Celebrating 1 Year of Blogging! | My 10 Most Impactful Posts of the Year

Today is an exciting day because… it’s the one year anniversary of Life by Alissa!

In the past year, I’ve written 100,000 words and published 76 posts. This blog post is number 77, which is fitting because… 7 is my favorite number. The Universe’s timing is always perfect, right?

The funny thing is, I never thought I wanted to blog. Everyone has a blog. Why would I make one? Who cares what I have to say?

Except last winter, I got the urge to start writing again. Writing was something I’ve always loved. As a kid, I wrote my own books. In high school I wrote poetry that I never showed a soul. In college, I took every creative writing class I could get my hands on and pursued a minor in Journalism. My love for writing fell to the wayside, though, when I pursued a career in the retail industry. But when I got the urge to start writing again, I listened.

I created a Google Doc that I named “Moments of Insight” and started writing about things that happened in my day that inspired me or made me think. I felt super lit up by everything I was writing and my document quickly grew to over 25 pages. I began feeling another urge: to share. I knew what I was writing about could really help other people. I wanted them to feel lit up and inspired, too.

Being the nostalgic sap that I am, I wanted to see what my thoughts were when I decided I would, indeed, start a blog. I looked back at that old “Moments of Insight” file and found this:

11/26/18: My realization today is that I need to start a blog. I feel called to it. I was hesitant about this for so long because I feel like “everyone’s doing it”. But I heard a couple weeks ago “someone needs to hear it the way you say it”. My unique voice matters.

And here we are! But enough about me. I really want to say thank you so much for following along with me on this journey. Seriously, I’m so touched when you take the time to leave me a comment or send a personal message or share my work. I get so excited. Sometimes I do a happy dance and most of the time, I’ll read your kind message multiple times. It truly matters! Thank you for making me feel seen and like what I’m doing is important. I really, really hope you’ve found these blog posts helpful and that they’ve made you feel seen, too.

With that being said, I wanted to share my top 10 posts from this past year of blogging. In case you’ve missed them or weren’t sure if they’d be for you — I wanted to give them another share!

1) Why I Believe In Holistic Healing: How I Overcame My Chronic Gut Issues (SIBO & Leaky Gut)

This is my most popular post of all time! I shared this with a SIBO Facebook group and as a result, my holistic doctor has gotten calls from people all over the world who’ve read this post and want to get an appointment with him!

Digestive issues are a hot topic these days. They are becoming so common in the highly stressful, anxiety-ridden world many of us live in. I used to live in that world. I used to be constantly stressed, anxious, and sick. As a result, gut issues became a major part of my life.

I suffered for several years with unexplainable digestive issues until I finally found a holistic practitioner who helped me find answers, healing, and peace. This post is essentially a handbook for anyone on a similar journey.

2) People Pleasing Is Selfish. Here’s Why.

Overcoming my people pleasing tendencies has been one of my biggest personal struggles. It’s been part of my identity for as long as I can remember. I just want to make everyone around me feel okay and happy. If they’re happy, I’m happy. Can you relate?

So, when I was told that people pleasing is actually selfish, I was thrown for a loop. Say whaaaat? How? I’m just being nice! Check out this post to find out why.

3) Getting Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable

Do you want to live an amazing life? Get out of your comfort zone. Do you want to be happier? Get out of your comfort zone. Do you want to grow as a human being? Get out of your comfort zone.

I’ll stay it until I’m blue in the face. Nothing exciting or fulfilling is going to happen if you stay in your comfort zone. Stepping into the unknown? Of course it’s uncomfortable. It’s scary. It’s uncertain. But it’s where all the good stuff happens. In this blog post, I share about taking the leap out of my comfort zone and moving to California when I was 22.

4) No One Sits Alone At The Bliss Project: My Transformative Weekend At A Women’s Retreat

I went to my first women’s retreat last spring and oh my gosh, it was intense. The event was lead by my favorite podcaster, Lori Harder. It was an amazing weekend filled with inspiration, self-discovery, and so much fun. But, usually you can’t fully discover who you are without experiencing some pain, right?

That was my experience. Going to this event, all alone, really brought some stuff up for me. It was challenging! But I grew so much as a result. Thinking about going to a personal development retreat? This might be a good read for you!

5) I Learned How To Love Myself In California

This is my most recent post and has resonated with a lot of people. This was one of my more personal blog posts, so when something like that hits home with others, it’s a really good feeling. More and more, I realize how alike all of us actually are. When we open up and share, we really see that.

In this blog post, I share about my journey of moving from Minnesota to California. When I moved from Minnesota, a big part of me felt like I was leaving my troubles behind. What I learned, however, is that happiness is an inside job. “Wherever you go, there you are.”

6) Why Your Obsession With Self-Help Might Not Be Healthy

This topic had been weighing on me for a while. For the past few years, I’ve been really invested in personal development. I spend a lot of time reading self-help books and listening to podcasts that are meant to help me “up level” in life. However, I started getting to a point where I literally didn’t know how to relax. I felt like I always had to be productive.

Thus, this blog post is born. I had fun writing about this. I was slightly concerned that people would think it’s negative toward self-help, but the reality was, so many other people feel this same way. I think a sequel will be in the works about how we can practice self-help in a “self-loving” way.

7) Why Vulnerability is the Secret Ingredient for the Best Life and Relationships

There’s a lot more to vulnerability than meets the eye. I think many of us aren’t well-informed about what vulnerability actually means. Growing up, a lot of us learned to believe that vulnerability was weakness. That if we wanted to be a strong person, we needed to hold in our emotions and not share our feelings.

If you’re a fan of Brené Brown, you know that couldn’t be further from the truth. In this post, I share why being vulnerable will take you further in your life and relationships than “acting tough” ever will.

8) What To Do When You Can’t Stop Overthinking

Did I mention how alike all of us are? Oh, yeah. When I shared this post, I realized just how many other people have struggled with anxiety and ruminating thoughts. It’s so common, which makes me feel better, at least.

Over the years, I’ve gotten so much better at stopping myself from overthinking. What I’ve realized is that overthinking and ruminating on my thoughts was actually a habit. So, I had to form a new habit. I had to rewrite a new story. I share how I did that in this post!

9) Know Your Worth. My Journey To Break a Cycle of Toxic Relationships.

The way you value yourself will be reflected back to you in the people you spend your time with. If you don’t think well of yourself and don’t feel like you deserve anything special, you’ll attract people who treat you that way. You’ll accept that sort of treatment because it’s what you think you deserve.

However, if you believe you’re a great person, you won’t waste your time around anyone who treats you any less than that. Knowing your worth is everything. For a long time, I didn’t know my worth. As a result, I spent time in relationships with people who didn’t treat me well. This is a story that I know so many others can relate to.

10) Holistic Hacks for Anxiety

My struggles with anxiety were what catapulted me into a journey of self-discovery and personal development. Because of my anxiety, I started meditating, practicing mindfulness, and learning how to love myself.

If you, or someone you know, struggles with anxiety, this blog post can serve as a great handbook. It’s a guide you can turn to when you’re feeling anxious and need a way out of it.

Thank you!

Again, thank you so much for being by my side along this journey. I know we all have so much going on in our lives, so the fact that you take the time to read what I’ve written means the world to me!

Of course, I always want it be impactful and worth your time. So, if there are any topics you’d love for me to write more about, please let me know! Leave me a comment below. Or if you want it to be private, shoot me a DM on Instagram or Facebook.

With love,

Alissa