When someone hurts us, it’s easy to take it personally. How could you not, right? They said something mean that they knew would hit us hard. They did “that thing” because they knew we were insecure about it. They went…
Set yourself up for success by setting necessary boundaries
Compassionate reminder: The “relationships” mentioned in this article apply to any and all relationships: friendships, family members, romantic partners, colleagues, and other professional relationships, even the public, social media, and our communities. In Part 1 of our How to Set…
Feeling the feels
Trigger Warning: This article mentions emotional highs and lows that may be triggering for some people. Reading this article might arise feelings of sadness, healing, and self-awareness, so please read with caution and (self-)compassion. Many thanks, MTL. Emotions can…
Fixing our relationship with our emotions
Trigger Warning: This article mentions emotional highs and lows, including suicidal ideation that may be triggering to those who have experienced it and/or have suffered from suicidal attempts, directly or indirectly. Reading this article might arise feelings of sadness, healing,…
Filling the void
We all got our own vices. If we’re honest with ourselves, we know very well what they are and aren’t surprised when we find ourselves in similar situations. There’s a reason why we make the same mistakes over and over…
A journey towards purpose
Now as a 30-year-old, I’m proud to say I’ve overcome (a good amount of) the insecurities I had from my teens and twenties. Sure, I still care about what other people think (more than I would like to sometimes) but…
How to practice more self-love today: Self-love for beginners
Nowadays, it’s all about self-love and I am all for it! We’re reminded over and over again of the importance of loving ourselves but have you ever wondered what it actually means? What does loving ourselves even look like? And…
Unrealistic Love Expectations – Confessions of a Recovering Hopeless Romantic
As I approach 30, I can’t help but reflect on the expectations many of us have on love, romance, and intimate relationships. Like many, I grew up romanticizing love. Due to conditioning from fairy tales, tragic Shakespear plays, and societal…
You don’t need to be perfect to start
Perfectionism is a funny thing. It’s the strong urge to do things “perfectly” even when the expectations are unrealistic. Whether it’s your first time trying something new or you have no idea what you’re doing, the pressure to do things…
An open letter to anyone who’s felt rejected lately
We all have our low points. We believe we’re going to land that job, promotion, date, or even that award we didn’t even know we wanted until it was dangled in front of us. Then, we get the dreaded email,…
The Influence of Culture on Mental Health
This article is a followup of a Strive Conversation on the Influence of Culture on Mental Health, a part of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage (AAPI) Month and Mental Health Awareness Month. The experiences shared in this article do not…
7 Tips to Improve Your Conversations and Connect with Others
We all want to build better connections with others. Most of us don’t want to admit that we’re not quite sure how to do that… Whether you’re forming friendships, building communities, or looking to address a nation, learning how to…
9 Ways to Spend Time with Yourself
There has been a lot of back and forth on what people should be doing during this lockdown… Facebook messages encouraging others to take up online classes (guilty of this one). Twitter posts about how people are struggling to grieve…