Marianna Jaross Being a therapist doesn’t make me immune to the challenges of life, or the mental blocks or habits that can hold us back. I am starting slow, and starting again late in the year. I don’t want to wait until the new year, a birthday, or a milestone to start building some new momentum in a more supportive direction. 1.) Morning routine. We can fall into the chaos of our lives, the siren call of our phones, or the mental loops that we fall into when we wake up. Fr

Marianna Jaross There is a saying in Hungarian around life and our journey throughout it “sometimes being on wheels, and sometimes on foot.’” I like this, because it normalises the challenges we are inevitably going to experience. This is not to say that we can’t be a victim to systems, or that we need to ignore when other people don’t treat us well. Rather, this is about learning to move through the challenges, keeping the hope alive, and continuing to show up. There are no

Marianna Jaross The sacred void occurs when our previous life no longer fits us. When the universe is nudging and whispering “more” or “different.” We may be terrified, but this void is calling us towards our deepest alignment, living to our values, and showing up in a new way. We can feel a restlessness in our soul that is not because we are trying to run away or escape; but because our soul is demanding that we drop the mask. This is when the foundation of our life begins t

Marianna Jaross Most of us approach adulthood with a range of challenges: We may have come from a different background to others, we may have been bullied, faced family challenges, or a myriad of other challenges that would tempt us to shut down our hearts. Oftentimes by adulthood we have been wired to survive, rather than thrive. We walk around trying to please others, society, achieve milestones, without tending to our internal garden. From my perspective, there are some sm

Marianna Jaross Have you seen the iconic movie Sliding Doors? Gwyneth Paltrow’s character enters two timelines; one where she catches the train, and one where she misses it. We follow her two timelines over the movie. We also have sliding doors of opportunity. This isn’t to prompt an existential crisis, but rather for us to plant our feet on the ground of our lives in order to identify and say ‘yes’ to the opportunities presented to us, while still using discernment. 1.) Iden

Marianna Jaross I like to read and draw inspiration from a variety of sources, and it is hard not to be slightly dazzled by Dita Von Teese; an icon of burlesque, beauty, and entertainment. She makes no secret of her love of all things beauty, and I find her attitude refreshing. 1.) It’s not about your bank account, or how you much spend. In the introduction of her book, Dita states: “Beauty, glamour and even luxury need not be determined by one’s bank account. True luxury is

Marianna Jaross I loved reading about the L’Oréal catwalk in Paris amidst Fashion Week. Jane Fonda, Viola Davis, Helen Mirren, Gillian Anderson and Andie MacDowell graced the runway: A rewatch of the show (linked below) of them (and others) owning the stage made me reflect on attitudes towards beauty and aging. Women often get told that we are ‘over the hill’ after a particular age, and there is a whole subset of the internet that likes to talk about women’s diminishing value

Marianna Jaross I love how fashion can tell a story. We know stories of women being corseted to be a ‘desirable’ shape, we know when hemlines shortening mirrored a sexual revolution, and when clothes are used to communicate an aspect of our identity that might otherwise remain hidden. Fashion and stories go hand in hand. I don’t think this always has to do with the clothing itself: I think it also has to do with the energy that we emit alongside of the clothes that feel good

Marianna Jaross I have become curious about the intersection between style, psychology, and feeling good about ourselves. Specifically, the way in which we can use fashion and style as a form of positive behaviour activation, exploration, self-discovery, and creativity. In an interview with Gabrielle Arruda, renowned style consultant David Kibbe states: “Style is our visual language of presenting ourselves to the world. It is how we tell our story.” He adds that it “has to co

Marianna Jaross We can set ourselves up for success without waiting for the new year. I like a reset: Cleansing my apartment, decluttering, and making things beautiful makes me feel good. I also think it can call in new energy, help us to clear our mind, and ready ourselves for a new chapter. We sometimes wait until the new year to do this; even though resolutions tend to run out by February, and we are back in the same patterns and doing the same things over and over again.