Sunday Journal Prompt

 “If we sit with an increasing stillness of the body and attune our mind to the sky or to the ocean or to the myriad stars at night, or any other indicators of vastness, the mind gradually stills and the heart is filled with quiet joy.”

- Ravi Ravindra, author
 

Each year I treasure the window of time after Santa’s visit and before the children rise. Before hot chocolate fills our cups and ripped wrapping paper flies about, I take time to slow down, savor and appreciate the warmth and light in my life.

Decorated with ornaments from loved ones, our lighted tree becomes, for me, an “indicator of vastness,” and my heart is filled with quiet joy.

What fills your heart with quiet joy?
 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“Tension reduces creativity.”

 – Paul Carringer, marketing agency owner

Stress and tension inhibit our ability to create. Whether you’re creating a marketing campaign, a holiday meal for your extended family, a drawing or solutions to everyday problems, creativity infuses energy into our lives and enhances outcomes. Tension hinders that. 

To help reduce stress, marketing agency owner Paul Carringer runs 5 to 7 days a week. His passion for running has led him to complete 165 marathons in 35 states, four continents and five countries. Journal writing and yoga are my go-to tension reducers. The more consistently I take care of myself, the less stress I feel and the more creative I become.

What steps can you take to reduce tension and, thus, boost creativity?

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”

 – Charles Darwin

Resiliency—the ability to bounce back from defeat quickly—enriches our lives. Its flip side is helplessness, a feeling that can arise when things don’t go the way we want them to. According to Positive Psychology researcher Dr. Martin Seligman, “People who believe that the cause of setbacks is temporary, changeable and local do not become helpless.” 

When we recognize the counterproductive thoughts (“This undermines everything” or “It’s going to last forever”) that can lead to helplessness, we can work to shift our perspective (“I can do something about it” or “It’s just this one situation”).

Journal writing helps me bounce back quicker from setbacks. When I think about a disappointment, I often get caught in an unproductive loop. However, writing about a situation allows me to gain new insight and sketch out a plan, allowing me to move past the setback and regain a healthy perspective. 

What change or setback have you recently experienced? How can you practice resiliency? 

 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“Cease negative mental chattering. If you think a thing is impossible, you'll make it impossible. Pessimism blunts the tools you need to succeed.”

 - Bruce Lee
 

I’m inspired by bound dissertations displayed in the library of the university where I work, as they prompt me to think about the dedication of their creators, many of whom likely experienced doubt along their journey. When big goals overwhelm us, we may view them as impossible. Negative self-talk often rises up during times like these. Yet how do we “cease negative mental chattering”?

Rather than focusing on stopping negative self-talk, consider what you can replace it with. What we most need is encouragement when we decide to pursue a lofty goal—whether it’s writing a dissertation, sticking to an exercise routine, changing eating habits, making a career change or any other major shift. While coaches, trainers and others can offer excellent support, don’t forget about yourself. When we envision what it would feel like to have accomplished the goal and commit to working toward it a little bit at a time, we can boost our momentum and minimize negative thoughts. Instead of draining our reserves by dwelling on the perceived impossibility of a goal, we can devote our energy to action.  

What would it feel like to accomplish your goal? How can you work toward it gradually?

 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“Resistance can be trained away. Once you realize this, it fundamentally changes your relationship to all forms of discomfort.”

- Shinzen Young, meditation teacher

 

“Suffering = Pain x Resistance” is a formula shared by meditation teacher and The Science of Enlightenment author Shinzen Young in a recent One You Feed podcast. Our relationship to physical, emotional and/or mental discomfort can change when we no longer fight with what arises, he asserts. In other words, by reducing our resistance, we can reduce our suffering. This doesn’t mean to accept injustices, as some things definitely need to be changed. However, our happiness level doesn’t have to rely on what’s happening—or not happening—in our lives.

“When you bring concentration, clarity and equanimity to an uncomfortable experience, it doesn’t stop hurting, but it does stop bothering,” Young says. As a research consultant who has collaborated with Harvard Medical School and Carnegie-Mellon University in the field of contemplative neuroscience, Young advocates for meditation and mindfulness practices to retrain the mind. The same practices that allow you to “experience big pain with little suffering can allow you to experience tiny pleasure with enormous fulfillment.”

What have you been resisting? How can you practice mindfulness or meditation to reduce suffering and boost fulfillment?

 

 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“When you follow your bliss ... doors will open.”

- Joseph Campbell

 

Many associate the full moon with amplified energy. The moon’s recent proximity that coincided with the full moon phase created a gorgeous supermoon, producing an increased gravitational pull and enhancing the brightness in the night sky.

What steps can you take to boost energy and shine more light on the doors you want to open?

Sunday Journal Prompt

“I went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.”

 - John Muir

In his 1901 book Our National Parks, John Muir observed that “thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home. Wilderness is a necessity.” Nature, in his words, is a “fountain of life.”

“Do you want to go for a walk?” my son Alex often asks—a question I treasure. Since he was a toddler, we’ve gone on nature walks together, collecting pinecones and leaves as we venture through the forest. It’s during our walks that I learn most about his days, his interests, his plans, his worries, his joys, his thoughts. Without the confines of four walls, he opens himself up to me more fully. Though he’s typically “a talker” during these jaunts, we also engage in quiet moments—times when we both, as Muir advocates, go in.

What role does nature play in your life? How can you make more time to immerse yourself in it?

 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“The discomfort associated with groundlessness, with the fundamental ambiguity of being human, comes from our attachment to wanting things to be a certain way.”

 

- Pema Chodron, Buddhist nun

 

In her book Living Beautifully, Buddhist nun Pema Chodron says that the real cause of suffering is not being able to tolerate uncertainty. So much in our lives is uncertain, yet it’s often in our nature to attach ourselves to the outcomes we envision. Perhaps we’ve charted a path for ourselves and resist veering from it. Pema’s teacher Dzigar Kongtrul calls shenpa—the Tibetan word for attachment—the “barometer of the ego clinging, a gauge of our self-involvement and self-importance.”

However, if we can “let go and not struggle against [change], we can embrace the groundlessness of our situation and relax into its dynamic quality.” Pema refers to this unattached state in which we’re willing to adjust course and go with the flow—to unglue ourselves from our preconceived expectations—as enlightenment.

 

 

What are some ways you can reduce attachment to preconceived expectations in your life?  

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“Repeated thoughts and actions can rewire your brain, and the more you do something, the stronger those new neural networks become.”

– Dr. Timothy McCall

Dr. Timothy McCall describes neuroplasticity as the phenomenon in which our brains are “constantly remodeling” themselves. When we change our thoughts and actions, we can effectively rewire our brains. And the more we practice something, the stronger our neural networks become.

Healthy grooves of thought and action can help lift us out of ruts, shares Dr. McCall, author of Yoga as Medicine. Plus, people who commit to one positive change may open the floodgates to more. Specifically, he describes how people who dedicate themselves to yoga start making healthier eating choices, reduce caffeine or alcohol intake, quit jobs with unreasonable demands or spend more time in nature. What happens, he says, is that people “increasingly want to do what makes them feel better.”
 

What healthy behavior have you practiced in the past? How can you rededicate yourself to it?

 

 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.”

– Robert Frost

 

 

English professor and author Peter Elbow says if it weren’t for “surprises,” no one would be motivated to write. I am a different person after most journaling sessions, as I’ve discovered something new about myself or about what I think. 

Journal writing allows me to view a situation or a decision from a new perspective. In fact, I’m routinely surprised by what arises in my subconscious through writing about something to which I’ve devoted a lot of thought. The surprises are what keep me coming back.

What thoughts do you have about a situation or decision that’s been on your mind? Through writing, allow yourself to surprise yourself.

 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“Once we make our decision, all things will come to us. Auspicious signs are not a superstition, but a confirmation. They are a response.” 

 - Deng Ming-Dao 

Uncertainty and a sense of being out of balance can accompany us when we have a decision to make. Writer, artist, philosopher and martial artist Deng Ming-Dao asserts that we will get what we need once we decide which way to go—and that the universe will send us signs confirming our choice.

My students have told me that journaling helped them make decisions such as which major to choose, which post-college job to accept, and whether or not to continue a relationship. Although they’d been batting around the choices in their minds for weeks and, in the case of the major, for six months, they said that writing about the decision shed new light and clarity.

What decision do you need to make? Reflect on it through writing to boost clarity.

 

 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“Your practices are not done to bring you happiness or peace, but to prevent the peace that is your true nature from being disturbed.” 

- Sri Swami Satchidananda

 
At the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence, the featured work of art is Michelangelo’s masterpiece David. Yet I found myself more captivated by the Prisoners, seemingly unfinished works that line the path to David. I’d read that the artist had described his process as using a chisel to chip away chunks of marble that were confining—imprisoning—already-existing sculptures, that his job was to set them free. 

Many of us dart from thing to thing in search of joy or peace without realizing that what we seek is already within us. Rather than viewing our pursuits as ways to fill a hole or make us whole, perhaps we can instead view them as chisels to uncover who we have been all along—as ways to set ourselves free from external weight and (re)discover our true joyful, peaceful nature.

How can you make the most of the “chisels” in your life to help you hone in on the joy and peace that is your true nature?

 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“Learning to mindfully watch our thoughts instead of actively participating in them can effectively stop them from draining our energy.”

 

– Gil Fronsdal, Insight Meditation Center

 

“You are the sky,” my yoga teacher Michele recently told our class in preparation for a meditation. When we think of ourselves as the vast sky, we can better see that the dark clouds that arise in our minds are (or can be) temporary. Imagining ourselves at a distance from the turmoil—all the “what ifs,” judgments, worries and fears—enables us to be aware of the passing weather without immersing ourselves in it.

Rather than getting sucked into tornados of evaluations and reactions, which can trigger anxiety and fatigue, we can practice mindfulness to promote distance and help us maintain our energy levels. 

 

 

How can you practice mindfulness to boost your energy?

 

 

 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

 “Do you want room with that?”

 – Starbucks barista

 
Not a coffee drinker myself, I was confused when a barista asked if I wanted “room with that” when I ordered coffee for a friend. What she meant, of course, was room for other things—space for milk or cream, for instance. “Yes,” I said. “I want room.”

We fill our lives to the brim with job, family and social activities, rarely leaving ourselves room. Sure, there’s a rush we feel when we knock items off of our to-do lists or spend time with people we love. But my experience is that there can be a cost, too.

Excitement can mask our exhaustion, so sometimes we don’t realize how wiped out we are. Or perhaps we realize it but don’t give ourselves permission to really rest—to retreat. Recognizing my need to retreat from a packed schedule, my husband surprised me with a portable futon that has become a sanctuary for me—a place to write, think, read and nap. We’re calling it the “Zen Jen,” and it’s become my version of milk or cream.

In what ways can you give yourself more room in your life?

 

 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“Energy comes from four main wellsprings in human beings: the body, emotions, mind and spirit.”

– Tony Schwartz and Catherine McCarthy, The Energy Project

 

A Harvard Business Review article entitled “Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time” shares that our energy comes from four main wellsprings: the body, emotions, mind and spirit. No doubt, we need our rest to feel recharged. But sometimes, even after a full night’s sleep, we still feel drained. That’s where emotions, mind and spirit energy sources come in. Ten years ago, when I worked as a freelance reporter covering city council meetings, I often felt emotionally exhausted after work. However, my spirits lifted when I took a continuing education creative writing class—even when I was physically tired. Craving more of the energy boost that creative writing classes gave me, I pursued a master’s degree in the field.

We can renew our energy by establishing specific rituals—behaviors that are “intentionally practiced and precisely scheduled, with the goal of making them unconscious and automatic as quickly as possible,” assert authors Schwartz and McCarthy. For me, engaging in creative writing continues to energize me. The authors share how one person set an earlier bedtime and gave up drinking, which had disrupted his sleep—changes that “transformed his life.” 

 

 

What behaviors can you intentionally practice to tap into a wellspring of energy?

 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.”

- Vince Lombardi 

Each Sunday morning during the fall, tens of thousands of high school and college football players across the county watch films of their performance from the previous day. It’s a time in which coaches and players evaluate what went well and what didn’t—and, most importantly, make adjustments to the following week’s plan based on their analysis.

Few vocations demand a designated period of time for this level of reflection, especially on a weekly basis. It takes time and effort, but work like this contributes to long-term success.

As you reflect on the previous week, what adjustments can you make to your plan for the week ahead?

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“Positive emotions undo negative emotions.”  

– Dr. Martin Seligman, Authentic Happiness

 

University of Pennsylvania professor Dr. Seligman, known for his groundbreaking work in the field of Positive Psychology, deters people from devoting a lot of effort to correcting weaknesses. Instead, he urges us to focus on making the most of our signature strengths—kindness, curiosity, loyalty, zest, perseverance, fairness, bravery, to name a few of the 24 traits he’s identified.

“I believe that the highest success in living and the deepest emotional satisfaction comes from building and using your signature strengths,” he writes. He urges us to use them as often as we can in as many settings as possible. To take his free strengths-finder quiz, visit www.authentichappiness.org.   

 

What are your strengths and how can you use them to “buffer against your weaknesses and the trials that weaknesses bring”?

 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“Joy is the natural state of the mind that arises when the mind is free of desire and aversion.” 

– David Magone, yoga teacher

 

We value our freedom but often aren’t as free as we think we are, as our thoughts and emotions drag us down, yoga teacher David Magone shares. Rather than being imprisoned by thoughts about our unmet desires or our aversions, we can distance ourselves from them. We can let them go.

This doesn’t mean ignoring them. On the contrary, when we pay attention to negative emotions by practicing mindfulness, we are very aware that they are there. I think of this awareness as like the “reflective-I” in creative writing, the part of the self who looks back on—and learns from—the actions of an earlier version of the self. Through writing, we can observe our thoughts and emotions, interact with them and then choose to free our minds to make space for the return of joy.

What unmet desires occupy your thoughts? What aversions weigh you down? Empty them on the page to open the window for more joy.

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“Progress is impossible without change.”

– George Bernard Shaw

 

Yesterday we moved our eldest son into his college dorm for his freshman year. While it’s fulfilling to have helped launch our son to his next stage, the change is bittersweet. As excited as we are for him and the new life that awaits him, the rest of us already feel his void at home. We’re in transition as we begin to discover what our “new normal” will be for the three of us. Knowing our family would need time to ourselves, I didn’t schedule other commitments this weekend or have other expectations of myself. During transitions times, I try to give myself space—time to walk, write, nap, think, process, plan and, in some cases, cry.
 

How can you nurture yourself during times of transition?

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“Mindfulness is attention without interpretation. It is focused on the moment and allows for connecting with others on a deeper level. The more we can cultivate mindfulness, the more we can stay truly present.”

 - Mayo Clinic Wellness Coach training materials

 

I recently read that we have up to 70,000 thoughts per day. That’s 48.6 thoughts per minute, according to the Laboratory of Neuro Imaging at the University of Southern California. Imagine how exhausted we’d be if we interacted with each of them. 

Practicing mindfulness—be that savoring each bite of food, feeling the warmth of the sun on our backs or noticing the leaves on the trees during our drive to work—immerses us in the moment at hand. Focusing on our breath and on the sensory details of the present moment helps boost our energy levels and reduces our tendency to get mired in the downward spiral that thought-chasing can sometimes lead to. 

Immerse yourself in the sensory details of the present moment. What do you see, hear, smell, taste and feel? 



 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“We do not learn from experience ... we learn from reflecting on experience.”

– John Dewey

 

 

When we come to a “forked-road situation, a situation which is ambiguous, which presents a dilemma, which proposes alternatives,” that is when our thinking needs to go into high gear, according to American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer John Dewey. Even though our focus may be on the future—what to do about a certain situation—reflection on what has happened and how we handled things in the past helps us learn and make informed decisions about how to proceed. 

Dewey compares reflection to climbing a tall tree to achieve a better standpoint and arrive at a more commanding view of the situation. Journaling offers us an opportunity to climb that metaphorical tree and reflect on what’s working well and what isn’t and, of course, learn.

 

 

What dilemma are you facing? Through your journal, consider metaphorically climbing a tall tree to reach a better perspective on it.

 

 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“Action is the antidote to despair.”

- Joan Baez

In Bird by Bird, writer Ann Lamott recounts a story of how, decades ago, her 10-year-old brother once felt overwhelmed by a school assignment about birds that was due the next day. He’d had three months to write it but hadn’t started. He was “at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the task ahead.” Their father put his arm around the child and said, “Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.” To help her from feeling overwhelmed, Ann keeps a small frame on her writing desk to remind herself that all she has to do is write what she can see through that one-inch picture frame—not the whole book at once.

What can seem overwhelming at first? How can you separate the whole into smaller parts to make it more manageable—and enjoyable?

 

 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

Finding a sense of calm amid chaos

 

During the past few days, I’ve been at Comic-con in San Diego, which appears to be among the most un-Zen places due to the crowd and multiple attention-grabbing distractions. I saw folks who appeared to be meditating, sitting cross-legged with closed eyes along the periphery. My approach to find calm amid the chaos was to channel my mind to focus on one thing at a time—the intricate hand stitching a teen had done on the back of her costume, the energy of the room when Will Smith and Margot Robbie stepped on stage to promote their new movie, a baby dressed as Star Wars droid BB-8, the enthusiasm my son had when he played a not-yet-available video game—instead of trying to take it all in at once. I found myself feeling happily immersed in and energized by the circus.
 

What are some ways you can promote peace—even in the most unlikely of places or circumstances? 

 

 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”

– Theodore Roosevelt

 

This week, the phrase “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are” was enacted by at least two as-yet-unnamed heroes, the motorcyclist who died while trying to stop the barreling lorry at Nice’s tragic Bastille Day festivities and a second person—perhaps inspired by the first—who hurled himself into the truck’s cab and wrestled with the gun-firing driver until the truck stopped. Police sources confirmed that the tragedy would’ve lasted longer had it not been for the man’s courage. 

 

Write about whom you’re grateful for—someone you know or someone you don’t. Who has taken action that has made a difference?



 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“Be humbly what you aspire to be.”

– Henry David Thoreau
 

 

Perhaps you have a vision of what you want and what it takes to get there. Intending to become a respected writer, Henry David Thoreau set off for New York City in 1843 at age 26 where he attempted to shine in literary salons yet was not accepted by the literary world he sought to be a part of. The nature lover had tried to develop a writing career in the conventional way of his era. Eventually rejection prompted him to return to Concord, Massachusetts, where he lived in a humble cabin, further discovered his own voice, and wrote Walden and Civil Disobedience. 

 

How can you work toward who you are becoming in a humble, authentic way?

 

 

 



 

Sunday Journal Prompt

 “You can save me from the way I tend to be.”

– Frank Turner, musician 

 

Many people experience a default state that may not be the way they want to be. Perhaps you tend to envision worst-case scenarios about situations in your life or struggle with negative self-talk.

In his song “The Way I Tend to Be,” musician Frank Turner touches on darkness, but the tone shifts to a positive when reflecting on a person who “shines like truth” and “saves [him] from the way [he] tends to be.” Perhaps there’s a person in your life who boosts you, too. Or, better yet, maybe you can “save” yourself from who you tend to be. Turner, who has publicly discussed his struggles with depression, finds music as a catharsis—creating it and listening to it.

 

Who or what can you turn to for a spirit and energy boost when you need it?

 

Sunday Journal Post

Writing down a plan helps “craft self-discipline into a habit.”  

- Charles Duhigg, The Power of Habit
 

In a Scottish study about willpower, scientists examined the recovery efforts of people who had hip or knee surgery. All the patients had been through rehabilitation at the hospital and were told about the importance of exercise for their recovery. However, the post-surgical patients who wrote down specific rehabilitation plans for the week started walking almost twice as fast as those who did not. The plan-writers got in and out of chairs, unassisted, almost three times as fast and achieved tasks like laundry, cooking and dressing more quickly, as reported in Charles Dughigg’s The Power of Habit. 

The patients who had not written a plan “never thought ahead about how to deal with painful inflection points. Even if they intended to walk around the block, their resolve abandoned them when they confronted the agony of the first few steps,” Duhigg shares. Putting a plan in writing—referred to as designing willpower habits—seemed to be a way for the patients to coach themselves through difficult stages of a goal.
 

What’s a habit would you like to build? Write down a specific plan about how you will accomplish it.

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

 “Everyone should have a place where you can go to feel safe and happy.”

 

– Dr. Nancy Mramor, psychologist 

 

Dr. Nancy Mramor, a psychologist who leads workshops on achieving happiness, advocates for all people to have a place to go to feel safe and happy. “It may be a place you can physically visit or, at times, even just imagine, but it must be a respite that recharges you,” she says in an article on www.livehappy.com.

The Scioto River near my home is one of my happy places. I purposely take the scenic route to work, avoiding the highway and instead driving along Riverside Drive. My commute takes an extra 15 minutes, but the rewards are high. During each season, I feel more at peace while I anticipate the day ahead. Even though I’m in my car instead of outside in nature, it seems like I can breathe more deeply when the water is in sight. Beautiful old homes, some with horse farms, align one side of the road, and the river flows on the other side. Often I’ll spot people in row boats, motor boats and canoes enjoying the setting. One winter morning I delighted in seeing a group of deer, including two fawn, walking across the frozen river toward shore. 

 

What or where is one of your happy places? How can you adjust your day or your week to visit it regularly—in person or through your imagination?   

 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

 “Suppressing what we want to do but don’t do depletes [our energy].”  

- Dr. Michael Burke, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine

When we don’t do what we want to do but instead do what (we think) we are supposed to do, we feel drained. And when we feel drained, we’re more likely to choose unhealthy behavior. Stress or trauma compound this, making it more likely that our impulses take over—be that eating junk food, skipping the gym or downing more wine than we intended.

Is there something you secretly have always wanted to do or would like to get back to doing? Did you draw as a kid but later squelch that desire? Does learning to play guitar interest you? Would you prefer to work for a non-profit company instead of your current job?

 

 

What interests you that you might be suppressing? How can you take steps to work it into your life?

Sunday Journal Prompt

Thinking Time

I’ve been told that my paternal grandfather enjoyed his “thinking time,” time alone to reflect on his life. I thought of this during a recent airplane flight. While I had a magazine article assignment and student recommendation letters to write, I didn’t open my laptop, nor did I read. I did nothing but stare out the window and think.

 

My mind wandered from daily things like my to-do list and plans for the coming week to reflections on the significance of my son’s high school graduation and thoughts about a side business idea. Soon I let my mind focus on clouds that resembled the “snow rollers” created by gusty winds in our neighborhood a few winters ago. During the plane's descent, I seemed to go into a meditative state, mesmerized by the quilt of farmland beneath me. After landing, I felt more energized than I had in days. 

 

 

How often do you simply give yourself time to think? How can you work it into your life this week?

 

 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”

- Olympic track star Jim Ryun

 

 

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg features stories from people such as athletes, coaches and entrepreneurs who attribute their success to habits—building and sustaining patterns of behavior that become automatic in response to certain cues. For a football player, the cue may be the word “Hut!” at the beginning of a play, sparking the execution of a familiar, well-practiced routine. For tooth brushing, the cue may be waking up and feeling the filmy feeling in your mouth. “More than 40 percent of the actions people performed each day weren’t actual decisions, but habits,” asserts Duhigg, referring to a 2006 Duke University study.

Lately I’ve been cuing my writing sessions with a 25-minute timer on my phone. As soon as I set the timer, I get in the zone. It still takes motivation to set aside time to write daily and launch my cue, but my hope is that I’m building a new habit. The less energy we spend on making decisions or deliberating with ourselves, the more energy we have for other things. 

 

 

What habit would you most like to develop? What cue can you use?

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

"You don’t ever have to feel tired. The energy is already there. We just have to stop dragging ourselves down with our own thoughts, our own worries and our own fears. That’s what robs us of our joy." 

 

 

 – Gloria Latham, yoga teacher

 

The notion that I didn’t have to ever feel emotionally tired again was awe-inspiring to me. So often I found myself dragging through the day, even if I’d slept enough. I thought of myself as a victim of my to-do list, but I’m the one who created it. I felt I didn’t have enough time to take care of myself, but I chose to make other tasks a priority.

When self-defeating thoughts, worries and fears enter your mind, acknowledge them for a moment then bid them adieu. When monks bow while meditating, they acknowledge that their minds wandered. They are human too. It’s pulling ourselves back on track over and over again that shows our commitment to ourselves and energizes us.

 

Acknowledge your thoughts, worries and fears in your journal then close the book on them to boost your energy. 

 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

 “I write to understand as much as to be understood.”

 

– Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel, author of Night

 

Prolonged Exposure (PE) is a type of treatment for PTSD that, according to the National Center for PTSD, “works by helping [a person] approach trauma-related thoughts, feelings, and situations that [he or she has] been avoiding due to the distress they cause. Repeated exposure to these thoughts, feelings, and situations helps reduce the power they have to cause distress help him comprehend and reconstruct the terrible traumas that he has experienced—in a safe, controlled environment.”

 

Essentially, the idea behind this treatment is that, when in a controlled environment—such as sitting on a comfy couch with a cup of tea and your journal—exposure to the stressful experiences associated with a traumatic event can help to alleviate the symptoms of post-traumatic stress.

 

What do you need to try to understand? Allow yourself to reduce the distress it causes by returning to it through your writing in a safe, controlled environment.

 

 

 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“I didn’t know I could do this.”

– Judy Chester

 

My friend Judy has discovered that she loves painting, particularly urban landscapes. As I marveled over the art she has created, I asked if she had always been artistic. She said she liked to draw when she was a child, but, as her face lit up, didn’t know she “could do this.” Discovering something new within ourselves is one of life’s greatest joys.

The secret? In my book, it’s time and attention—and giving ourselves permission. So many of us tell ourselves stories that squelch our desire to really try something. For me, it’s cooking. For years I’ve told myself (and others) that cooking is not “my thing,” and my family of picky eaters didn’t exactly inspire me to devote more time to expanding my repertoire. However, my decision to follow a Paleo eating plan—no grains, dairy or added sugar—prompted me to buy new cookbooks and follow recipe blogs. I’ve found I can make delicious, artful soups, main courses, sides and desserts. To my greater surprise, I found I enjoy doing so. In Judy’s words, “I didn’t know I could do this.”
 

 

What about you is waiting to be discovered? How can you devote time and attention to unearth something new within yourself? 

 

Sunday Journal Prompt

“Being too goal-oriented and focused goes hand in hand with being busy, driven and worried.”

– Authors and Meditation Teachers Iam Gawler and Paul Bedson, Meditation: An In-Depth Guide

 

Many of us have been raised in a culture in which busy = successful. Even holiday letters are laden with accomplishments, often providing paragraph-sized resumes for each family member. When we ask our friends how they are, the response we frequently get is, “Busy.” For a long time, I thought this was a good thing—that my being busy proved I was adding value to the world. But I also know that overcommitting and overscheduling costs me, leading to anxiety, a sense of failure and often illness.

In their book Meditation: An In-Depth Guide, Gawler and Bedson assert that our busyness prevents us from being more open, more present—from having space in our minds and our lives. “Mindfulness meditation can lead us from narrow-focused concentration to open awareness and into spaciousness and stillness,” they write. By taking more time to detach from the rat race through daily meditation and frequent breaks, I’ve reduced anxiety and am less worried about whether or not I’ll reach my goals—all while moving toward them at a more manageable pace. Best of all, I now trust the process, trust that I am where I’m supposed to be.

Is the race toward your goals making you anxious? How can you reduce your intensity and be more present?