Only you can become an expert at valuing yourself! What practices help you become your own personal best?

Valuing yourself is a process and requires practice. Earning it may not give you applause and acknowledgement from outsiders, but having healthy self-worth will provide you with the strong foundation to perform in other arenas.

You are special in your own right. Not for being your job title or for a role you play in your life, you are worthy for being YOU! You without the mask, without the titles, without the applause.

The holiday season brings congestion everywhere - at shopping malls, on the roads, even at the grocery stores.  People are out trying to find the perfect present for their loved ones.  This means, though, that the parking lots and routes to these major centres are packed with holiday season traffic. It may seem like the whole city is out shopping!

During this festive season, I usually try to plan to go shopping for my gifts at off hours or to order things online to avoid the crowds and congestion.  However, this past weekend I found myself in a jammed traffic lineup while merging onto the highway.

December is always a time of reflection for me. Therefore, to gather my thoughts and reflect on what I learned over the past year, I decided to go for a walk in the forest. On my walk, I found a very tall tree and decided to stop and think. As a nature lover, whenever I see a tall tree, the term “growth” comes to mind. Growth of any kind is a process, whether it be individually or collectively.

How do you deal with anger?

You may be reading this question, afraid to admit that some occasions in your life have made you feel angry. But, you needn’t be wary of acknowledging your anger.  Everyone experiences anger at some time in their lives; anger is a normal human emotion.  What we do with our anger is when problems can arise.

Happy First Day of Fall!

What are your favourite things about this time of year? Recently, the weather was so warm that it felt like summer was still here. However, waking up this past Sunday morning, I looked out my window and saw that fall had finally arrived. 

Swathes of leaves in the trees had changed colour: magnificent reds, yellows and oranges; the road was covered with the dull gold of crushed leaves. These sights made me excited!  This change in season brings about many things I can look forward to and appreciate during the following months of autumn.

How do you connect with people who seem out of reach?

After writing the post last week, I have gotten inquiries about how a person can begin being seen and making their presence known. I get asked this question regularly, as I have connected with beautiful people from around the world. With all of them, we started as strangers; through developing the courage to express our thoughts, we built a connection.

What have I spent 10+ years practising?

Sometimes it takes awhile to see the most obvious thing that has been there throughout our whole journey. We focus so much on the details and not on the bigger picture; hence why I had been stumped on my friend's question. I reflected, dug deeper, and after some serious thought, discovered what the common element was.

I am an expert in coping with transition.  Not only had I experienced a lot of transition personally, I counsel individuals and organizations on how to improve (change is a huge element of this). 

Establishing Yourself as a Life Blogger is about speaking from the heart, sharing your passion with others, and building community.

When people are looking for inspiration, instead of only going outward to others for answers, dig deep and look within. Write your posts as if you are speaking from your heart. Remember, people are coming to your blog to connect with you and hear your thoughts. Blogging is a conversation where you start talking and people respond.

Is there a common theme to the life lessons you are learning lately? I find that when I’m being taught something important, the message is usually repeated in different situations throughout my life. That way, I’ll pay attention – even if I don’t want to!

This happened recently at a personal development seminar where I was a participant.  We were asked to list personal obstacles in our life journeys. Like a reflex, I wrote down ‘COURAGE’ and circled it. Though I didn’t understand why this word mattered to me, I was soon to get inklings.

Participants were asked to discuss the meaning behind what they had written down with others close by.  We helped one another; I was shown that my ‘courage’ meant developing the strength to speak my story on a general level.

Aloha! I’m back. Hope you all had a great couple of weeks. I had a refreshing vacation in Maui.

If you want to get inspired, you should visit the Hawaiian Islands. They have changed my life; they may change yours. We all have places that empower us. The Hawaiian Islands do this for me.  Maui has a special place in my heart; it is where I originally came up with the idea for my blog. So, I thought I should use my holiday as a chance to reflect on my blog, past and present.

“What am I going to do with all my pennies?”

This thought crossed my mind while I was cleaning my room last weekend.  I have a cup full of pennies that I have been randomly collecting as spare change. The pennies just sit in a cup in my room occupying space.

I'm excited to share this personal post with you about how I learned to embrace my body.  I hope you enjoy it! Also, check out my interview with The Gold Zebra as I'm featured as blogger of the week starting today.

The journey to stand taller ( i.e., stand/walk tall means to be proud of yourself and confident of your abilities) started with a purchase. A few years ago, I bought the prettiest pair of high heels. The best part about them is they are four-inch heels. Now I know, you are probably thinking, “Arianna, WHY are you sharing your purchase with us?!”