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thoughts to thrive on

Confessions of a recovering look-aholic

C

I’ve always been incredibly critical of how I look, rarely coming across a photo of myself that I like.  But the photo of me at the top of this post is one that I love.  Why?  Because  I see a strong, confident woman on her first solo hike ever, feeling empowered because of it.  I don’t care what I weigh, what I’m wearing, what my hair looks like or what I look like at all for that matter. ...

The most valuable resource you’ll ever own

T

It’s not shelter.  Or money.  Or an education.  The most valuable resource you’ll ever own is your gut.  For every decision you’ll ever make in life, you’ll have your gut to lead you to the right path.  For every sketchy situation you may find yourself in, you’ll have your gut to lead you to safety.  For every dilemma you don’t know how to resolve, you’ll have your gut to help you find the...

Mood follows action

M

It’s Saturday and there’s one thing on my schedule that has to get accomplished today.  Run 7 miles as training for my upcoming half-marathon.  But I slept terribly and going for a run, let alone the longest run I’ve done in years, is about the last thing I want to do today.  Why go do something hard when all I want to do is curl up on the couch with YouTube and snacks?  Because doing hard things...

On not having kids

O

Like going to college, getting married, buying a house and working a 9-5 job, having kids is not mandatory.  In fact, the decision to not have kids is a respectable one.  Not because having kids is bad, not at all, but because not having kids goes directly against societal expectations. From a young age you’ll be told “when you’re a mom/dad” “when you have kids” and you’ll hear this your entire...

Creating space for what you love to do

C

I used to have a pretty solid routine of planting my butt on the couch come 7pm and watching TV for a few hours before bed.  This routine had become less and less entertaining as I found less shows I enjoyed watching.  Yet, every night, I’d put in a pretty solid effort to find something to watch.  Mark and I had made comments about getting rid of our TV, but honestly “what else do you do at night...

Embracing the seasons of life

E

Six months ago, Mark & I sold the home we’d lived in for the last 7 years. It was the first home we’d ever owned, in an area we truly loved.  Looking forward at new opportunities, I felt excitement.  Looking back at what we’d be leaving behind, I felt sadness.  More importantly and more than ever before, I felt the inevitable seasons of life.  Just like the cyclical changes in nature, the...

Is a life of comfort killing your dreams?

I

We’ve gotten too comfortable.  I think it may be safe to say that many Americans today are the most comfortable they’ve ever been.  We have our houses and our recliners and our remote controls and our devices and our circle of friends and our neighborhood stores and we’re comfortable.  Why would we ever leave?  Why would we ever stir the pot and risk discomfort? Well all that’s fine and dandy...

5 reasons to avoid being in a hurry

5

A few years ago, when the beast that is anxiety made it’s way in to my life, I was beside myself.  Was this my destiny?  Would I continue to be crippled by the weight of stress and worry and tension as I got older?  I had a hard time accepting that but had no idea if I had any control over this new sensation I was feeling.  All I knew was that I wasn’t willing to just sit back...

Your life is awesome. Here’s why…

Y

It’s so easy to become habituated to a negative head-space.  We get caught up in stressful or pessimistic thought patterns and they just perpetuate themselves.  These patterns leaving us wondering why life seems to be kicking our ass left and right.  What it all boils down to however, is perspective.  There will always be good and bad in life, our life perspective is a result...

Your life is only as good as how much good you demand from it

Y

It’s a mild winter day sometime in February and Mark and I are driving down a quiet Arizona highway.  Ever since selling our house and taking to life on the road, our quest for “the next thing” had kicked in to high gear.  For years we’d been craving a change, a new chapter, a new challenge but so far nothing had struck us…we’d only felt more and more lost.  So we drive.  To new regions, new...

Michele

Hi, I'm Michele, a nomadic wedding photographer and lover of the great outdoors. I live on the road full-time and document my adventures daily. This is my personal blog where I share and record my thoughts on living simply and intentionally with less stress and more joy. Check out my wedding and portrait photography at http://www.oncwest.com

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