Stephanie Hardy – Writing from the Heart
Looking for hope, progress and ikigai in an increasingly volatile world
Category: Mental Health
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Being Mindful of Others
One of my ongoing challenges is stress and anxiety. I’m not unique in that, not even close to unique. A video I watched recently captured my pre-Christmas epiphany though. A comic was doing a set about millennials and anxiety, and how they only do half the job. The joke was essentially: they self-diagnose, tell everyone… Read.
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Now vs Next Reflections
It’s been a while. Not quite 18 months. A lot has happened – a lot of things achieved, which was brilliant, but I ended up feeling a little lost as I ticked the final thing on the ambition list off. Part of the problem was not really thinking far enough ahead. Who am I now?… Read.
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The Definition of Success
It’s the end of August and a full year since I set up my blog. It’s felt like there have been a lot of topics to write about over the past month, but no time to write. It left me wondering if this is me ‘failing’ as a writer, particularly given previous posts about the… Read.
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Mental Health Awareness Week 2021
I spent some time over the early May Bank Holiday weekend thinking about my current well-being and how important it is to stay attuned to how changes in circumstances can impact it. It seems a fitting time to share some of those reflections ahead of Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) 2021. My starting point will… Read.
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Fear and Failure
Fear can be paralysing, particularly fear of failure if you’re operating in a field where you’re seen to have experience. After a few conversations on this recently, I wanted to reflect on some ideas that will probably be familiar but we sometimes forget. Failing is essential to growth. If you don’t get things wrong, often… Read.
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Beat Blue Monday
I believe that as 2021 begins, it’s more important than ever before not to put your life on pause because of our circumstances. With Blue Monday mere days away, this feels particularly topical as a way to beat it. Christmas provided a good period for reflection, with New Year constituting a moment to challenge myself… Read.
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Finding our diamonds
There’s a lot of anger and hurt in the world right now, and I understand why but I worry about the long-term consequences. Whilst expressing the feelings is cathartic, negativity can end up fuelling negativity in a vicious spiral. Not a single person needs that weight right now. Today I want to reflect on finding… Read.
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On Competitive Drive
One of the hardest things for me is trying not to compare myself to other people. I’m competitive and ‘losing’ makes me grumpy, no matter how deserving the ‘winner’. Despite this, I don’t think competitiveness is an inherently bad trait – in fact it can be a real strength. The challenge is being mindful of… Read.
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Can ‘Busy’ be good?
I’ve been thinking recently about “ikigai” and its definition of “the happiness of a busy life”. This concept has been butting up against points articulated in an article by Anne Helen Petersen from January 2019 on “How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation” – she reflects on the impact of the requirement to be constantly productive… Read.
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Lists vs Lockdown
In view of Boris’ announcement, I thought I’d talk about mental health this week. I can’t offer any advice because I’m not a trained mental health professional, but I have personal experience with anxiety and depression so I’m reflecting on how I’m handling it. My situation is that I live alone, am part way through… Read.
Writing from the Heart 