It’s true, people love you.

Research shows the more we practice being kind to ourselves, the more we increase and strengthen our self-compassion habit. One way we can practice self-kindness is through one of our favorite mental health tools, positive affirmations. Today we’re talking about rehearsing the internalized voices of all those who have been kind to you through positive affirmations.

Something radical happens when you choose to become your own best friend. We all have insecurities or things we don’t like about ourselves, it’s a part of the human condition. Have you ever noticed how you talk to a friend when they’re struggling? Usually when it comes to other people, especially the people we love, compassion for suffering feels natural. Why is it that when we speak to ourselves we often lose that gentleness, understanding, and compassion?

With inspiration from Dr. Kristin Neff, we created a 4 part series on cultivating self-compassion through writing. Today we’re sharing a 3 step practice on how to be a friend to yourself through letter writing. Grab a pen and paper and follow along!

We say yes a lot, and if you’re anything like us you might have a habit of saying it when you don’t always mean it. We do this for so many reasons – we don’t want to say no in fear that we won’t be asked to hang out again, we might fear disappointing someone by not agreeing to help, or we might worry about being perceived as lazy or unproductive. Whatever the reason is, by justifying why we constantly need to satisfy others, we in turn our betraying our own self-respect. The thing is, your time is never less worthy than someone else’s. Once we reconnect with our awareness and see how truly valuable our time, space and energy are, we can be better equipped to know where to set our boundaries and how to honor them; and sometimes that means saying “No.”

Self-acceptance is the act or state of complete acceptance of oneself with the awareness and understanding of one’s own capabilities and limitations. Self-acceptance means embracing not only the “good” or positive parts of ourselves, but embracing the uglier, scarier, more vulnerable parts too.

Learning to truly accept ourselves helps us to develop an understanding that we are separate from our actions. Your mistakes are mistakes, but not a direct representation of who you are, and they absolutely do not define you. Self-acceptance is an important tool in creating an authentic life, strengthening our relationship with ourselves, and ultimately living a more fulfilling life.

For updated lists and links of where to donate, petitions to sign, and other antiracist calls to action

This list was compiled with love and solidarity in honor of George Floyd, Breanna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and the countless other Black lives taken due to police brutality and all other acts of violent racism.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the great mothers and maternal figures out there! Although we love a reason to celebrate, we also know that today can bring up hard feelings for so many. Mother’s Day can be a painful reminder for those struggling with loss, infertility, or childhood trauma.

Any way that you feel about Mother’s Day is valid and understandable! If you’re struggling today (whatever that looks like for you), it’s okay! We created a few ways to help you get through the day.

Need a break? Experiencing exhaustion, distraction, or stress that seems to last forever? You might be experiencing burnout, but no need to panic! We’ve created a 5 step guide to help you overcome burnout. Read below to find out more about what burnout is, signs and symptoms, and how to get back to focusing on living a better life!

Misunderstandings, fatigue, comparison, resentment, the list of possible struggles goes on! Today we’re covering the 10 reasons why relationships are so damn hard and sharing ways to help maintain healthy relationships!

What do you do when you think that you’re the toxic friend/person? Whether you’re self contemplating or someone in your life has told you, today we’ll help you answer the question.

Self care doesn’t have to be a face mask and a glass of red wine (although those sound great too) it can also be as simple as learning how to say no, asking your body what it needs, saying goodbye to a toxic relationship, or just taking a moment to sit outside.

Let’s use this Valentine’s Day as a reminder to nurture ourselves and to reconnect with who we are. We’ve picked 5 self care tips to help you reconnect with yourself this Valentine’s Day (and any day).