Improve small talk and ability to bond with people you trust by doing this.

If misery loves company, what does joy love?

Today I turn 44 10 Things I Learned over the last year 1. If your environment is toxic, move. 2. You can’t complain and be grateful at the same time. Choose one. 3. Practicing gratitude doesn’t just change your perspective. It changes your life. 4. Be shamelessly you. The right people will find you. 5. Never betray your purpose or your values. Everything else is negotiable. 6. The path to being shameless starts with radical self-forgiveness. 7. Real friends support your purpose, your values, and your boundaries. All three. 8. Make time for the people who matter most — and make sure it’s mutual. 9. Don’t just share experiences. Co-create them. 10. Remember your inner child. Bring him everywhere. BONUS: Increase your tolerance for pleasure and joy and you’ll experience more of it.

If you're the person who rarely says no, this is worth a read. Most were taught that always saying "yes" made them more valued and appreciated. What it actually made them was unpredictable. They are agreeable on Monday, and overwhelmed and under-delivering by Friday. Boundaries don't make you less likable. They're what makes you reliable. Your co-workers, friends, and partners know what you will and won't take on, they can actually count on your yes meaning something. The most trusted people aren't the ones who say yes to everything. They're the ones whose word means something every time. Be shamelessly you — because a Curious Rebel lives life without shame.

If you've ever looked back at a relationship and thought "I knew something was off — I just didn't listen to myself," this is for you. Most people default to one of two strategies:\ 1. They open up too fast, giving access before it's been earned and keep getting burned. 2. They shut down entirely, keeping everyone at arm's length and calling it self-protection. Neither one works. And if nothing changes, the cost is real. You keep getting hurt by people who showed you exactly who they were. You stay in relationships that take more than they give. And eventually, you stop trusting your own ability to read people at all. Here's what's actually true: Trust isn't a feeling. Trust is not chemistry, and it's not how much you have in common. It's belief in a pattern you learn to read over time Trust is a belief that someone is good, honest, reliable, and will not harm you. And there are three signals that show up consistently in people who are actually safe to be vulnerable with: 1. They do what they say — behavior, not words. 2. They handle your "no" without making it about them. 3. They're curious about you, not to collect information, but because they genuinely care about who you are. None of that requires you to lower your guard immediately. It requires you to watch and trust what you see. The goal was never to trust everyone. It was to trust wisely. Open enough to let the right people in, and boundaried enough to keep the wrong ones out. That's not walls. That's wisdom. And it's exactly what a Curious Rebel learns to do. Be shamelessly you — because a Curious Rebel lives life without shame. What's one sign you've learned to watch for before trusting someone?