Word of the Week: Lovingkindness Life Lesson: I spent a lot of my time in graduate school researching why women are so hard on themselves. I was personally interested in this topic because I’ve had a harsh inner critic for most of my life and was always told it was because I set too high […]

Word of the Week: Teach Life Lesson: A big part of my Monday Vibes mission is to empower women to pave their own path, make unconventional choices and do what makes them happy—even if it risks disappointing others. It’s not easy being the one who veers left when everyone else veers right. It’s unsettling, lonely […]

Word of the Week: Change Life Lesson: I’ve recently changed my relationship with quitting. What does it even mean to quit something, really? Let me explain. The hard-working, overachiever I’ve always been taught to be—praised to be—prided herself on never being a quitter. If I couldn’t figure something out or something didn’t come naturally, it […]

Word of the Week: Community Life Lesson: I’ve had a hard time finding the right community, though not for lack of trying. I’ve joined women’s groups, book clubs, coworking spaces, business masterminds, healing workshops, yoga studios and even grad school. They’ve all fallen flat for one reason or another—usually because I don’t feel understood (something […]

“Workaholism is the one form of addiction that is worn as a medal rather than a ribbon that says, ‘dysfunction’.” —Virginia-based Talkspace therapist Cynthia Catchings, LMFT-S This statement hit me hard. I’ve struggled for most of my life with workaholism. I can remember doing homework until midnight as early as the fifth grade. People would […]

Likeability is a strange concept. After all, who is to say if you are likeable or not? If you strive your whole life to do everything in your power to be likeable (and avoid being unlikeable), you won’t truly be living your life. You will be living the life that others deem appropriate. As a recovering people-pleaser, […]

Word of the Week: SurrenderLife Lesson: When I first started freelance writing, a 750-word piece would take me anywhere from 6-12 hours to write. I belabored over every word, was obsessed with finding scientific studies to “prove” all of my points, and would re-write sentences up until the eleventh hour the piece was due. Not […]

Word of the Week: FlowLife Lesson: I have a confession: I wrote the last five Monday Vibes emails back in July. I was feeling particularly creative (which tends to happen to me when I am on my period) so I decided to put everything else aside and knock out all of my newsletters for the month of August […]

Word of the Week: IntuitionLife Lesson: “You never finish anything that you start” “You are all over the place” “You are so scattered” “You need to be more consistent” “You didn’t even give that a try” These are all things I’ve been told by loved ones, past managers, and business coaches when it comes to my […]

It was around 10pm when I got a knock on my freshman college dorm room. I probably had been up since 8am studying, squirreled away for most of the day in my favorite cubicle on the no-talking floor in the library. 12-hour study days were the norm for me. Monday through Sunday. No days off. […]