You’re going through something difficult. Maybe you’re stuck in a painful situation you can’t escape yet. Perhaps you’re grieving a loss in your professional or personal life. Or, maybe you just experienced a setback or disappointment, and you can’t shake it off. Your reaction to each of these situations is the same: Be hard on … Read more
“Why do I keep feeling the same difficult emotions over and over, and what will make them stop?” Difficult emotions like sadness, anger, fear, shame, guilt, regret, resentment, helplessness, and jealousy weigh us down and disrupt our lives. Ruminating on the same negative emotions for hours or even days can be highly upsetting, as the … Read more
Do You Believe in Yourself? Whether your answer is “not always” to “hardly ever,” you’re not alone. Far too many people are settling for lives that are far below their potential largely because they don’t believe in themselves. There was a time when I did not believe in myself, and I can tell you, that … Read more
Failure hurts. Disappointment stings. And a major setback can leave you feeling like the ground has shifted beneath your feet. If you’re in that place right now — replaying what went wrong, questioning yourself, or wondering how to find your footing again — you’re not alone. And more importantly, you’re not broken. Learning how to … Read more
Worry is as useless as a handle on a snowball. ~ Mitzi Chandler Worry can make your mind feel like it is trying to protect you, but never actually lets you rest. You replay conversations, imagine worst-case scenarios, and try to solve problems that may never happen. If you can’t stop worrying, it does not … Read more
Create a Simple Morning Routine: It’s Time to Be Deliberate About How You Start Your Day! How you begin your day has an enormous influence on how you’ll experience your day. How you experience each day will determine how you’ll experience your life. Yes, the habits you embrace in your morning routine have the power … Read more
The Slippery Slope of Making Promises to Yourself that You Don’t Keep We all make promises to ourselves. Some of us are good at keeping the promises we make to ourselves; others of us are not so great at keeping promises to ourselves. If you’re reading this post, I suspect you may fall into the … Read more
The best inspirational books do more than lift your mood for a few minutes. They help you see your life from a new angle. Some offer courage when life feels hard. Some help you find direction. Some remind you that change is still possible. This list includes 35 inspiring books worth reading when you need … Read more
While the world would have you thinking that you have to chase down happiness or that maybe it’s for other people, I’m here to tell you that’s not true. You have the power to create joy in your everyday life. Joy is not just for special moments or some future date when everything is accomplished. A … Read more
Are you tired of struggling? Recently someone wrote to me here at Believe and Create and told me she was tired: Tired of struggling. Tired of feeling miserable. Tired of conflict. Tired of not getting anywhere she wanted to go. Tired of feeling that her life was a mess. She was also tired of reading … Read more
What does “believe in yourself” mean? Believing in yourself has two core components. The first is a solid belief in your inherent value as a human being; it’s the deep-down understanding that you are someone with gifts to offer the world and who recognizes that you mattered important the moment you were born. This is … Read more
Sending positive energy or “vibes” isn’t just some touchy-feely thing that touch-feely people came up with. The power of energy exchange among people is backed by science. When that energy is positive, good things happen. When that energy is negative, life gets a whole lot more difficult. Spreading good vibes can make for a happier, … Read more
Every morning you have a chance to decide how you’ll face the day. Starting your day off with a little self-care can make all the difference in how your day will go. Unfortunately, most of us don’t make a deliberate decision to start our days off right but rather leave it up to habit or … Read more
Self-love activities can have a transformative impact on your mental and emotional well-being. They reduce stress and anxiety while helping you feel more valued, accomplished, and fulfilled. Participating in self-love activities helps you build your sense of self-worth and self-appreciation while helping you find the joy that’s been missing in your life. Whether you’re just … Read more
Self-love and self-compassion are keys to living a fulfilling, happy, beautiful life. Sadly, many of us do not give ourselves the love and compassion we so richly deserve. How you feel about yourself impacts every aspect of your life. Every relationship. Your career. Your personal happiness … and the overall quality and fulfillment of your … Read more
There are many ways to hug and many reasons to hug. We hug to show love, support, and excitement. A hug says I care for you, I am here for you, I am happy to see you. We have been hugging since we were infants holding onto our caregivers, bonding and connecting during those beginning … Read more
Affirmations are a powerful way to change your mindset and move forward in the direction of what you want. Affirmations for change can be extremely helpful as you proactively take steps to transform your life or if you are handling changes that have been thrust upon you. We all get stuck in automatic negative thinking … Read more
Oh, if I had a penny for every time I practiced pumping myself up in anticipation of facing a difficult person or a negative situation. (Hint: I’d have a lot of pennies!) Every time I was about to enter an uncomfortable, negativity-charged situation, I’d tell myself to keep a positive attitude … keep my … Read more
Setting healthy boundaries with others is crucial to your self-care, personal growth, and happiness. This list of the best books on setting boundaries covers every aspect of establishing boundaries, including how to follow through and stay firm when others encroach upon them. Whether it’s with your spouse, children, partner, friends, neighbors, church community, colleagues, or … Read more
If you’re looking for the “how of happiness,” you’re sure to find it in the five best books on happiness that I’m about to share with you. Get ready, though, you’ll soon discover that these books on finding happiness in your life won’t point you outwardly, it turns out that happiness is an inside job. … Read more
Do you feel like your inner critic is running the show? You know who I’m talking about: that mean inner voice that finds fault with every little thing you do—the voice that withholds self-love and keeps you trapped and feeling down about yourself. Self-criticism is a near-constant companion for many people, making life feel like … Read more
Are you putting too much pressure on yourself? You’re not alone. Oh, the pressure we put on ourselves. The pressure to do more … be more … get more done. The pressure to be seen as smart and competent. The pressure to overcome our challenges and stamp out any and all undesirable circumstances in our … Read more
Do you need relief from anxiety and stress? When there is little you can do to change your outer world, you must do everything you can to calm your inner world, specifically, the words you speak to yourself. Using relaxing mantras for anxiety and stress can offer significant relief. This post teaches you more about … Read more
Just the fact that you found this message today means you’re likely saying, “I need a miracle in my life!” I understand. We all need miracles in our lives from time to time. The decision you need to make now is whether to sit back and wait for the miracle to arrive or take steps … Read more