Best of Our Blogs: September 13, 2016

Many of us worry we’re not fulfilling our purpose or living a life of meaning. We chase it like gold at the end of the rainbow. But the secret can’t be found in anything external. The surprising truth is that we always knew. Life in the form of parents, teachers and other outside influencers just muddled our self-knowledge.

I love this passage by Parker J. Palmer in Let Your Life Speak: “We arrive in this world with birthright gifts-then we spend the first half of our lives abandoning them or letting others disabuse us of them. As young people, we are surrounded by expectations that may have little to do with who we really are, expectations held by people who are not trying to discern our selfhood but to fit us into slots. In families, schools, workplaces, and religious communities, we are trained away from true self toward images of acceptability; under social pressures like racism and sexism our original shape is deformed beyond recognition; and we ourselves, driven by fear, too often betray true self to gain the approval of others.”

He says while the first half of our lives is spent “disabusing” our gifts, the second half is about rediscovering it.

If you’re on a journey to recover who you are, this week’s posts on self-care practices and feeling stuck will inspire you to carry on.

Projection: Narcissists’ Favorite Trick
(Narcissism Meets Normalcy) – Narcissists abhor being wrong so much that they will do this to relinquish the responsibility.

Why Some People Can’t Change
(Childhood Emotional Neglect) – You’ve read books, seen therapists, and talked to friends. But no matter what you do, you’re still stuck. This could explain why.

7 Self-Care Practices to Support You
(Weightless) – Feeling drained? This is just what you need to nourish your soul and rejuvenate your spirit.

10 Worst Things You Can Say to a Highly Sensitive Person
(The Exhausted Woman) – You feel deeply. You can’t live without music or art. You get easily overwhelmed. If this sounds like you, these statements will seriously hurt you.

Hypomanic or Just Normal?
(Bipolar Laid Bare) – When depression abates, the state following could be hypomania. Then again, you could be adjusting to your normal behavior. Here’s how to tell the difference.

from World of Psychology http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2016/09/13/best-of-our-blogs-september-13-2016/