Personal Essays

First-person stories about what mindfulness looks like in real, messy, everyday life. These essays are honest, personal, and often funny - written by people who've found that paying attention changes everything.
Depression & Grief
The Tyranny of Relentless Positivity 

When we ignore difficult emotions, they end up controlling us. Here's how embracing emotional agility allows us to deal with the world as it is. Read More 

  • Mindful Staff
  • February 2, 2018
illustrations of cogs and arrows
Creativity
Is Your Life Designed for You? 

Waiting and hoping for a “perfect” opportunity won’t get you any closer to the life you want. According to two renegade designers, you already have the tools to create that life—from wherever you are right now. Read More 

  • Hugh Delehanty
  • February 1, 2018
Graceful woman dancing in cloud of dust. purpose in life
Magazine
How to Find Your Purpose in Life 

Are you struggling to discover your purpose? That may be because you feel isolated from other people. Here are six ways you can overcome that. Read More 

  • Jeremy Adam Smith
  • January 30, 2018
woman in vintage fur coat sitting on bench
Magazine
Keep On Moving 

We don’t have to like everything life throws our way. If we can learn to truly accept—not ignore or resist—the hard stuff, it won’t feel as hard. Read More 

  • Holly Rogers
  • December 1, 2017
houses talking to each other, with speech bubbles overhead. belonging Is believing
Magazine
Belonging Is Believing 

What we humans believe has always been shaped by the group we identify with. In the age of filter bubbles, the habit of looking to our tribe for all the answers may be escalating. Read More 

  • Sharon Begley
  • October 2, 2017
Carlos Alberto, meditation instructor and nightclub doorman in NYC
Expert Interviews
When One Door Closes 

Nightclub doorman Carlos Alberto on his journey to becoming a meditation instructor. Read More 

  • Victoria Dawson
  • October 1, 2017
Ad for a mindfulness app with meditations, articles, and a section sidebar, shown on a phone held in hand.