Choice is great for human rights, but sometimes it doesn't feel like a choice. For a lot of women the pursuit of having it all includes extreme bouts of anxiety, self-doubt, insecurity, and depression. What woman -- or any person of any gender -- would choose that? It's because having it all in American culture isn't a choice -- it's a gendered expectation.

To some people, talking about their emotions is like talking about something that doesn't exist. Some people think emotions are meaningless and unimportant. And I'd understand how someone could think that way, especially if somewhere along the way they learned that their emotions didn't matter no matter how much you talked about them.

What if you were as kind to yourself as you are to your best friends? Using a self-compassionate approach to your areas of growth can simplify the process. Being kind to yourself means there are no extra layers of judgement, isolation, or over-thinking that can stand between you and your goals.

Conflict is one of those things that makes people so horribly uncomfortable they would rather stomach their negative feelings than invite their trusted ones to support them. At its core, conflict is just a moment in which our needs are mismatched. The invitation to support each other through conflict is a commitment to grow together through change, especially when we’re coming from different places.

Trust is weird because the only way to earn it is to be given it. But, we give out our trust — unearned — all the time without having any evidence that the people we give it to are deserving. And we do it because trusting other people starts with trusting ourselves.