Erin Olivo - Mindfulness Meditation

Want to Know How to be Happy? Try These Tips

2021-08-27T04:13:35+00:00By Erin Olivo|Feel Better About Yourself, Be Happier, Wise Mind Living|

Do you want to know how to be happy?

The secret is simple: You must choose to be happy – because happiness is a choice. And you’re the only one in charge of your happiness.

Yep, you’re in charge of your happiness. Not your partner, mother, boss or best friend.

Being happy isn’t the absolute sum of how much good or bad happens to you. It’s how you choose to view your life and the things that happen to you. You can read my post about the key skills needed to cultivate more happiness here.

If you’re not feeling happy right […]

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What To Do When The Holidays Suck

2021-08-27T04:13:35+00:00By Erin Olivo|Be Happier|

It’s the most wonderful time of year…or is it? The truth is, for a lot of people the holidays suck.

The holiday season is one of the hardest times of the year for many of my clients. Pressures on finances and time, dwindling hours of sunlight (read about seasonal affective disorder here), overeating and drinking, and more time spent with family doesn’t always turn out to be festive.

This time of year can also bring up painful reminders or memories from the past, and sometimes all of this leads to sadness, anxiety and even depression.

If your reality […]

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5 Powerful Ways to Build Your Self-Confidence

2021-08-27T04:13:35+00:00By Erin Olivo|Feel Better About Yourself, Build A Meaningful Career|

Confidence is a mindset. It’s a skill that can be learned, and one of the ways to build your self-confidence is by practicing it.

Even the most successful people lack confidence sometimes. My executive coaching work often focuses on helping clients boost their self-confidence. They’ve gotten (and kept) their high level positions because they’re extremely competent. But a lack of confidence is what holds them back, not their ability.

It’s easy to get stuck in a rut at work (or in life) when you’re playing small, and not pushing yourself or taking risks because you lack the confidence. Try these […]

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Why You’re Feeling Stuck and How To Get Unstuck

2021-08-27T04:13:35+00:00By Erin Olivo|Feel Better About Yourself, Wise Mind Living|

Are you feeling stuck?

The experience of stuckness is the perception of limited choices.

If you think your current job is your only option (even though you’ve exceeded your goals every year but haven’t been promoted), I bet you’re feeling stuck.

If you’re only staying with you’re boyfriend because you don’t think you’ll ever meet anyone else, I bet you’re feeling stuck.

No one likes feeling stuck.

But in order to get unstuck, you have to step back and really look at your life. This means assessing the good stuff – like your strengths, abilities and resources. Next comes the not so good […]

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A Simple Strategy to Help You Feel Better

2021-08-27T04:13:35+00:00By Erin Olivo|Feel Better About Yourself, Wise Mind Living, Managing Emotions|

How many hundreds of times have the words “I can’t help how I feel!” come out of your mouth? You probably started saying it as a child, and then grew to believe it as an adult.

But what if I told you that this isn’t true? What if I told you that you can help how you feel and you can feel better—because your feelings are not facts.

**Most of your emotional reactions in life, how you feel about certain situations, are actually dictated by what you think.**

Your mind leads and your heart follows. Sounds counter-intuitive, right?

Consider this example. You’re […]

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How A Gratitude List Will Make You Happier

2021-08-27T04:13:35+00:00By Erin Olivo|Be Happier, Wise Mind Living, Gratitude|

When you hear the research about gratitude and how making a gratitude list improves your health, makes you feel more connected to others, and lifts your mood – are you skeptical?

How are you going to feel better just by making a list?

And do those psychologists actually think that this Pollyanna-attitude-thing is going to help when you’re really feeling crappy?

It may sound too good to be true, but I’m here to tell you it’s not.

Gratitude increases happiness and is a great antidote to many things, including anger and bitterness (read this post I wrote to learn more about […]

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7 Tips to Bring Positivity Into Your Life

2021-08-27T04:13:35+00:00By Erin Olivo|Be Happier, Wise Mind Living, Gratitude|

Every day has something positive in it. Some days you just have to look a little harder. Here are seven things you can do to bring positivity and happiness into your life.

Write in a gratitude journal every day.

Make sure to be specific! A number of studies have found gratitude to be linked with positive emotions, and overall well-being and life satisfaction. And writing in your journal every day will help it to become a habit.

Listen to music that sounds the way you want to feel.

Research has shown that music activates the region of the brain that releases […]

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A Mother’s Day Message of Thanks to My Son

2021-08-27T04:13:36+00:00By Erin Olivo|Wise Mind Living, Acceptance|

I am blessed to have an incredible mom who has shaped my life in countless ways. I wrote a post about that last Mother’s Day, and in the year since she has continued to amaze me with her generosity, seemingly limitless energy and unconditional love and support.

But this year, I also want to take a moment to offer my deep gratitude and appreciation to my son, and acknowledge all of the important lessons he has taught me since that incredible day, six years ago, when I became his mother.

There is no other experience in my life that […]

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4 Simple Ways to Stress Less

2021-08-27T04:13:36+00:00By Erin Olivo|Stress Less, Wise Mind Living|

Stressed out? You’re not alone.

Many of my patients come to see me because they’re feeling stressed out. Unfortunately, stress is a part of life and you can’t ever completely get rid of it—but you can transform your experience of it and learn to stress less.

The key to managing stress effectively is remembering that in stressful situations you have a choice about what to focus on and how to respond. You can either stress out about the long line for your morning latte, or take a mindful moment and breathe in and out slowly and deeply until it’s […]

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Give Yourself Some Love This Valentine’s Day

2021-08-27T04:13:36+00:00By Erin Olivo|Feel Better About Yourself, Wise Mind Living, Gratitude|

I was making Valentine’s cards with my 5-year-old son, and as he was counting to make sure there was a card for each kid in the class, he casually said, “Oh wait, I need to make one for myself!”

This got me thinking about how infrequently we stop to offer ourselves love and appreciation. In fact, all too often we do the exact opposite and beat ourselves up and put ourselves down.

So this Valentine’s Day, I suggest you take the sage advice of a child and start giving yourself some love and appreciation on a regular basis. Here are […]

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