Positive Mind Guide

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Positive Mind Guide

♡ 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 ♡
Cognitive psychologist
PhD researcher

02/03/2026

Someone in a movie called aging “being temporally challenged.”

I’m not sure whether that’s kindness or denial.

At 40, I’m increasingly aware of how uncomfortable we are with simple facts: we age, we look different, and we have ordinary days.

So we enhance.

(This photo? Definitely a special-occasion version of me.)

And I like that. But I don’t want it to become the only acceptable version.

Because when everything is elevated, the nervous system recalibrates.

And suddenly the quiet, normal, human moments don’t feel like enough.

Mindful well-being, for me, is learning to appreciate life without constantly increasing the volume.

• mindful wellbeing • sustainable wellbeing • honoring the ordinary • practicing enoughness

21/02/2026

This morning the light was pale.
I rolled out my yoga mat. The weights were still on the floor from yesterday. Nothing dramatic. Just an ordinary Saturday.

In the mirror, I caught my reflection — not fully, just a blur at the edge. It felt strangely accurate.

Life here in Maastricht has its rhythm. Bicycles passing. Rain on the windows. Routine.
And then there is another rhythm, 1200 kilometres away. My parents. My mother repeating a story she told last week. My father laughing, then forgetting what he was about to say. Small things. Noticeable things.

I spend my days studying the mind. I know, in theory, what happens to memory over time.
In practice, it feels very different.

Some mornings I lift weights. Other mornings I just sit on the mat and listen to the quiet.

Lately I’ve realised that mindful wellbeing, for me, isn’t about being fully anchored in the present.

It’s more like this:

I am here and now.
And part of me is still in another kitchen, another country.
And I notice that.

Awareness doesn’t make it hurt less.

But it keeps me from pretending it doesn’t hurt at all.

If you’re holding something tender too — I see you 🕊️

• mindful wellbeing • loving from a distance • learning to stay • resilience

04/02/2026

This isn’t a post about food.

It’s about how January felt.

🌱 A friend’s wedding — made easier because the bride is vegan too.
The relief of not having to explain myself.

🌱 An omelette experiment that reminded me I like making things from scratch.

🌱 A birthday celebration with my favourite human:
arepas at Venezuelan restaurant, Rada Arepa in Heidelberg.

🌱 No pancakes this month.
Quinoa with berries, dates, peanut butter instead.
Different rhythm. Still nourishing.

🌱 Soups made by my partner always taste better.

🌱 Morning meal prep before work.
A small promise I kept to myself.

🌱 Current obsession: tempeh baked in soy sauce and pineapple juice.

🌱 Chickpea chocolate cookies – a recipe from

🌱 Cantaloupe smoothie with ½ tsp cinnamon and seeds from ½ vanilla pod recommended by for the immune system.

This is what mindful wellbeing looks like for me: nourishing my body and mind with care.

• nourishing • imperfect • joyful • mindful • eating

10/01/2026

Yesterday, after a meeting with my supervisors, my brain just went wild:
“What if they think I’m stupid because I couldn’t explain myself?
Why didn’t I say things better?
Am I messing this up?”

And then I caught myself and thought, wait… I would never say that to my best friend.
If she came out of a meeting feeling like that, I’d be like, “Hey, here’s some tea. Wanna talk? Or just vent? I got you.”

So why am I not doing that for myself?

I actually made myself a cup of tea, sat with my office mate, and just let myself be real. And honestly? It helped more than I expected.

If you ever catch yourself stuck in that endless loop of self-doubt or feeling like an imposter, maybe try to pause and be your own best friend for a minute. I know, easier said than done (hello, been there), but just noticing those harsh thoughts? That’s already you being mindful. And that little pause? It’s your chance to switch to a kinder voice.

Maybe today, you can try it too. You deserve that kindness – seriously 💛

• loving kindness • mindfulness • wellbeing •mental health

07/01/2026

Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote: “Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”

It’s January. It’s snowing. And today, nature is clearly asking us to slow down.

I’m working from home, but my attention keeps drifting to the garden. The snowman I made with my partner is already leaning backwards, as if even he has decided that doing less is the plan today.

The birds are busy — t**s, finches, sparrows, magpies, pigeons, a woodpecker, crows… maybe more. They’re eating constantly. Or maybe I’m feeding them more. Hard to say who’s taking care of whom in winter.

This season doesn’t come with fireworks or “new year, new energy” slogans. It comes with pauses. With stillness. With the quiet permission to rest without explanation.

Winter reminder: You don’t have to push. You’re allowed to arrive slowly.

• winter mindfulness • nature as teacher • gentle growth • resting without guilt

02/01/2026

December fed me well — creatively, gently, and plant-based, as always 🌱

• Made my first ever sourdough bread. Still proud. Still amazed it worked.

• Cranberry–date jam: festive, slightly chaotic, very me.

• A tofu–chickpea–date “cheesecake” because rules are optional in my kitchen.

• Morning ritual: cooking my office lunch every day — and somehow getting way too many compliments for “just veggies”.

• Ate a pizza in the Bavarian Alps covered in steamed vegetables. An Italian living too long in Germany probably approved.

• Salzburg highlights: creamy pumpkin soup + curry = instant comfort.

• Discovered hash browns at . Photo not cute. Alps in the background? Very cute.

• mindful eating • plant based food

28/12/2025

Some days I need to lie down.
Every day, I rise up.
Always enjoying the hike.

• nature heals • outdoor therapy • joy in motion

13/12/2025

Academia has always been my dream.
And I still feel lucky to be here.

Being a PhD candidate means mastering many things: writing, statistics, presentations, critique.

But the hardest lessons aren’t in textbooks.

As an introvert, I’m constantly pushed to connect and network – communicate clearly, and to listen well.

Maybe that’s why, in a world of AI, metrics, and endless achievements, I don’t want more noise.

I want real dialogue.
Slower conversations.
Less performance.
More presence.

If this resonates, you’re welcome to slow down alongside me.

I share reflections like these in a quiet, monthly newsletter (link in bio).

• mindful wellbeing • academia • phd life

06/12/2025

My plant-based meals in October & November 🌱

• Wrapped up November with a celebration + friends at in Amsterdam — gezelligheid on a plate.

• Just before that: an unofficial office prize for the healthiest lunch — green beans, pumpkin, pomegranate & h**p seeds.

• My “I-don’t-eat-bread-but-sometimes-I-do” toast.

• Persimmon cake topped with forest fruit jam (autumn on a plate).

• Pancakes… because would it even be me without them?

• .museum, : no vegan options, but they surprised us with a simple, perfect tomato pasta.

• Tried plant-based — 10/10 would eat with a spoon.

• Also tested nut butter cups from — tiny but powerful.

• October long-haul flights: both ways came with plant-based meals. A big relief for a traveling vegan 🌱

• food journal • vegan food diary • plant based living • simple food • mindful eating

08/11/2025

I train my mind to focus.
I train my body to move.
But when was the last time I let myself do nothing?
No screens. No books. No plans. Just… pause.

And when I finally rested, did I feel guilty?
Yes. I often do.
But then I remind myself — that’s the practice.

So I’m learning (slowly!) to rest without apology.
Are you too?

• mindfulness • rest • mental health matters

01/11/2025

Just listened to the podcast where dr. Andrew Huberman talked about gratitude in a different way.

If you want to cue your nervous system and deepen your gratitude practice, try this: write 3–4 bullet points about a moment when someone was grateful to you — the story, how you and the other person felt before and after, and the emotions involved. Then read those points slowly for a minute or so.

Let me share a story from my life that illustrates this:

• A fellow student in my Dutch class, who arrived 3.5 years ago, was interviewed on Dutch TV about asylum seekers.

• He shared the program link with our class.

• I was impressed by how well he spoke and emailed him to congratulate him.

• He replied, expressing sincere gratitude that I had watched and taken the time to reach out.

• Before: He might have felt nervous or vulnerable sharing his story publicly; I admired his courage.

• After: He felt supported and appreciated; I felt proud of him and grateful for his response.

• Emotion: A warm, mutual feeling of connection and appreciation.

Will you take a minute to feel gratitude in your body?

• mindfulness • gratitude • practice • journal

25/10/2025

If anyone says being vegan while traveling is hard…
show them the tacos.

Yes, photo no. 4 is also a taco.
Soup 🌮🥣

• plant based • mindful eating • mexican food

Adres

Maastricht

Website

http://www.lingospace.nl/mindful-life-coaching

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