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I let a friend down. Then I let another friend down. Then I let myself down. The details are unimportant. The fact that it happened… THAT is important. The fact that I decided to move THROUGH it, not over it or under it or around it… THAT is important. Here is how it went. I’m sitting our dark kitchen table at noon, teeter tottering over the edge and staring blankly at the 1000-piece puzzle. But beyond my vacant expression was a battle. My mind is trying to focus SO intensely on the puzzle… as if somehow when I snap another piece into place I’ll consider myself productive. No. Bullshit. I’m avoiding the pain — the pain that comes with the recognition of BULLSHIT. That my actions in how I treated my friends were BULLSHIT. That this avoidance of dealing is BULLSHIT. Have you ever felt like that? It’s like there are loud knocks at the door…

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I work out for many reasons. YOU give meaning to EVERY experience. You can view working out as this think you HAVE to do or you can see it as this thing you GET to do. I choose to see it as this thing that I get to do to make me feel a way I want to feel. And to get to that feeling… I ask one question before each workout. Jasmine, how do you want to feel? Empowered. Strong. Joyful. Badass. Cathartic. Sexy. Fun. Goofy. Once I have the answer, I play the corresponding playlist. ‘Cause let’s be real. It’s easy to remember that feeling as you get started. However. When you’re 45s into that plank hold or half-way through the sumo squats, the only feeling most of us feel is a giant fuck. this. But not you. Not any more. Cause you’re going to tap into the power of…

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It’s no secret that I like to do things alone. Not because I’m a loner. Not because I don’t enjoy company. Not because I’m a hopeless single lady. Not because I’m socially awkward. I can carry on quite the conversation : thank you very much! It’s simply because in those moments of conversation I am giving my energy. In order to have that energy to give away, I have to fuel up on my own time. I need quiet moments of solitude to fill my cup. In other words, I’m an introvert. let’s talk labels. You could say that we book-loving, coffee-drinking, people-watching, listeners have a leg up in learning to truly enjoy our own company. But, no matter where you stand on that trovert spectrum, I think it’s a thing we all need to learn. (The exasperated sigh from the extroverts was audible and dramatic just now. They’re already talking to the person…

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It would be SO cool if I had a picture of all the books I’ve read in 2016 stacked on top of one another. Alas, I’m a Kindle owner. All I have to share with you are some boring photos of trips that Clover (that’s my Kindle) went on with me. She goes everywhere. Damn that environmentally consciousness! But, for real, 2016 was a time of massive growth, and I attribute so much of that to these authors. They’ve served as my guides, my gurus, and goddesses throughout this year. They’ve seen me through all sorts of failures and triumphs. I hear their words ping around in my mind all day long. They interrupt negative self-talk. They call me out on the bullshit stories I tell myself. They are relentless in a pursuit to help me recognize my worth. So, to say that I’m grateful doesn’t quite feel strong enough. If you ask Barnes…

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narrow+deep i read books. i read a lot of them. every morning over superfoods. i take notes. i use the highlight function on my kindle. i listen to them on audio too. i jot while listening… and the kind of books i read have these little things called action steps. usually i do the action steps. if it don’t, it because i get so hungry for knowledge that i just want to read the dang thing. but not this year. this year, i’ll be slowing down. not just to take notes, but to actually take time to do the action steps. my mantra for this year would have it no other way : narrow+deep. so here i go. i’m diving in. and let’s see what kind of jasmine emerges on the other side. i’ll be updating throughout the year. you’ll have dates and times and reflections and quotes. and if you’ve read/are reading one…

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