Daily Dose of Mindfulness

This episode is different from the short-form format that I've been doing. Since this is our last episode, I wanted to make it special. So, I invited my husband Nicole to join me for a conversation. In this 50 minute conversation, we talk about the tools we use and our experiences in cultivating mindfulness. Thank you so much dear listeners and friends, for joining me in the last 46 episodes. I hope you enjoy this last one. :)

Do you love traveling? I do. For travel lovers like me, I talk about what I like about ‘traveling’ per se and ponder on how we can travel more in our lives.

In today’s episode, I call out the pit falls that many of us get into. Why do we dismiss decisions that would yield us better result in the long run?

In today’s episode, we ponder about the question, “What will you do differently if today was your last day to live?”

In today’s episode we talk about motivation through the story of my friend, Dan. Why we should Create Our Motivation rather than waiting for it to strike.

When should be start putting in our 100% of our effort? Is it when get 1M followers? or when we reach 1M in sales? When? Today’s episode, I share with you THE ONLY PERSON YOU NEED TO START start putting in your 100% percent.

Things come and go. No matter how much we hold onto them - they leave. Endings and beginnings - this is life. In today’s episode, we talk about how to handle the many changes in our lives.

Today’s episode is a call for us to identify and challenge the assumptions we have. Assumptions that hinder us from living the life we desire.

Today I’ll share with you the lesson I learned from a 48-hour fasting.

In today’s episode, we find the answer to the question, “When will life get easier?”

In today’s episode, I share with you why owning things that you can’t afford to lose, end up owning you.

In this episode, we talk about what it means when people say, “The answer is within you.”

We are continuously evolving as humans. Comes with this are changes in our priorities, perspective, and values. In today’s episode, we discuss how to cope with this never-ending change through letting go.

Today’s episode is a call for us to examine the cage we put ourselves in.

We are always occupied, or 'busy' as we like to call it. We are in a constant state of rush - to do things, doing them, and moving on to the next. We put ourselves in a constant state of high- making every second count. When we find ourselves on the verge of doing nothing as if it meant dying, we go in a state of worrying- worried about getting bored or feeling guilty for not doing anything. So, we fill in our time with whatever activity we can think of. In today’s episode, we talk about what it means to SLOW DOWN AND REST.

How many of us dream of one day living a life we choose- our dream life? Waking up as if every day is a weekend. Building a business. Doing charity work. It will happen someday. Probably when I retire or maybe when I have enough money. We convince ourselves that it will happen even if we are not doing anything to get closer to it. Dreams do not happen in a flick of a wand. Dreams come true by deliberately working towards them. In today’s episode, we talk about how we can make our dreams happen by taking it ONE DAY AT A TIME.

What goes inside our mind is as important as the blood running through our body. Our thoughts, self-talks and values are responsible on how we operate as persons. They influence our feelings, emotions and motivations. Just like a contaminated blood causes a person to develop diseases, and so will negative thoughts, self-talks and values. In today’s episode, we talk about how The Stories We Tell Ourselves Shape Our Lives.

We all have pre-conceived notions and judgements on just about anything - people, places, activities, etc... A person who wears a turban, face covered with long beard and a Muslim is a bad guy. Losing weight means eating bland and boring food. Yoga is only for flexible people. If we examine the beliefs that we have, we'll notice that most of them are baseless. No concrete evidence to back them up. No direct experience to prove them right. They are mere assumptions and derivatives that we think are absolutely right. In today’s episode, we call in question these assumptions and challenge ourselves to DO THE OPPOSITE.

In today’s episode, we talk about WHAT IT MEANS TO BE RICH. And that we can all be rich if we choose to do so.

There is a huge barrier for us to try things that are outside our comfort zone. Our default is to stay where we are. And there are also times when all we need is a nudge to take the other way. Opportunities that may seem irrelevant, weird or scary might be the nudges we need to evolve. And this is what we’ll talk about in today’s episode, we talk about THE NUDGE YOU NEED TO TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE.

When was the last time you gave yourself a pat on the back? We keep looking for affirmations from other people and feel bad if we don't get them. But, we ourselves forget to give those affirmations to ourselves. In today’s episode, I urge you to BE YOUR #1 FAN.

Today’s episode is a reminder for us to APPRECIATE WHAT WE HAVE.

A year ago, my friend told me that I was weird after sharing with him my grand plan for the next months. I was quitting my job, getting married and relocating to Bali. And even after repetitively explaining my reasons, he kept asking, “I still don’t get it. Why are you doing this again?” I understood where he was coming from. To leave a good job and relocate to a foreign place where I don’t know anyone and with no means to earn money isn’t normal at all. And things that are out of norm are difficult, if not impossible, to embrace. This is what we’ll talk about in today’s episode. How unfamiliar ideas seem weird, strange or impossible until they become familiar and possible.

My life is nothing special. I wasn’t abused nor did I experience poverty. Unlike Tony Robbins, Malala Yousafzai or Lewis Howes who have amazing life stories to share, my life is average - ordinary. This was what I thought until I started looking at it in the grand scheme of things. Our lives are very much different even from the closest people in our lives - our parents, sisters, and spouse. Each of our lives is unique. Your life and my life are composed of moments, experiences and stories that nobody else owns but, you and I. By acknowledging our unique journey, we start to see the progress that we’ve made- the vast skills we’ve learned, the knowledge we’ve accumulated, and moments we’ve experienced. We only realize this by appreciating ourselves - our lives. And this is the VALUE WE CAN GIVE TO OTHERS.

Technological advancements have made life fast and convenient. It has never been easier to get what we want instantly. Spoiled by the instant results, we feel entitled to get anything we want easily and quickly - even success. We become delusional believing we deserve instant [overnight] success. We omit the behind-the-scenes leading to success- hard work, deliberate practice and the journey. In today’s episode, we debunk the idea of overnight success and replace it with the reality of OVERTIME SUCCESS. Because success does not happen overnight. It happens over time.

Have you experienced lapsing on your endeavor? Say, you got sick and missed your workout session or you ate a slice of cake and broke your diet regimen. I am sure that you got mad or at least got disappointed on yourself. And before you continue beating yourself up, I offer you another way of looking at it. We are not a failure just because we lapsed on our endeavor. We can look at this as the necessary break we need. Kids in school have morning, noon and afternoon breaks. Basketball players take breaks after each season. Even nature does it too. Summer, winter, autumn, and fall take turns throughout the year. Taking breaks is essential for us to recover and revisit the reason we’re doing what we do in the first place. In today’s episode, we’ll talk about this - WHY YOU SHOULD TAKE YOUR BREAKS.

In a world focused on productivity and efficiency, having a routine is important in order to deal with the many urgent things that we need to pay attention too. As much as routine is essential in cultivating habits and provided structure to be productive, it is equally important to break it - even if we enjoy having one. Taking breaks on our routine forces us to break the pattern. Doing unfamiliar activities will give us new experiences that would stand out and create memories. In today’s episode, we talk about THE SECRET TO CREATING LIFE LONG MEMORIES.

In today’s episode, I share with you my story on how I turned my dream into a reality - not by taking a leap of faith but, by BUILDING A BRIDGE. A bridge that connected the gap of where I was and where I wanted to be.

It annoys me when I am with people, who I am supposed to spend time with, busy with their phones. Thankfully, it rarely happens to me. Yet I see it happen to other people all the time. It makes me wonder, do they really want to spend time with the people they are with or are they just compelled to 'be with each other'? In today’s episode, we talk about why YOU’RE BETTER OFF DOING SOMETHING ELSE.

My husband and I drove our motorbikes to Amed, a town located 90km east of Ubud, Bali. We decided to take a 4-day vacation by the beach. Everything went as planned. We attended yoga classes, ate lots of seafood, snorkeled the Japanese ship wreck and read our books. It was a fun and relaxing vacation until our third day when I closed my motorbike compartment. CLICK! The compartment lock closed. My feet got cold. My heartbeat went fast. Thoughts swarmed my mind. That CLICK changed the rest of my day. Instead of lounging by the beach, getting sun-kissed skin and swimming, I spent the next hours busy worrying. In today’s episode, we talk about why often times THE BEST THING TO DO IS NOTHING.

Most of the time, we are our number one critic. I know I am. When I want to learn a new skill, I want to learn it fast. And I want to learn it NOW. In learning any skill, we’d first experience beginner’s luck. And then, we find ourselves stumbling down on the next try and then next, and the next. Until on the 3rd attempt, we feel like giving up. BUT, don’t. Don't give up on yourself when you fail, stumble and fall. Just like babies attempting to learn to walk, we are babies learning a new skill. Cheer, encourage and be patient because BABIES DON’T LEARN TO WALK ON THEIR THIRD ATTEMPT.

Comfort and security. For most of us, these are the biggest barrier to pursuing our dreams. We are scared of risking our 'okay' life despite knowing that this is the best our lives could be. The option of giving our dreams a shot is too scary for us to handle because of the risk of losing our comfortable and secured life. This blinds us from the possibility of equally being successful in pursuing our dreams. Choosing the path of discomfort isn't easy. But come to think of it. Succumbing to an 'okay' life for years is equally, if not more difficult. In today’s episode, we talk about why we should CHOOSE THE PATH OF DISCOMFORT.

Observe the conversations we often have. Parents ask their child, "What did you in school today? How was your exam? " We ask our friend, "How was your vacation? How is work? Where are we traveling next?" These questions are good conversation starters. They allow us to loosen up and catch up on life. But if we really want to know the person- connect, empathize and give value, we have to go beyond these questions And start changing the conversation. In today’s episode, we talk about THE CONVERSATIONS WE SHOULD HAVE.

Do you often find yourself in a rush? Always wanting to get things done - NOW. We apply hacks to make things more efficient - running instead of walking, devouring breakfast instead of enjoying the taste of a home-cooked meal, or speed reading instead of leisure reading. We save a few minutes doing this. We fill-up our schedule to the very last minute. We stick to the schedule on the dot, often aiming to finish earlier. We push ourselves to go fast to save a few minutes. WHAT FOR? In today’s episode, we ask the question- Why are we in a constant state of rush? WHAT FOR?

What do we actually mean when we say "I want to retire” According to the dictionary, to retire means to leave one's job and cease to work. Once eligible, a retiree gets a fat paycheck that's supposed to allow him to live for the rest of his life without working for money. Weekdays are replaced with unlimited weekends. Eighty-hour work weeks are replaced with days spent doing the things they once dreamt of. In other words, to retire means to live a life doing the things a person loves to do. With this definition, I am officially retired since I left my job a year ago. At age 28, living the life I dreamt of when I retire by 60, taught me an important lesson: LIVE YOUR DREAM NOW. This is what we are going to talk about today.

In today’s episode, we talk about THE LABELS WE CALL OURSELVES. Conscious or not, we often put a label on ourselves. I have two left feet therefor; I cannot dance. I am tone-deaf therefor, I cannot sing. I draw like a kid therefor; I am not artistic. For me, I was terrible in English, Arts, Music, and Dance therefor; I am not Creative. When we tell ourselves this label over and over, it will make us believe it. It becomes our identity and shapes our reality. It will determine the opportunities we grab, the risks we take and the new things we give a try.

The way we react events that happen to us make a big difference in the quality of our lives. Once we learn to look at them objectively, we'll realize how much we have control over our lives. In today’s episode, we talk about the power we have over our lives. IT’S UP TO YOU.

Almost always, I feel that I don’t have enough time to do everything I want to do. Even though I no longer have an 8-5 job, I feel in a rush. Every end of the week, I still have a lot of things I want to get done - only if I had enough time. In today’s episode, we talk about how to take control of our time by being accountable. OWN IT.

While driving on the motorbike this morning, the thought of how much I’m spending everyday occurring to me. 55USD - This is how much it costs for my husband Nicole and I to live every day. Normally, I’d breakdown where $55 goes and think of ideas to cut it down. But this morning wasn’t one of my typical days. Instead I asked, “How can I afford this?” In today’s episode, we examine our attitude towards wealth and the possibilities that come when we start questioning it.

All of us has experienced failing- getting an F on an exam, being friend-zoned by our crush or missing to hit the monthly sales target. It is tempting to give-up whenever this happens. But you see, failures are part of life. They are there to stay. What do we do? Do we give up and let life push us around or do we rise up and start again? In today’s episode, we talk about THE RIGHT TIME TO START AGAIN.

How many times do we say this to others or to ourselves, “I am too old” “It is too late for me to start.” How many times do we use these phrases as an excuse for inaction? In today’s episode, we talk about the concept: IT’S NEVER TOO LATE.

In today’s episode, we talk about EMBRACING CHANGE. This topic occurred to me while I was researching about starting an e-Commerce business. I realized that the world I know isn’t even a spec of the world out there. This world out there continues to change every moment.

In today’s episode, we talk about THE MEANING OF LIFE. Why are we here? What is our life for?