TINY BUDDHA'S 365 TINY LOVE CHALLENGES

TINY  BUDDHA'S

365 

TINY LOVE 

CHALLENGES

Many of us know that meaningful connections are the foundation of a happy life, but that doesn’t necessarily make it any easier to create and sustain fulfilling, mutually beneficial relationships.

It’s hard to find people we click with and turn surface level interactions, online or offline, into something deeper.

It’s hard to be forgiving, accepting, and understanding when we’re dealing with imperfect people, just like us, who may also struggle with these things.

It’s hard to find time to be there for others when we’re running from place to place, trying to get things done, and possibly struggling to make ends meet.

And it’s hard to be fully present when we find the time, since we’re often overwhelmed by a swarm of thoughts, fears, and worries about the past and the future.

It’s a lot easier, though, when we make the effort to work on these things regularly—and even the tiniest effort can make a big difference.

No matter who you are, what you’ve done in the past, or what time you have available in the present, you can do something, right now, to create more satisfying relationships.

Tiny Buddha’s 365 Tiny Love Challenges can help.

Including more than 70 stories from Tiny Buddha contributors on kindness, forgiveness, and more, the book offers a year of simple daily activities to help you give and receive more love.

Each day suggests one simple thing you can do to love yourself or others in action, such as:

Write a list of three things you appreciate about yourself and place it somewhere in your home where you’ll frequently see it throughout the day.

Compliment someone who serves you in some way (for example, a waiter, barista, or bus driver) on how well they do their job.

Keep an eye out for someone who looks sad—a friend, coworker, or even stranger—and say something that might make them laugh or smile.

If you commit to working on these things daily, the challenges will help you:

• Develop closer bonds in your relationships
• Let your guard down more easily to let people in
• Express your feelings instead of hiding them
• Let go of anger, bitterness, and fear
• See the best in the people around you
• Relate to and better understand your loved ones
• Let go of insecurity so you can relax in your interactions
• Turn strangers into friends
• Attract healthier relationships—and believe that you deserve them

With monthly themes to help you focus on different aspects of relationships, Tiny Buddha’s 365 Tiny Love Challenges can help you feel more connected—to yourself, to the people around you, and to the world at large—one tiny action at a time.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

My name is Lori Deschene and I'm the founder of Tiny Buddha.

For most of my life I felt alone.

When I was younger, I was rarely by myself, busy as I was with school, work, and community theater. But I felt no one understood the depth of my pain and the depression and self-loathing that resulted from bullying—so I felt alone.

In college, I maintained a full schedule, adding even more work to the mix, and entered my first long-term relationship. He was one of the few who knew the severity of my bulimia. But I couldn’t communicate why I hurt myself in that way, since I didn’t fully understand it myself—so I felt alone.

After college, when I moved to NYC to escape the shame of my former life, I felt lost in a sea of people who knew me no better than the audience at a play. When I wasn’t wandering among the masses, I sat by myself in a cockroach-infested dorm style room, drinking, chain-smoking, and feeling down on myself—so I felt alone.

There is very little as painful as feeling alone in the world, like no one cares, no one knows you, and no one would you love you if they did.

I started Tiny Buddha, after years of hurting and healing, because I believe that no matter what we’re going through, we never have to feel alone.

Someone else has been there, someone else understands, and someone else wants to help.

Over the last six years, I’ve helped more than 1,200 people share their stories, insights, and lessons with more than 60 million readers.

I’ve seen people connect, inspire, and encourage each other. I’ve watched people bare their souls, open their hearts, and change each other’s lives.

I’d like to think I’ve done the same. In doing so, I’ve helped myself as much as anyone who’s read my words.

Still, while sharing myself vulnerably in writing has helped me feel more empowered and less alone, that’s not what’s made the most significant difference in my level of connection.

Baring my soul for millions of people was infinitely easier than being vulnerable with one. And that’s been my greatest challenge.

Looking someone in the eye and saying, “I’m sorry.” Saying “I forgive you” in my head when someone didn’t say those words to me. Showing up and speaking up when I feared I might be judged or rejected. Telling someone I admire them, and why. Listening fully to someone else instead of thinking obsessively about myself and my struggles.

These are the tiny, sometimes-difficult daily choices that have enabled me to feel less alone, and to give back to others what I’ve always hoped to get from them.

These are the steps that have pulled me from the depths of isolation and self-absorption into what I call a “peopled life.”

I am not always trusting. I am not always secure. I am not always understanding, giving, or kind. But I work at it, every day. And I can feel a difference, every day.

I created this book to share what’s helped me, and others, live full, connected lives, with less fear and more love.

Unlikely many self-help proponents, I don’t believe we can only feel one or the other, but I believe we can feel the latter more often if we make the effort—and I believe we, and the world, will be better for it.

A little more about me: My Wanderlust Yoga and Musical Festival presentation, Authentic Connections in a Networked World.