What stops us from having the very things we say we want in our lives is usually ourselves. Whether it's feeling that we don't deserve those things or that we don't believe it's possible to get them, it comes down to changing our thinking around it.

Being the real you might cause some discomfort and change. Not everyone will like it when you are more connected and genuine. That's okay. You will now attract just the right people -- those who will love you, support you, and lift you up.

It's all too easy to allow negative thoughts, anxiety or even fear of the day to be overwhelming. On those days, we become strangers to ourselves and others.

Remember, the greatest form of brainwashing is simply repetition. For some people, the repetition is within their own inner talk and thus, over and over, the negative is reinforced again and again. You can choose to stop that today, and I urge you to do so.

Amongst my friends, being happy isn't enough. Being successful doesn't cut it. Being in a loving relationship is but part of the plan. They want to leave a mark on the world. It is one of the reasons I love them.

These are some of the keys I have discovered to showing up more fully and authentically, to engaging my "self" as an instrument of service and love in this world. They're the kind of things I think we need to figure out anyway.

The more we come to understand ourselves, the more we discover who we are, what we truly feel, and what makes us tick. And all of this changes with time and experience.

I often end up erroneously attempting to force outcomes or results in the name of being "responsible" or "powerful," when what is usually really driving me is fear and control (hence the struggling/suffering). Can you relate in any way?

Playing the perfection game is like being in prison. We hold ourselves hostage to a false idea of who we should be based on someone else's standards.

Ever wonder why those New Year's resolutions don't ever seem to work out? If you want things to be different this time around, what you really need to do is ask yourself a few more questions rather than seeking a few more goals.

This year's catch phrase for women in business is, "Be your authentic self." What does this mean, really?

Think about your friends and family; do some of them really stand out? They are the ones who know themselves. In other words, they are comfortable in their own skin and know who they are as people.

If someone can hear your truth and relate to it, you have the beginning of a connection, a beginning of a relate-tionship.

Those of us who want authentic, healthy relationships have no choice but to know ourselves, so that others may know us as well.