Many of you have asked me recently how The Self-Discovery Retreat was created. Let me share with you how opening up, standing tall, and speaking from the heart led me to where I am today.

That is how Arianna’s Random Thoughts emerged. It is how I try to make our world a kinder place to live – by helping others Stand Tall & Speak from the Heart one random thought at a time.

Will you join me? Looking forward to many years to come :)

On a walk this past weekend and seeing all the beauty that surrounded me, I started to think about my blog.  The “random” thoughts going through my head centred around how can I make my site a better foundation for all of us to grow.

This spring shouldn’t just be a time for flowers to reach their full potential; we should take their cue that it is our time to rise up.

Instead of looking to myself for the answers, I am reaching out and asking for your input; we are on this journey together.  You are a vital part of this community and your “random” thoughts matter.

Someone asked me "Who are your role models?", and to be honest, I had a hard time answering it.  I couldn’t think of very many females of my generation (i.e., in their twenties) who I wanted to aspire to be like.  The person who asked me the question was looking for examples of famous people.

I have had encounters with some famous people who I looked up to when I was a child, but when I met them in person years later, they were unfriendly and standoffish. I lost respect for them as the image they portray in the media is disconnected from the real version of themselves.  There are many people that are the same onscreen as they are in person; those I respect and model after.

My birthday is coming up this week.  In the past couple of years, I felt like a failure around this time of year because I was reminded of milestones of adulthood that I hadn’t yet achieved. However, this year my outlook has changed and I am embracing the day!

Last year, I went with an amazing friend to our local Lululemon store to browse their products, which we both love. While there, I saw vision boards on display which the staff had created. I thought the boards were really interesting, so my friend and I went up and looked at them closely. I have wanted to make a vision board ever since my hairdresser told me about it a few years ago. The boards on display were so beautiful that I was inspired to make a vision board myself, as I was just about to graduate and had so many dreams I wanted to pursue.

Bethany Butzer, Ph.D. is an author, speaker, researcher and yoga teacher who helps people create a life they love. She offers tools, techniques and resources that promote wellness on all levels: mind, body and spirit. She serves as a catalyst for positive change and a guide on your path toward living in authenticity. Check out Bethany's book, The Antidepressant Antidote, follow her on Facebookand Twitter, read her blog posts on Positively Positive, and join her whole-self health revolution here.

Have you ever felt like this?

I started on this path, by first creating a vision board to get a sense of what is important to me and what my goals are. A vision board is a visual display of the goals I would like to accomplish in my life.  Vision boards are really fun to make. If you haven’t made one, you should give it a try! You can check out mine here.

Soon after, I realized I needed to write a personal mission statement.  It took a bit longer than I had hoped, as I had many general ideas but needed to get specific.

Over the last month, I have been focusing my posts on perseverance.  I think it is such an important quality to possess and is essential to life. I have asked individuals to share their stories on how they overcame obstacles.  One of my loyal readers, Sarah L., wrote the following message on what perseverance means to her.  It is such a strong message, and I'm so thankful she reached out and shared with us. Thanks :)

I now have 72 reasons to be smile,  adding to the list from yesterday, as today I was suprised with two more reasons!!

The first is because I have been in touch with many inspiring inviduals over the past couple of weeks.  They have volunteered to share their stories with all of us.  I'm really looking forward to hearing what they have to say! Thanks :)

Secondly, I get to share with you my new promotional material. Amy designed this for me this afternoon and this poster is too beautiful not to share (I'm totally not biased :P).  I have received many queries as to the reasoning of my blog title.

I know sometimes you can have frustrations with relationships, but sometimes you can have issues with organizations as well.  I know I’m not alone in this as this is not the first time this has happened to me.

I had a concern with an organization and was told to call a customer care representative to voice my concern.  These days, it seems if you want to speak to someone you have to call them up or email them.