I often feel like I am only a step away from being caught up in a life defined by more money, more shopping, more outings, more, more, and more. Why? Because that’s the message that I feel I am being bombarded with. When I go out, I see billboards and signs inviting me to do… Read More No More Headaches: Overcoming Dichotomies to Create Coherence
We tend to view the world in a fragmented way, so much so that our minds create dichotomies where there are none. Back in September 2008, I shared my frustration at how Olympians’ achievements were oftentimes chalked up to luck; Usain Bolt’s success, for example, was apparently downplayed because of the genetics that gave him… Read More When Lady Luck Takes Centre Stage: The Importance Of Celebrating Hard Work
Just like so many others around me, I have been struggling with my relationship with mistakes (as reflected in this, this, and this post). The beacons lighting the way to a better me become major obstacles to my development when they are seen as negative feedback. Taking the time to observe a baby at play… Read More Learning From The Little Ones: Daily Lessons In Perseverance
Throughout most of my life (or at least, as far as I can remember), I have been surrounded by people who are never content with what they have achieved; they always want to do a little more, and do it a little better. I have noticed two broad sub-categories amongst such people: those who take… Read More Leggo’ Of Your Ego: The Difference between Perfectionism and Excellence
I am a bit of a nerd, just in case you haven’t noticed yet. I love reading studies and reflecting on the implications of the results found. However, I also can be quite harsh when it comes to studies that demonstrate a combination of laxity in their data analysis and over-confidence in their interpretation. I… Read More Parenting and Marital Happiness: Not Mutually Exclusive
My blogging journey—an incredible, fulfilling one that has given me so much—started almost nine and a half years ago right here in Sahar’s Blog. I never intended to stop blogging—that is, until I had a baby. I had always intended to take a short hiatus when each of my children was born. When my first… Read More Why I Decided To Take Precious Time Away From My Baby To Start Blogging Again
As a writer and blogger, I have always been told to write about my passions and what I know. What I am at my core is a Bahá’í who believes that this world is transitory, a preparatory phase for the next world, much like our mother’s womb was transitory and meant to prepare us for… Read More Taking the Plunge: The Launch of Product Reviews on Sahar’s Blog
While pregnancy is quite obviously related to the personal development of both the mother-to-be and father-to-be, it’s a little bit more difficult at times to see how pregnancy can be related to the process of building a vibrant community. After all, how can such a personal and intimate experience be shared one’s entire community? It… Read More Pregnancy, Personal Development, and Community Building Some Initial Thoughts
Living on different continents allows for the immersion into different types of cultures. The way these differ is a great way of gaining insight into patterns of behaviour that affect our personal development and our contribution to building vibrant communities. A really interesting surprise was the difference between conversation styles in different cultures. In some,… Read More Conversing to Consult or Conversing to Convince: Implications for Community Building
The title seems harsh, doesn’t it? I know that this the post might get my inbox filled with emails from irate Beyoncé fans, but her song “Run the World (Girls)” still is, in my opinion, part of a series of popular girl’s anthems gone wrong. It doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate the song. Quite… Read More Missing the Point: What a Girl’s Anthem Should Not Sound Like