. Together, we can work to bring out your strengths, establish goals aligned with your values, and ensure you lead with confidence and clarity. Your potential is waiting. Take that next step today. Follow me on  Facebook , Instagram , LinkedIn , and visit my website  for more info! Read more from Maurice F. Martin Maurice F. Martin, Transformational Coach and Speaker Maurice F. Martin, a dynamic 2x bestselling author, transformational speaker, and coach, is forging an influential journey in personal development and leadership. Once an award-winning singer and co-host of the TV show "Getting The Word Out," Maurice is now the host of the Hope Rising Podcast. His second book, "Your But Is Too Big," was the number 1 New Release in Christian Counseling and Christian Faith. Grounded in an unwavering commitment to authenticity, Maurice empowers leaders to uncover their spark, harmonize their lives, and overcome imposter syndrome.

Written by Nichell Delvaille, Holistic Soul Coach, Intuitive Astrologer Nichell has done over 10,000 Readings. She uses a person's Astrological Natal Birth Chart to read from. A birth chart is like a blueprint of a person – mind, body, and spirit. As Pluto leaves Capricorn and enters Aquarius, a wave of societal transformation follows. From redefining intimacy to reshaping the institution of marriage, this cosmic shift paves the way for radical, meaningful change. Pluto’s power and purpose Pluto, the planet of transformation, regeneration, and depth, has a remarkable influence on society, digging up hidden truths and challenging deep-seated norms. Over the past 16 years, Pluto in Capricorn has systematically broken down outdated structures and institutions, forcing society to confront its foundations in governance, business, and hierarchy. Now, as Pluto moves into Aquarius, we’re on the verge of a new paradigm—one that promises to redefine our understanding of community, individuality, and relationships. Reflecting on Pluto in Capricorn The Unseen Revolution: Capricorn, ruled by Saturn, governs systems of power, authority, and societal structure. With Pluto in Capricorn, we witnessed a powerful reshaping of these areas: scandals and exposure of corruption in institutions, a shift toward accountability, and a crumbling of blind faith in systems once thought unshakable. From financial crises to corporate restructuring to the rise of movements for social justice, Pluto in Capricorn unearthed what lay buried within the structures of society. This period served as a necessary preparation, clearing out stagnant energies and creating space for a radically new societal model to emerge. Pluto in Aquarius: The shift to authenticity and unconventional relationships With Pluto’s entry into Aquarius, a sign known for its progressive, individualistic, and forward-thinking qualities, we’re entering an era where authenticity and innovation will take precedence. Relationships that once followed conventional norms are set to evolve as society becomes more open to unconventional dynamics. Pluto in Aquarius will champion individuality within relationships, allowing partnerships that defy traditional labels to flourish. In this new age, relationships will be celebrated not for fitting into societal expectations but for embodying true, unique connection. A sexual revolution rooted in deep connection The influence of Pluto in Aquarius signals a shift away from superficial expressions of intimacy. As a society, we are moving past the notion of sex as a casual activity and entering a time when emotional intimacy and meaningful connection become the foundations of sexuality. This shift reflects the Aquarian ideal of depth over quantity, of genuine connection over fleeting encounters. Individuals may find themselves craving partnerships that go beyond the physical to satisfy a desire for a more profound, soul-level connection. Redefining marriage Beyond Contracts and Constraints: Pluto in Aquarius will also challenge the institution of marriage, prompting us to rethink what commitment means in modern society. As we recognize marriage certificates as business documents, created historically for the division of assets and guardianship of children, there’s an emerging question: Do we need a government-sanctioned document to feel bonded to another? Marriage could take on a more fluid and evolving form, with ideas like relationship “renewal” contracts becoming mainstream, where couples agree to re-evaluate and renew their commitments rather than holding to an unchanging vow. This concept helps couples stay present and invested in their relationships, fostering growth rather than clinging to permanence. Societal impact: Embracing unique and diverse bonds Aquarius thrives on diversity and unconventionality, so Pluto’s influence will encourage relationships that honor individuality within partnership. This shift will likely lead to a breakdown of stigmas around non-traditional relationship structures, such as polyamory, open relationships, or partnerships not bound by gender norms. As Pluto empowers individuality within relationships, society will slowly embrace the idea that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to love and commitment. The larger picture: A call for authenticity and freedom As Pluto journeys through Aquarius, society will feel a call toward freedom in all areas of life, from relationships to self-expression to societal structures. This period encourages us to honor our true selves, release outdated labels, and embrace the uniqueness of the human experience. Pluto in Aquarius asks us to find harmony between individuality and community, to create a world where people can be fully themselves while contributing to a collective evolution. Preparing for the age of Aquarius Pluto’s movement into Aquarius marks the beginning of profound changes, not just in the structures that shape our society but in the very way we relate to one another. This new era calls for deeper intimacy, a reimagining of marriage, and the freedom to explore unconventional relationships without judgment. Pluto is inviting us to break free from restrictive norms, encouraging a world where individuality and meaningful connection thrive side by side. Follow me on Instagram , YouTube and visit my website for more info! Read more from Nichell Delvaille Nichell Delvaille, Holistic Soul Coach, Intuitive Astrologer Nichell is a Wellness Practitioner. Healing effects all aspects of a person. She is a Holistic Soul Coach, Intuitive Astrologer, Reiki Master and Herbalist. Nichell also has certifications in Yoga, Meditation and Ayurveda.