do do
Do you ever feel like you’re stuck in a loop of endless self-improvement? Ultimately, I don’t think it’s a bad thing, to be driven by positive growth. In fact, I think it’s important to reflect and adjust, have that growth mindset, learn from mistakes, avoid being static. All very good stuff. But sometimes it’s exhausting to always be on a mission to do better. I need to start meditating more regularly, I want to be more stringent with my daily movement, I want to be a more communicative partner, I should call my grandparents, I should text my friends more, and this, and that, and the list goes on.
Although it’s ostensibly good, all these “shoulds” are so future-focused that I feel like I’m not actually experiencing the now. I’m so caught up in perfectionism (big waste of time) and self-criticism masquerading as self-improvement (oof, that one feels rough to admit), that I may be doing more harm than good. And I’m definitely not enjoying the here and now. Does this ring a bell for anybody else? Just me?
So, today’s prompt is a focus on the now. A focus on the good. Not what you should do or need to do, but what is it that you do do (insert poop joke here—yes, let’s allow silliness and laughter to enter this space). Let’s hear it.
prompt #40:
What is it that you do? Acknowledge yourself as you are now. Don’t focus on self-improvement, focus on self-acknowledgment. Give yourself a pat on the back and/or describe what you are and all that you do. Accept yourself in this moment rather than jumping to things you want to change or wish you would do in the future.
Set a timer for five minutes and write down everything you do that you love or enjoy (e.g. I enjoy my comfy bed, especially on weekends; I have close friendships that I nurture with long text threads of absurd memes interspersed with real-life connection; I treat my body like it deserves delicious food, because it does; etc.). Try your best to keep the statements positive and avoid giving yourself sneaky backhanded compliments or shifting back into the land of “shoulds” (e.g. I am meditating more than I used to, I am going to be more positive, etc.).
After the timer goes off, you may be happy with this list as it is, or you may want to follow one of those thoughts off into another direction. Totally up to you.
And, as always, feel free to send your piece my way for next week’s newsletter.
ashley's piece, a wish for you:
Let this moment be a lifetime.
Let this breeze be a hurricane, a windstorm, a gale.
That far-off sound of waves? The whole ocean.
Let this smile parting your lips erupt into an entire universe of joy.
You are all of it, everything, right now.