Category: General

On Stress vs. Happiness: Getting to a More Successful, Happier You!

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I frequently hear friends, colleagues, neighbors (you name it!) speak about how busy, stressed, or unhappy they are with their lives.  They are caught up in the wrong job, feel trapped where they are, or are working to accomplish x,y, and z before they can be truly happy.  This kind of thinking puts us in a negative cycle – one that often seems impossible to escape from.  Not to worry – there is hope!  Read on!

I came across this Ted Talk by Shawn Anchor a few years ago now, but it’s always a great reminder.  Take a listen (and bookmark it to watch it every few weeks.  It’s great, I promise!).

 

5 Practices to Help Bring you More LongTerm Happiness & Satisfaction

  1. Work to reset your formula for success vs. happiness:  We’ve grown up believing that we will become happy after we achieve success in x, y, and z.  But, what we’ve now found is that once you accomplish ‘z’, you will actually move the goal post for success.  That’s right – you will keep reaching!  This is great as you work to become more successful, but is not great news for your level of happiness.  We need to reverse our thinking to be happy in the present (that’s now!) which will allow us to ultimately be more successful.
  2. Train your brain to be more positive with a gratitude journal:  Keeping a daily gratitude journal is quick and simple.  Just write 3-5 things each and every day for a month (or longer, of course!) that you are grateful for.  This helps shift the lens through which you see the world to a more positive one, and will help you with number 1: resetting your formula for success vs. happiness.
  3. Take time for self-care:  I’m a huge believer in self-care.  Even taking 5 minutes a week is better than nothing.  Give yourself a foot rub (or get someone to give you one!), oil your body with fresh herbal infused oils, meditate, take a great bubble herb bath, etc. etc. etc.  There are so many options and they will all feel so good to your body and your mind.  Don’t be afraid to schedule this into your calendar.  If coffee with a friend is in your schedule, a date with yourself can be in there too!
  4. Get enough sleep:   This one probably seems obvious, but so many people are not getting the sleep they need.  Start by building a nighttime routine.  Leave your cell phone away from the bed.  Drink some chamomile or sleepy time tea.  Relax.  This is your time to rejuvenate for the day ahead!
  5. Work smarter:  You probably hear this all the time.  But it’s true – work smarter, not harder.  Focus on your happiness and you will have a profound impact on your output.  Create a system for breaks and prioritization in your day and you’ll be amazed how much you get done with a clear mind!

 

It’s actually quite magical that only 10% of what is happening to us externally impacts our longterm happiness.  The rest is up to us – up to our brains.  If we can impact and adjust the lens through which our brains view the world to reshape our realities, we can literally create magical lives for ourselves.  It’s a game-changer.  Let’s get to it!

 

How will you commit to adjusting your lens to the world?

 

xoxleah

 

come see what’s new in the shop!

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Yes, we’re mostly into ceramics around here, but we have many other loves as well.   Photography, hand-lettering, herbal medicine, papercrafts, jewelry-making, cooking, baking, writing…to name a few!

We’re excited to announce that we’ve just launched our first line of gems and jewels in the shop.  Click on over to the shop to see more, but first, feast your eyes below!

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Let us know what you think in the comments!

new designs.

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It’s been a great couple of weeks with friends, family, and celebrating the Jewish New Year.  It’s now Sukkot, one of my favorite holidays, as it marks the end of harvest time (and I love this time of year!).

We’ve got a lot of fun stuff cooking up for you too.  More on that soon!  In the meantime, take a look at some of the newest designs below:

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(Let us know what you think!  We’re really excited about some of the new directions we’re taking!)

I’m on a business trip up north in California for a few days this week and then head back up here again this weekend with my brother and dad (!!) for a bicycle race my brother is in.  It should be a fun time, and I’ll have more updates for you next week.

In summary:  things are hectic, but things are happy.  Lots of love ❤

in love with the process.

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Over the last few weeks, I’ve definitely been in ‘production mode.’

Working on my website, organizing and planning tsoana’s details, and, of course, fulfilling ceramics orders!

One thing is for certain, and that is that I really love the process.  It’s kind of like that phrase that goes something like:  it’s all in the journey, not the destination.  While I certainly like hitting the big goals and reaching my ‘destinations,’ I also like to step back and enjoy the details in the process.  Without the process, we would lack growth and understanding.  We would lack the fine details.  Without the process, tsoana and our creations loses the love.

Without further ado, an ‘ode’ to recent process:
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Hope you’re having a great, productive week.  Let us know what you’ve been up to with the hashtag #worktoinspire !

don’t forget the simple things.

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I had a really lovely weekend with my love and his mother.  We explored some of my favorite areas along the coast (Monterey, Big Sur, Carmel, & Pt. Reyes) and really just got to slow down a bit and spend some time outdoors.

It’s all quite simple.  Life is beautiful if you look for the beauty.  And sometimes, if you’re lucky, you don’t need to look very far.

kayaking @ pt. reyes

kayaking @ pt. reyes

a little about our logo.

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We love that you’re following along our journey as we grow and learn (and make mistakes…always some mistakes!).

We previously posted about our name tsoana, which means sameness.  If you missed that post, click back and give it a read!

After that post, we got many questions about how our logo relates to this idea of tsoana.

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First, we wanted a simple logo.  Nothing complicated or distracting.  After drawing out several ideas, we landed on this one for its simplicity and meaning.

Tsoana means sameness, but we know that there are so many beautiful differences in people.  There is also so much that is the same.  The triangles are descending and filtering down from the top (most unique) to the single point that makes everything the same: living, breathing beings.  We are alive.  We are the same.  We have joy.  We have love.

Kao Fela Rea Tsoana.  We are all the same.  If we filter down to the most granular, we can see it.  Through the complications and differences, we can unite together in love and create anything we envision.

what’s in a name?

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tsoana.  It’s a simple word that has a lot of meaning for me.

but it’s Possible you haven’t heard of it before (and perhaps haven’t heard about its country of origin either!).

Several years ago, I had an incredible opportunity to travel to the Kingdom of Lesotho, a mountain kingdom completely surrounded by the country of South Africa.

Me, on Thaba-Bosiu, taking it all in. Below is the Qiloane Mountain. Many say that the shape of the mountain is the origin of the iconic Basotho hat.

Me, on Thaba-Bosiu, taking it all in. Below is the Qiloane Mountain. Many say that the shape of the mountain is the origin of the iconic Basotho hat.

One of my former professors had done the Peace Corps and was stationed in Lesotho, and he often brought small groups of students back to the country he called home for two years.  During our time there, we lived in a small village and spent our days building community centers and orphanages, assisting in an HIV clinic, building playgrounds, and creating and planting garden plots.  Throughout each of the projects we worked on, we were not alone.  We worked side-by-side with the Basotho people.  We worked hard, we shared stories, we laughed, we cried.  All together.  Life in Lesotho is hard, but the people are inspiring and full of life.  They know what it means to share, to love, and to be in community.

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Lots of work to be done!

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A woman in the village of Roma stands by her home.

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An orphanage we painted after building a new playground.

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Seed beds we dug and planted.

Small helpers coming over to the site of the new community center/orphanage.

Small helpers coming over to the site of the new community center/orphanage.

Throughout the trip, one phrase kept coming up during discussions and interactions with the Basotho people around us.  That phrase was this:

Kao Fela Rea Tsoana.  We are all the Same.

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Kao Fela Rea Tsoana. We Are All the Same.

This has resonated with me ever since.  Whenever I’m upset or frustrated, happy or elated, I realize that we all share in our experiences.  My happiness is your happiness, and vice versa.  We live in this together.  We truly are one.

I took the final part of the phrase, and hold it close to my heart.  It translates to ‘sameness’ on its own.

I know some people may simply read this and think, ‘Look how naive she is.  She thinks we are all the same.’  Quite the contrary.  What’s beautiful is that we are all the same in so many ways, including that we are all different (confusing, right?).  Our uniqueness is just as incredible as the fact that we all have the same color blood running through our veins, we breathe the same air, see the same stars and moon, and can feel the same heat on our face from the shining sun.

Amazing.  We all have a sameness, and that’s what this is all about.

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One of the most beautiful places.

Soon, you can check out my ‘Through the Lens’ tab for more glimpses at my Lesotho trip and other adventures.  And if you’re feeling adventurous yourself, go visit Lesotho!  You won’t be disappointed.

Finally, if you’re feeling generous, SOS Children’s Villages, is a great organization for donations to this beautiful kingdom in the sky.

Walking softly and xox,

Leah