Tag Archives: self-acceptance

A Letter to my Younger Self about Fashion Stress and Teensanity

Melissa Fares is a 20 year-old student from Wilton, CT who is studying psychology at Smith College and blogging at Womankind. In the letter below, she is writing to herself at 13 when she was getting ready to go to her new school and be seen by her new friends. At the time, she says she was trying to “figure out Continue reading

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Thank you David Brooks

I’m privileged to look behind the curtain and I know it. Working with executives, celebrities, neighbors, friends and women everywhere on writing letters to their younger selves gives me a glimpse into what I think of as their interior landscape. It’s emotional territory, but studded with distinctive landmarks, just like the earth’s topography: shining pools of pure, intense feeling, hills containing sedimentary layers of inchoate sensations and stands of giant trees clustered around supercharged memories. Continue reading

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Happy To Share: What You Know Now Wows Me

“You need to learn to open up more and let people know you need help, or at the very least, accept it from those who offer. It’s not a sign of weakness.”

“Just show up. This will eventually become your mantra.”

“Even though there will be others around who will “tell” you what to do because they want it that way, I want you to… just speak your mind.”

“Just hang in there. Though you will feel as if you will never get better and  be the carefree, happy person that everyone knows, you will.” Continue reading

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A Letter To My Younger Self about being imprisoned by criticism

One of the bravest and saddest letters I’ve ever worked on is below. It’s by Kim Manoogian, a Vice President at The Business Bank of St. Louis, where she focuses on business development within the Private Banking Division. I met Kim when she invited me to conduct a LTMYS Seminar for the St Louis chapter of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association. Continue reading

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My 10 Things Happiness List

What are the small things you do that make you happy?

I find if I can incorporate just one or two of the activities on my list (below) in any given day, I’m much happier. When I tick off five or six it’s a red letter day. Continue reading

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A Letter To My Younger Self about self-acceptance and waiting

When I asked friends and readers to submit letters to their younger selves, one of the first women I heard from was Kristin Brown.

“I started to read “What I Know Now” and discovered that this whole idea started after the death of your mother,” she wrote. ” My letter is really all about my life after the death of my dad.  It’s interesting how quickly the loss changes you and your life. Continue reading

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