Creative Curiosity by Nathalie Le Riche — choice

As a child, I often heard the words: “Don’t,” “You shouldn’t,” “You should do this,” “You can’t.” Over time, these phrases created an unconscious belief that I wasn’t allowed to be myself. I learned that the feelings of others mattered more than mine, and that my role was to obey in order to keep them happy. If I didn’t, their unhappiness seemed to prove I was the cause — that I must have done something wrong, that I was a bad person. When these beliefs go unquestioned, they follow us into adulthood. I found myself repeating the same words to...

When someone offers a suggestion, how do you receive it? Do you hear it as something valuable — a chance to grow — or does it land as a personal attack? The way we feel in those moments often reveals the belief systems we’ve taken on over time. If we can see suggestions as opportunities to improve, we’ve begun to learn the art of growth. Yet if we feel attacked, it’s worth asking: what about the suggestion makes it feel like an attack? Did it trigger a sense that we’ve done something wrong? And if so, where in the past...

It’s crazy how easily we forget to be grateful when life flows our way. Joy, ease, and love surround us, yet we begin to take them for granted—our health, our loved ones, the simple comforts that make life beautiful. We assume they will always be there, until contrast reminds us otherwise. That’s the gift of struggle. Without challenges, how would we truly know joy, abundance, or happiness? If life stretched on forever without limits, would we ever feel urgency to create, to cherish, to say thank you? Darkness, though uncomfortable, is a teacher. It points us back to what is...

Following a dream can feel exhilarating—until the path becomes weighed down by challenges, especially the lack of money. What do you do when trying harder only brings more strain, more obstacles, and less joy? Pause. Ask yourself: • Am I forcing my dream to happen in one fixed way? • Do I believe I must achieve this dream to be happy, loved, or at peace? • Why do I want this dream—truly? Is it to fill an inner void, or to prove something to the world? Challenges are not punishments; they are alarm clocks. They remind us that perhaps the...

I see her.The one who believes she doesn’t have time.Grinding herself to the bone, skipping meals, ignoring the body’s whispers.She’s chasing a dream with clenched fists, believing she must suffer to earn it. I see her exhaustion.It was once mine. She says, “I have no money. I can’t afford to rest. I don’t have time to do what I need to do.”And so she pushes harder.And I watch, knowing that no matter what I say, her fear will keep her in the rut of force.She won’t believe until she chooses to be curious. Because the how doesn’t come from force.The...