Buddhists say that the 2 roadblocks to happiness are FEAR and ADDICTIONS.

A few days ago, I had an experience which created more fear than I’ve felt in years.  Through a misinterpretation of available information, my husband and I mistakenly believed that our boys had been carried out to sea and drowned.  The ordeal lasted approximately 45 minutes where a phone call to the coast guard was made as sheer panic ensued.  Thankfully, they were safe and sound and this morning we find ourselves grateful for the house-wide clutter created by 2 teenage boys on summer break.

We’ve all had experiences like this. Situations arise that sometimes cause gut-wrenching, teeth clenching, hyperventilating fear on steroids.

Fear has a purpose though.  It causes us to engage, it heightens our senses and it sometimes serves to save our lives.

When we’re in fear, our bodies go through automatic physical changes.  Our adrenal glands produce cortisol, a hormone necessary to engage the fight or flight respo...

One of the top three reasons that people don’t seek out the health changes they want, need or could benefit from comes down to vulnerability.

We’ve all grown up with a set of premises surrounding our health and its outcomes.  Premises that sound like the following: 

“Life is short”

“Life’s a bitch and then you die”

“No news is good news”

“Don’t fix it if it’s not broken”

“Ignorance is bliss”

“Why reinvent the wheel?”

These premises become deeply ingrained by the time we’re 7 years old and they make up our set of false “truths”

The crutch that universally holds us back is FEAR.

We’d like to start something new like…a new exercise program but we don’t because we’re afraid to fail OR more precisely,  we’re afraid of what people will think of us if we fail.

Many of us have quietly bold and audacious daydreams of the things we’d like accomplish but never will,  because “what will people think if we fail?”  “What will people think if we succeed?” and“What if we fall flat on our fa...

They say that the majority of the thoughts we have day in and day out are the exact replica of the thoughts we had the day before and the day before that.  Original thoughts are actually very rare because by the time we’re 7 years old, we’ve established the auto-repeat of the “tape” which sets the tone for how we think for the rest of our lives…unless we flip the switch.

This morning, I ran to work.  I left the house at the same time, wore the same clothes, listened to the same playlist and took the same route I always take.  I thought about the week ahead and I became a bit grumpy.

I have my first (and possibly my last) triathlon on Sunday. 

I don’t know what to expect. 

I’m nervous about the bike ride.

It feels unpredictable and unknown.  Instead of being able to rely on the comfort of my every day, day in and day out thoughts, I am having to formulate thoughts in expectation of the unknown. 

This has happened to me with my kids, with business, and with countless other adventur...