Thriving in the Now
Hi, y'all,
Here are three insights and mindful practices for this week:
Going from stuck in doubt to thriving in the now.
Seven journal techniques to help you practice inner calm and peace of mind.
One way to manage stress, clear your mind, widen your perspective, and practice gratitude.
When you document your intention, it becomes an imprint on the footprints of your soul and your work, helping you thrive in the present moment.
Let’s dive in!
1 Quote
At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can.
– Frida Kahlo
3 Insights
From Stuck in Doubt to Thriving in the Now: A Poet's Guide to Unlocking Your Potential
You’re stuck in the grind of being busy.
You work hard all day. Yet, you feel like you're not making progress, and self-doubt begins to creep into your mind. Have you ever felt stuck on autopilot, just going through the motions?
The Australian poet Rilke observes,
Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer. – Rainer Maria Rilke
The secret? Live the questions.
Questions can be a tool for mindfulness. They help you widen your perspective when wrestling with the uncertainty of life. Questions also help you slow down, inviting you to take your time.
This reflective pause with questions helps break the cycle of feeling stuck on autopilot.
Mindfulness is a way to focus on the present and accept the moment without judgment. Pondering the questions allows the space to grow toward a focused awareness.
Because, like Rilke, the point is to live everything, even the questions.
For reflection and journaling this week: What is one thing that helps you get out of the experience of feeling stuck in life?
Seven Journal Techniques to Help You Practice Inner Calm and Peace of Mind
Gratitude Journaling: Write about things you are grateful for; it increases positive emotions and promotes optimism.
Self-reflection: Reflect on your daily experiences and note how you could have approached situations differently.
Positive affirmations: Write affirming statements about yourself and repeat them to boost self-confidence.
Mindful breathing: Practice deep breathing exercises to help regulate your emotions and increase focus.
Letting go of negative thoughts: Write about your negative thoughts and feelings, then let them go and focus on the positive instead.
Planning and goal-setting: Write down your goals and the steps you will take to achieve them to increase your motivation and accountability.
Prioritizing self-care: Write about ways to take care of yourself physically, emotionally, and mentally, and schedule time to do them regularly.
For reflection and journaling this week: What technique do you practice to experience inner harmony?
Awakening the Present: The Ultimate Journal for Cultivating Mindfulness
Journaling is one of the best micro-practices of mindfulness.
Micro-practices of mindfulness are focused activities you can do almost anywhere in 3-7 minutes per day. And journaling is one way to help you manage stress, clear your mind, widen your perspective, and increase your gratitude.
There are many options for a journal - from the tangible index card, a single sheet of paper, or a notebook to the digital app. I have used these options for journaling over the past 40 years.
The Favorite - The Leuchtturm 1917 Medium Journal
This type of composition journal allows me to use my best mode of consistent thinking and writing for several reasons:
Page layout options: The Leuchtturm 1917 Medium Journal offers dotted, ruled, and squared layouts. This allows you to choose the format that suits your journaling style and preferences - writing, sketching, or bullet journaling.
Table of contents and indexing: This journal has a built-in table of contents. You can easily create an index of your journal entries and quickly locate specific topics, dates, and ideas.
Numbered pages: This notebook comes with pre-numbered pages. This numbering system makes it easy to organize your journal entries and saves time when you refer to specific pages when needed.
Ribbon bookmarks: This journal also features two ribbon bookmarks, allowing you to mark multiple pages or keep track of critical sections.
Bottom line: A paper journal is portable, tangible, and doesn't need recharging.
This analog tool is one of my go-to, consistent practices for mindfulness. It is my centering habit of focus and intention. Remember that the best journal or combination of journals helps you write consistently.
For reflection and journaling this week: What type of journal or other technique helps you practice a consistent mindfulness habit?
1 Journal Prompt
Your journaling can be 1 sentence, a drawing of images, or a recording of your thoughts.
Find what works for you and be consistent with your process to discover patterns of insight and wisdom.
Mindfulness helps you – start your day with:
mindset
intention
purpose
action
And end your day with:
reflection
journaling
release
gratitude
So that each day will be meaningful.
Reflect this week on how you begin and end your day to experience meaning and connection.
Journal Prompt: What is one intentional practice I did today that helped me connect with others or discover new meaning in the moment?
My free email course, Consistent Journaling in 14 Days, is available. You're one sentence away from:
Clarity and focus
Consistent progress
No more overthinking, perfection, or procrastination.
It begins with a few minutes a day. Let's do this together over the next 14 days to see how it works. Go to: 1 Sentence Journaling.
A Free Gift for You – Here’s a small gift of inspiration in gratitude for being a subscriber. The product is free – just put a zero in the price field. Thanks, and enjoy!
That’s it!
Thanks for reading. I appreciate you being part of the journey.
Hit reply and let me know what you found most helpful this week—I’d love to hear from you!
See you next Sunday.
Denise
Author of A Glowing Ember of Courage – Ponderings, Poetry, and Prayers, the children's book, It's Just a Little Rain, and the song accompanying the text.
I'm a former nun turned big-tech risk manager. I want to help demystify mindfulness through simple micro-practices that allow you to think clearly, act decisively, and recover fast without burnout. Check out more of my writing here.