Why is it so important to believe in yourself?

One of the biggest reasons many of us never quite reach our dreams is because we lack self-belief and confidence in our abilities. In order to develop that belief, we need to gather evidence through trying new things and making mistakes, but how can we do that when we can’t summon up the courage to try in the first place? Without self-belief, the fear of failure and judgment of others stops us from even starting. We begin to think it’s an unsolvable problem.

If you ask Google how many decisions we make in a day, several articles will pop up and these articles consistently estimate that we make approximately 35,000 decisions every single day. Some of these decisions are so small we don’t even notice them and some of them we do by habit. For example, I suspect my day started in a similar way to yours; with the decision to get out of bed. By 9 a.m., you’ve likely made dozens more. Similar to our thoughts, we tend to make the same decisions day after day.

Do you wake up in the middle of the night and start thinking about something that happened during the previous day or something that will happen in the day ahead? And then you start worrying. And thinking some more…..

Or have you ever started to think about a problem and immediately as you start thinking about it, you start creating more problems for yourself until you have a long list of problems? Or at least you think you do. In reality, those problems aren’t facts or circumstances; they are all just thoughts we are thinking.

One of the first and most important steps you can take on your journey to creating change in your life is to start becoming intentionally aware of your thoughts and feelings. By learning to observe your thoughts, you will gain insight into your thinking patterns and begin to notice that thoughts and feelings come and go like waves in the ocean. You’ll also start to see the relationship between your thoughts, emotions, and behaviours and, in time, will begin to understand that your automatic thoughts (those thoughts you have been thinking over and over) are likely not true.

What are your plans this summer? Even if your daily schedule doesn’t change much during July and August, it’s time to create a summer mindset that includes time to relax, restore and rejuvenate.

Summer days invite us to slow down and let go. With longer days and warmer weather, there are more opportunities to ease into a gentler routine and enjoy the beautiful outdoors. It’s also a perfect time to focus on creating new daily habits of self-care.

Do you remember that as a child summers seemed to go on forever? Now as an adult it feels much more fleeting and I find myself wanting to grab and hold onto every single minute.

My calendar year has always gone by the school calendar and, since I still work in the school system, this year is no different. In a few more days, I’ll be off for the summer - 2 months of slowing down the tempo of life….

My week began with one of my worst nightmares; I hit a deer (a doe) on my way home from work. I’d had two near-misses in the last year, but this time I wasn’t as fortunate.

I’m “lucky” because I didn’t hurt myself, but the doe wasn’t as lucky. For 10 excruciatingly long minutes I watched her suffer and die as I stood by and sobbed helplessly.

While it couldn’t have been any worse for the deer, I’m well aware that it could have been much worse for me, not just physically, but emotionally.

I’m very familiar with physical pain and over the years have developed a personal daily practice that helps me manage it. In particular, I’ve struggled with migraines since I was an adolescent. I’ve tried many different things to stop the headaches and so far haven’t been successful (although I don’t intend to stop trying!).

Although the cause remains elusive, I continue to explore different ways to manage the pain of my migraines and, along with drinking lots of water, watching what I eat, exercising regularly and trying to get enough sleep, etc., I rely on my daily mindful practices to help me manage the pain when a migraine attacks. These practices include mindful yoga, meditation and exploring my thoughts through mindful writing.

When I really think about it, sometimes it seems like I’ve spent a lot of time in my life waiting. That includes waiting for other people, waiting in lines at the grocery store, at the Ministry of Transportation, or at the airport, just to name a few. Sometimes waiting causes thoughts that make us anxious, including waiting for test results or waiting for a teenager to get home safely late at night.

Some of the waiting we do is because we’ve decided it’s important and necessary. Some of it we deliberately choose. And some of it is completely unnecessary and detrimental to our ultimate happiness.

Have you ever been at a family gathering or social event with friends where someone tells a story that you were part of, and your recollection of the facts is completely different? I know I have. That’s good news because it means it’s possible to tell our stories from a new perspective.

It’s time to upgrade your thinking.

Due to a phenomenon called “negativity bias” we tend to recall the negative things that happen to us more often than the positive ones. We’ll paint a picture of ourselves that is less favorable more often than remembering how brilliant we were in a situation.