Howdy, my people.
Whether you are hiding from pollen, or hiding from snow, welcome.
Let's take a break together.
You know,
I've been spewing "Next Best Decision" for 3 years,
and this morning,
I want to witness. Preach. Testify.
It works. It's feels so good when it does.
It feels so good to take one step forward,
and have it lead to a bigger downoad
of the next few steps.
What is it "they" say?
(They, the general consciousness,
not to be confused with they, non-he/she
...though I dream of a culture that just says WE.)
"The break through comes after the breakdown."
It is fantastic to feel momentum again.
I was dipping, for sure.
"In a dip," is what I say to clients when they are feeling slumpy.
Slumps happen.
There is no joy without the contrast of dips.
Accepting slumps brings a little respite.
I've been in a low-level hum of a dip for a while.
I woke up yesterday feeling super grumpy.
I worked on my dryer vent in the garage which
spews lint chunks across the floor and
lint dust inside my car.
I've been parking my car outside the garage
when I do laundry.
I now understand grumpy men fixing things,
swearing and sweating and frustrated.
I woke up with the residue of those feelings.
I didn't want to do my gratitude
or journaling
or Mindy Leishman's morning call.
These are the things I do daily to raise my vibe.
Obviously, it's not always rainbows and unicorns, but
if there were practices (there are)
to give you a better feeling each day (they do)
why wouldn't we do them?
So grumpy Tami vetoed the good stuff,
certain the whole world is crap anyway...
But then,
I did turn on the zoom call--
but kept the video & audio off.
I lurked.
(Not my norm.)
I paced, listening to my friends
share their wins, gratitude and obstacles.
Then I sat and watched.
One little choice,
then one more,
led to a reset.
Next Best Decisions
melted my grumpy goo.
Today's Deep Breath: here's a practical juju nugget, a collective Next Best Decision.
Was it the regular practice of journaling
and Mindy's morning calls that
enabled my brain to jump over to feeling better within an hour?
I'm going to say: absolutely.
What we do most often, our practices,
create a strong neural highway.
It doesn't take much to slide back into them.
(Some of those practices we love and want to keep,
while a few give us regret after. Same concept.
Changing a habit that is no longer helpful is
my work for myself and others.)
Just as the practice of meditation
helps to bring more awareness in all the moments,
to generate the ability to
pause and make better decisions,
the regular practice of journaling
helps empty the swirling thoughts,
bringing calm and clarity to our day.
It creates a launch pad for other beneficial habits. (me)
It reduces stress and internal debates. (me)
It increases confidence in communication. (me)
It's a safe space to say things you're not ready to say out loud. (me)
It clarifies our priorities and identity. (me)
It creates data to see where's we've been and illustrates progress. (me)
Of course, journaling helps us to cope
with stressful events, (me)
but it also expands the good things we write about. (me)
Preach, preach, preach.
8% of American's currently write regularly in a journal.
22% have written in a journal in the past.
I have been reluctant
to focus my small business
around this one thing.
I do believe in it.
It has been a thread through my childhood and adult life.
I have spoken to groups of 100+ people,
perched behind my 30+ messy, colorful
volumes of ink,
sharing the benefits of journaling.
Shelves and websites are flooded with
cute, trendy, functional bound beauties in every color and size.
I don't care what you put your pen to.
I adore a sturdy composition notebook.
I like colors and stripes and quotes and themes.
I've used apps and websites to store my paragraphs.
One teensie note on timing, which is related to purpose:
A researcher I admire recommends journaling in the evening, to clear your mind for better sleep.
Genius.
I also do mornings, for the purpose of clearing my mind
for the start of day.
THE POINT:
we have an opportunity to change our lives
and be an example to our love circles.
If you journal already,
I hope this helps you to feel awesome about it.
If you haven't,
or haven't in a while,
I am creating a Journal Prompt Library tab on my website,
with free access to all who need it.
There will be 30+ sets of journal prompts
on various life topics:
preparing to retire, parenting littles or adults,
self-compassion, purpose, confidence,
just to name a few.
I will include at the bottom of the web page a Suggestion Box.
If you have an issue
and you don't see prompts for it,
pop in a suggestion and I'll create it for you.
I am also offering an Evening Journal Circle at
7pm Eastern, every dang day.
I believe in this work. For ourselves,
and to teach
all of our children.
Let's manage ourselves,
so we can better influence our world.