There are times in our lives, especially after a traumatic event, that we may feel that we are better off if we isolate ourselves from others. Intimate partner violence, loss of a loved one, or recent trauma are a few triggers that may push a person to think that they would be better off alone than with others.

If there was one place I spent a LOT of time in my pre-teen and teen years, it was the car. Yes, the car, but not on my way to vacations, exciting new places, restaurants, or even friend’s houses (all that much). No, I passed countless hours traveling between my parents’ homes.

Up in the raftors, his eyes widened in amazement. He’d practiced with these men countless times and never had it occurred to him that they were silently thinking such awful things about themselves. Then again, come to think of it, hadn’t he done the same thing?

It was a particularly busy day. All three kids needed to be in separate places at about the same time, the fridge was showing the great need to be restocked, the pile of laundry was pleading for attention, and there were about 12 other items on my to-do list that I needed to get to.

From her bed, Alexandra stared at the boxes her grandmother had left stacked in the corner of her room. No, stared wouldn’t be the right word for it. She glared. If she could have lit them all on fire with the loathing in her gaze, she would have.

Gift giving doesn't just have to happen at Christmas, anytime of the year is a great time to experience the delight of giving. Many times we think that the one who benefits the most in a gift exchange is the one who gets the gift, but I think the best part is actually saved for the giver.

This life is guaranteed to come with trouble, challenges, and situations we wish we would not have to go through. When hardships come, they can crush us or make us stronger.

I love to clean. I love to start with a big mess and systematically trudge through it until I am left with a clean space, organized, and decluttered. If I always left my room clean, then how would I have a huge mess to have fun with and clean up?!

Family secrets can have a powerful effect on us and seriously change the way we view people we love or ourselves. According to Psychology Today, there are three types of family secrets: individual, internal, and shared.

One of the things that he said to us once stood out to me. He told us that fear gives us two options, which boil down to two acronyms created by author Zig Ziglar:

Forget Everything And Run or Face Everything And Rise

I learned my lesson that year. And this year, when the volunteer squash and tomatoes popped up – they were ripped out. It pained me to have to rip out healthy plants, but I knew that if I didn’t pare down, nothing would grow well.

Kind of like life, right?

Another thing to watch is the voices in your head. They can be negative, critical, and downright abusive. Your own brain can be more brutal than an abusive “friend,” partner, or parent.

I slid down onto the bathroom floor, cell phone tucked against my ear while tears streamed down my face. On the other end of the line, my husband did the best he could to comfort me. It had been an emotionally brutal season.

You’ve almost certainly had a dilemma like this before. You’ve looked forward to something in the future, which ultimately caused you to not want to do what you had to get done.

It’s choices you’ve made, not who you are. Why do we always talk about this like when you do it, that’s it? Like that’s how people will know you and remember you forever? As a bully.

That feeling of regret sinks deep in your gut and almost makes you sick to your stomach. It creates anxiety, doubt, fear, and even panic. It's like a tidal wave you can see coming but can't do anything about.

How often do you think about failure? How often do you fail? Hopefully, not much. Do you fear it, work with it, or embrace it? Wait. Embrace it? Why in the world would we ever want to embrace failure?

Think about the last time you did something really dumb. I mean, really dumb. Why did you do it? When I was in fifth grade, I was obsessed with lighters.

We exist, but we don’t really LIVE. - We Work the same job. Microwave the same meal. Sit in the same chair. Click through the same channels. Stare at phones.

History is full of people who tried something, found it didn’t work, and then went on to find success and meaningful work in a totally different field (Ruggeri, 2017).

Here’s a few signs that it may be time for you to consider quitting something (Pinola, 2012).