In Common Light
Rooted reflections on belonging and being
Category: self-improvement
Steps to cultivate more positive emotions, fulfillment, and happiness
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Sometimes, the idea of being held accountable feels scary. This is the case when it feels like an attack on our character—an experience deeply rooted in shame. Once we free ourselves from shame and recognize that guilt allows us to redeem ourselves, we can feel the gifts of accountability: earning (instead of being automatically granted)…
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We often hear the phrases, “Nobody has life figured out,” and “Nobody knows what they are doing.” Upon hearing them for the first time, I felt relieved. I felt like I wasn’t doing enough in my school, I felt like everyone was happy all the time. I felt like there was something that I was…
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When I first started practicing yoga, I was a bit surprised when I first heard the common saying from the instructors: “Do what feels good, do what feels right.” I asked myself “Really? Doing what feels right can help my physical and mental health? It doesn’t require something super difficult, strenuous, or hard?” I thought…
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The opposite of love is not hate, but fear. When someone expresses an act of hate, it often is an expression of fear. In this post, I will: Fear Only Serves the Ego The Evolutionary Benefit of Fear Fear evolved as a survival mechanism to protect us from danger. Fear is “caused by particular patterns…
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As I was moving through college, I often asked myself, “What career will I have?”. During my first year, I considered nursing. So I took a Chemistry class and attended a Health conference, only to realize that science was not for me. During my second year, I considered being a therapist. So I took an…
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Social media was consuming me in more ways than I realized at the time. It was 2020, and with more free hours in my day, I found myself spending an average of eight hours on my phone—half of my total waking time. As research suggests, this level of digital engagement was taking a real toll…
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“Are you a perfectionist?” said my family friend who was helping me with my college applications. We were sitting at her kitchen table, laptops open at one of our last meetings in late November. She had asked me this after I explained to her that I had not yet turned in my essays, the essays…
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For a large chunk of my adolescence and up until a couple of years ago, I subconsciously felt that in order to connect with people, I had to impress them in some way. I had to earn their approval. I was not even sure how I was impressing them, or what explicitly I had to…
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Discomfort — we all know it well. That sinking feeling in our stomach, the sudden pounding of our heart, the tension tightening our shoulders and neck. We also know too well our avoidance; we say “I don’t like feeling this way.” So we pull ourselves in, retreat back to our state of comfort. This avoidance…
In Common Light 