Helloooo and can you believe another week has passed?
I cannot but here we are.
On the surface, today’s journal prompt may sound somewhat basic, but I just did this for myself and almost cried so there has to be some value to it.
A tiny backstory:
I’ve always been very hard on myself. Even in kindergarten, my teacher took my parents aside to see if they knew why I was being so strict...with myself.
There wasn’t much explanation for it. My parents were fairly lax, especially during that era. It’s definitely a karmic thing that I carried into this round of life on earth.
What’s a girl to do ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Over time I’ve accepted that I’ll never be perfect. Thanks to many “failures” I’ve learned to give myself a lot more room to explore life as it comes.
BUT when I’m stressed the old songs of punishment sneak back in, until they’re so enmeshed in my personal narrative I can’t tell that they were once foreigners. What seems like a voice of reason is actually self-sabotage in a cape.
This is where today’s exercise comes in. If you’re anything like me, it might be an impactful release. If you don’t identify with my cute critical quirk, it’s still a helpful way to take stock of the week.
And just to bounce off Wednesday’s newsletter: if there was ever an oft overlooked form of self-care, this would be it.
Celebration.
This is an opportunity to sit with yourself and say, “you’re doing great, here’s a few ways you’re making me proud”
See if you can find three things to celebrate. If that’s easy go for five. If you’re on a roll, aim for ten!
You can write this down, think out loud or speak it to yourself on a walk.
Make it a little moment. After the sunset, I had a glass of iced tea and whispered my kudos into the night.
“you’re doing great at _______”
Maybe right now you’re really feeling down on yourself. Start with the small acts that you take for granted as part of your daily routine.
If you feel completely at a loss, you can celebrate the fact that you opened your email and read today’s dispatch. That’s no small thing.
Take a break from the hustle that will always demand more. If we’re living in that mindset, we’ll never give ourselves credit for what we’re already doing.
Create space to listen and just be.
That being said, thank you all for being here and supporting this newsletter.
I celebrate all of you!
lots of love,
James