Please don’t repeat my mistakes
Looking back at my first ever serious relationship, I can’t help but wonder how I could be so blind. It took me three years to stop ignoring the signs and admit that it wasn’t going anywhere. They were there from the very beginning, but I chose not to see them.
I would not admit it back then, but the reason for my denial was the fear of ending up alone. It was quite irrational since I was twenty at the moment. …
Work your way to happiness by adopting these simple habits.
When I was studying at university, I used to live in a dorm. I had a roommate named Ann. Ann had lots of great qualities, but there was one in particular that stood out the most. To this day, she is one of the most joyful people I’ve met in my entire life.
Ann could get excited about every little good thing that happened in her life. And when I say little things, I mean the smallest things. When we were getting ice cream after a lecture, her face could easily convince you that she won a lottery. And she…
Defeat the blank page with a smile on your face
Writing can be a lot of things. It can be fun; it can be therapeutic; it can be the escape you were looking for or a hobby you were lacking. But it can also be pretty overwhelming.
Writing is not easy. Being a prolific writer is even harder. Some days your words just flow, and you’re smashing the keyboard like crazy, writing sentence after sentence without a single sip of coffee. But on less lucky days, you end up staring at a blank page for hours. And you can swear that it’s staring back at you.
As Thomas Mann famously…
Get more comfortable with meeting new people
One of the disadvantages of being an introvert that had the biggest impact on my ability to socialize was assuming that everyone disliked me in any new room I would enter.
I knew that I’m a good person. I know how to be a good friend, always strived to be one, and had many great friendships that lasted for years.
But when it came to new people, I believed that something was wrong with the first impression I made, that something about me pushed new people away. I was depressed, and I’m sure it was part of the reason. …
“So many books, so little time.”― Frank Zappa
Books are truly magical objects. They can take you on a journey to any place in the world without you having to leave the house. They can teach you crucial life lessons while you’re sitting on your sofa. Books can be a teleport; they can be a time machine. Books let us live hundreds of different lives and learn from thousands of situations that could’ve never happen to us.
“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers.”
― Charles W. Eliot
But to get…
Simple habits you can adopt to become one of them
I’ve met a lot of charming people throughout my life, but the 2018 office Christmas party at my previous job was when I’d met the most charming person I had the luck to encounter. I often think about that evening, even three years later.
The girl I’m talking about was my coworker's plus one. I’ve heard a lot about her and how great she was, not only from her boyfriend but everyone who knew her at the office. …
#1: They feel the need to be honest
I used to always struggle to communicate my emotions. I’ve spent almost 3 years in a relationship that made me unhappy, and the first time I ever mentioned it to my boyfriend at the time was when I told him that I wanted a breakup.
I thought there was no point in discussing how I feel. My outlook on relationships was that you could either fit or not fit. There is nothing you can do about it and no way you can change that.
My friends, Angela and Max, the most unfitting couple you can imagine, were the ones that…
Small steps can make a big difference
More often than I would want to admit, I find myself not feeling quite like, well, myself.
I used to always struggle with listening to my body and giving it what it needs. Whether it was a couple more hours of sleep, a glass of water, or some fresh air. There were always things that were more important than that. First, with school, later with work, relationships, or my long-term goals. I would rarely put myself and my well-being first.
And I’m sure I’m not the only one. We all can get so caught up in our work and everyday…
Don’t reinvent the wheel. Use what’s been proven to work.
In my first week of writing full time, I got pretty scared about my writing future. I’ve been waiting for the moment I could devote all my time to writing for a while, but when I finally became a full-time writer, something went wrong, and I started panicking.
I couldn't do my work as efficiently as I was hoping to. I realized that I had no idea how to manage all of the free time that I now had and maintain a healthy work-life balance.
When writing became my only duty, the thing that I enjoyed doing the most suddenly…
Here is everything I learned
I remember the day a small coffee trolley appeared near the main square of the town I used to live in. It was conveniently situated right between my apartment building and the college that I was going to at the time. This was the first place in the neighborhood where you could buy coffee to go that wasn’t instant coffee served in a see-through plastic cup that would burn your fingers when you hold it.
From the moment I first tried their coffee, I knew I was screwed. Over the next five years, I’ve developed a deep and meaningful relationship…
