7 Life Lessons 2023 taught me (+7 Positive Affirmations to close the year)

On December 28, 2023December 29, 2023 By Zeenat Merchant Syal-Counseling Psychologist|Spiritual CounselorIn healing, Mind, Mind, Heart& Soul-Motivation&Inspiration, Mind-Mental Health13 Comments

“Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go. They merely determine where you start.”
~ Nido Qubein

There are less than a handful of days left of 2023. A year that for me, was quite testing, but also life affirming. I like to think that everything I learned and experienced this year will make next year so much more special. These are some of the life lessons I have come to realize over these last 12 months.

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3 Positive Steps to Begin Fresh in 2024

On December 5, 2023December 8, 2023 By Zeenat Merchant Syal-Counseling Psychologist|Spiritual CounselorIn healing, Mind, Mind, Heart& Soul-Motivation&Inspiration, Mind-Mental Health, Positive Self Reflection, spiritual healing6 Comments

“Hold the vision, trust the process.”

As the year is coming to an end and a new year is around the horizon, most conversations have been revolving around How to start fresh in the coming year. Honestly, in my own life too, major changes happened in the last year and that is why as the year ends, my mind is on how to begin fresh in the next year too.

A feeling of, “…is this really my whole life?” is where it all began. Ironically this happened in the beginning of 2023, which led to my insides collapsing. It felt like everything around me wasn’t making any sense. Actually, myself most of all. I went from feeling apathetic to experiencing what felt like every emotion within a day, every day.

This has been an eye-opening journey–one that I’m still on–but I’ve gained a lot of clarity, by getting very honest with myself, and have expanded my ability to trust and surrender. It’s those times in life when we have no other choice but to let go that can be some of the most powerful, life-changing experiences.

Today, I’m sharing some things I’ve learned during this time that helped me to get clear within myself in order to start over with a fresh mindset and a more positive way of being in my life.

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Positive Steps to Start Regulating Your Emotions

On November 20, 2023 By Zeenat Merchant Syal-Counseling Psychologist|Spiritual CounselorIn Emotions, Mind, Mind, Heart& Soul-Motivation&Inspiration, Mind-Mental Health7 Comments

As humans, we’re emotional creatures. The career path we take, the films we enjoy, the art we’re drawn to is all influenced by our emotions. Emotions help us choose our friends, those whom we fall in love and stay with for our entire lives…also those whom we’ll leave behind.

Yes, our emotions have power. Emotional intelligence is the ability to harness that power–to understand and manage emotions, so that you can make decisions that are in harmony with your core values and principles.

But we can’t attain true emotional intelligence till we learn to regulate our emotions.

Regulating your emotions is the ability to control your behavior, emotions, and thoughts in the pursuit of long-term goals. More specifically, emotional self-regulation refers to the ability to manage difficult emotions and impulses—in other words, to think before acting.

Regulating your emotions also involves the ability to bounce back from disappointment and to act in a way consistent with your core values.

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