Sunday Journal Prompt

What’s on your ta-da list?

So often our inner voice tells us what we’re doing wrong, what we should’ve done or what we need to do. Let’s counter that by writing a ta-da list. What are you doing well?

The “old Jenny”—the part of me that relied on external validation to define me—would embark on a resume-style list of publicly recognized accomplishments and stop there. Perhaps you start with some of those, especially if they were hard-earned. Then keep going.

Next record what you do for others: making soup for your family, supporting a friend through her divorce, driving carpool for children of parents who work long hours, doing the dishes at your in-laws’ house after a holiday meal.

Finally, write down your inner-life ta-das such as praying, writing in your journal, slowing down to savor a moment such as a cat watching falling snowflakes, giving silent thanks before a meal, making the decision to have patience with someone who frustrates you. These are the things that no one sees overtly. Yet they take time and focus, and contribute to who you are. I encourage you to be especially proud of your invisible ta-das.

Counter negative self-talk with a list of what you’re proud of—the things people see and the things they don’t. Each time that negative voice resurfaces, bring to mind this list.

 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“I’ve won the day.”

 

– Tiffany Salter, PhD candidate  

 

After working on her prospectus for her PhD dissertation first thing in the morning, PhD candidate Tiffany Salter said she felt as if she’d won the day. Before letting in other voices through news, social media and email, she worked on her own project for an hour—giving it her full attention and best energy.

What task do you find yourself postponing throughout the day? How can you rearrange your schedule or your priorities to commit to working on it after you wake up—even if you only have ten minutes to devote to it?

 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“All men should strive to learn before they die what they are running from, and to, and why.”

– James Thurber

 

 

I view journal writing as a pathway to live out the Greek proverb “Know thyself,” frequently voiced by Socrates in Plato’s writings. Author James Thurber encourages us to reflect on what we’re running from, working toward and, most importantly, why—a sure way to help us better know ourselves.

 

As a creative writing teacher, I asked my students to consider the space between the “experiencing-I” and the “reflective-I” in essays we examined. The first is the person who lives in the moment—the woman who quits her job and hops on a stranger’s motorcycle on a Wednesday afternoon. The second is the older version of herself who reflects back on that moment to make sense of it—to process what she was running from, to consider what she hoped to find, and, of course, to figure out why. It’s in that reflection that we see character growth.

 

What have you been running from?

Where are you headed? Why?

 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“Be here now.”

- Sam, age 14

My friend’s son Sam has been bored during his English class. When the class read Huckleberry Finn, he was frustrated with how long Huck and Jim stayed on the raft. He constantly looked at the clock, wishing the class would end. However, he realized that looking at it seemed to make the period last longer. “I said to myself,” he explained to his Mom, “that I just need to stop looking at the clock. I just need to be here now.” His mother told him that it takes some adults many, many years to learn that lesson.

Sam’s decision to “Be Here Now” echoes the title of a 1971 book on spirituality, yoga and meditation by the Western-born yogi and spiritual teacher Ram Dass—the name coined from a statement made by his guide Bhagavan Das during Ram Dass’s journeys in India. 

Mentally fighting against “what is” can fuel our anger and frustration. How can you make the most of the moment you’re in—how can you “be here now,” as Sam and Ram Dass advise?