Silence can carry meaning, but understanding that meaning requires more than assuming quietness always says the same thing. What My Silence Was Really Saying For a long time, I treated my silence as though it had one clear meaning. If I did not speak, I assumed I was protecting myself, choosing peace, or refusing to…
What happens when doing well stops being something we want and starts feeling like evidence that we are enough? Why Can Our Worth Start to Feel Tied to What We Achieve? Have you ever accomplished something you worked hard for, felt good about it for a while, and then almost immediately started wondering what you…
Why can we feel completely comfortable being ourselves with one person, yet carefully edit what we say and show around someone else? Why Do We Hide Parts of Ourselves Around Certain People? Have you ever noticed that you can be talkative, playful, emotional, opinionated, or completely relaxed around one person, then become noticeably quieter and…
Why do we sometimes apologize for what we feel before we have even decided what to do with the feeling? Why Do We Sometimes Feel Guilty for Having Emotions? Have you ever felt sad, angry, disappointed, jealous, hurt, or overwhelmed — and then almost immediately felt guilty for having that emotion in the first place?…
What can we learn from a moment of crying when we do not immediately understand what caused it? Why Do We Sometimes Cry Without Knowing Why? Have you ever started crying and realized that you could not give a simple answer when you asked yourself what was wrong? Sometimes the reason seems obvious. A conversation…
Sometimes we stay quiet not because we have nothing to say, but because we are still deciding whether it feels safe to say it. There are moments when you know exactly what you want to say, yet the words never leave your mouth. Someone asks whether something bothered you, and you say, “It’s fine.” You…