When you are unclear on what the carrot represents, you are just chasing an imaginary object you might never reach.

We are presented with little decisions every day, and it is our response to these decisions that determine whether we are genuinely living happier.

The phrase "champagne problems" allows people to minimize, belittle and basically not deal with their genuine issues.

I may have looked like a 30-year-old who had her '&*%' together, but in reality, I was a mess. I was a chameleon trying to fit in with everyone else and be what I thought they wanted me to be.

Do you know those decisions you make that are just gut decisions? When the answer is a complete YES? Those are the decisions you know will work out. And then there are those decisions that we make that we say YES, but there is a small voice inside that says no.

When you swallow, ignore, belittle your needs, it makes it even harder for people to remember, think about, or acknowledge them. Over time the more you don't speak up, the fewer people will think about what you might need.

Our culture is obsessed with winning, completion, and getting it done, that sometimes the lesson is knowing when to stop.

Numbing has become a way of life. Bottom line if checking out is easier---why would I want to check in???

The thing about needs is when we ignore them for long enough, they get more and quieter and harder and harder to hear. They don't become any less important; they just become harder to pay attention to.

“Do you know what happiness is? Happiness is the smell of a new car. It's freedom from fear. It's a billboard on the side of a road that screams with reassurance that whatever you're doing is OK. You are OK. "

Many years ago, a mentor of mine said to me, "You don't need to justify, prove or defend the decisions in your life. Your decisions are your decisions. People don't have to approve of them to make them better or worse." It was a revolutionary statement for me.

Should. It is such a powerful word. The problem with shoulds is that they disguise themselves as helpful when they are merely forcing us to do something outside of ourselves.

It is such a two-edged sword. On one edge is the idea of being open, being a risk-taker, being passionate, and exposed to life. However, in reality, being vulnerable has the potential to cause pain. Thus the double-edged sword.

Frequently clients come into my office so focused on what they don't have and are stuck in 'all be happy when' syndrome that they miss their children growing or the joy they get from their friends, or the happiness they find in their job.

Once we know our top five values, then we can direct our lives and our life decisions around those five values. When we are aware of our values, we have a core place to come from when making life choices.