“Nothing is more common than to mistake the sign for the thing itself; nor is any practice more frequent than that of endeavoring to acquire the exterior mark, without once thinking to labor after the interior grace”. ~ Hannah More

This is a small gesture toward celebrating the young women who go out of their way to include a fuller spectrum of consideration in our questions about personal development. There’s something refreshingly invigorating, and relieving, in a voluptuous dialogue inclusive of the more complex and sometimes difficult aspects of living. Just love these titles…

There’s More to Life Than Being Happy

“Research has shown that having purpose and meaning in life increases overall well-being and life satisfaction, improves mental and physical health, enhances resiliency, enhances self-esteem, and decreases the chances of depression. On top of that, the single-minded pursuit of happiness is ironically leaving people less happy, according to recent research.”                ~ Emily Esfahani Smith

Embrace Authenticity: How to Break Free from the Tyranny of Positivity

“Values are often thought of as these very abstract things, on walls in offices, but ultimately have little meaning. But actually every single day all of us have hundreds of opportunities to make choices that are towards or away from our values. If we can start recognizing that values are actually qualities of action rather than abstract things, it helps us to thrive. … One of the first things is showing up. Instead of trying to push our emotions aside or trying to put on a happy face…literally drop any struggle that you have within yourself by ending the battle… Really just open up to the fact that we have a full range of emotions. These emotions have helped us and evolved to enable us to position ourselves effectively in the world.” ~ Susan David