05/ 05/ 2013
I know I’m not alone in this, but I find living in a state of uncertainty incredibly difficult. A natural extremist, I need a “yes” or “no;” a black and white answer; you’re on my side or you’re not. In a world filled with so many unknowns, it’s hard to always get a straight answer, and thinking like an extremist seems more and more like an idealistic notion.
I’ve realized that instead of demanding clarity, I’m going to have to suck it up and accept that uncertainty is a major part of living life.
To be frank, I haven’t learned much more than this. I wish I could offer you some brilliant strategy that’s helping me deal with uncertainty in a more balanced way, but unfortunately for you and me, I have no such tactic in mind.
04/ 03/ 2013
Meditation is a practice I’ve wanted to do, but I’ve always found it so darn difficult and have never been able to stick with it for more than a few days at a time. Interestingly, I’ve been thinking about it over the past couple of months. It’s been one of those “I should really look into this,” sort of things that I didn’t pay much attention to.
In early March, I received an email from Oprah (yes, I receive daily emails from her… whatever). She wrote about a 21 day meditation challenge that she and a guy named Deepak Chopra were co-leading. Since I didn’t give anything up for Lent, and since meditating was something I’d been thinking about, I decided that this was my chance to commit to learning more (plus I think Oprah can do no wrong… but I digress).
Deepak & Oprah
03/ 03/ 2013
I’ve mentioned this before and it’s still difficult for me to understand how I continue to fall into this cycle. I try to be perfect. There’s a lot of perfectionist out there whom I sure can agree that perfectionism feels cyclical. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve accepted that I’ll never be perfect, and even after believing this, I continue working towards it. When I fall short, I reprimand myself and say, “Jaime, you should have done this perfectly.” It’s exhausting.
This month, my desire to reach an ideal standard seemed to be staring me in the face. I became frustrated that my black jeans were faded because having worn jeans didn’t look perfect. I wasn’t managing my time as well as I could’ve or catching up with as many friends as I wanted to. I wasn’t exercising as much as I should be or always eating right. What bothered me the most was that I couldn’t balance my life seamlessly.
After hitting a point of frustration, I began to do some searching and discovered this article written by Amy Shearn:
02/ 13/ 2013
Valentine’s Day can be rough if you’re single. When you’re out of college, you no longer have that safety net of friends to go out and get silly with while also bashing all of your respective ex’s. On the big day, your roommate may be on a romantic date with her true love, and what are you doing? Sitting at home drowning your sorrows, possibly belting out your favorite ballads and — if you’re a girl — likely eating a box of chocolates. In your late twenties, it can be even more daunting. You start to feel outnumbered by the massive amount of married or long-term couples around you, and Valentine’s Day becomes just another reminder that your mother is, in fact, right: you are completely alone—the horror!
It sounds crazy, but I genuinely love, adore and enjoy this holiday (I have my reasons click here to read them). The truth is, Valentine’s Day can be wonderful even if you’re single. After spending 24 of them alone, I’ve developed some strategies for coping with the stress and anxiety that this very special day can bring… here’s how to deal:
