Hello friends! I hope week # 876 of quarantine is treating you well!! Honestly, most of the time I don’t even know what day of the week it is and often I feel like one day just sort of bleeds into the next. Almost like this time has been one long day and I live in the twilight zone!! It’s definitely a crazy time for everyone and we are all trying to mange and navigate through it.
In all seriousness I hope you are all healthy and happy and practicing as much self care and self compassion as you can muster up! Remember WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS! Soon we will be together again on our mats practicing yoga, breath and movement. I miss seeing all of the familiar faces at the studio and having that human connection especially the special connection through our Spark family. I find that on the days I make it to my mat, I am ALWAYS in a better mental and physical space.
“This too shall pass”. I love this quote because it reminds us to develop endurance. When life is rough and things are not going our way, we can be tempted to give up but when we endure trials, we develop character. It helps during tough seasons to remember that, regardless of how dark life seems or how painful our suffering, even “this too shall pass.”
When life is rough and things are not going our way, we can be tempted to give up but when we endure trials, we develop character. It helps during tough seasons to remember that, regardless of how dark life seems or how painful our suffering, even “this too shall pass.”
This quote also embodies what it means to have a growth mindset. In last week’s blog post I went over Growth vs Fixed Mindset. This week I want to tell you about a really great way to regularly practice a growth mindset through a positivity journal.
REAL QUICK REVIEW OF GROWTH VS FIXED MINDSET
Growth Mindset
The willingness to confront challenges
Believing that traits,knowledge, and skills are not predetermined, but can be developed and altered through effort and/or training
Failure is viewed as a springboard for growth
Passionate about learning
Fixed Mindset
Risk avoidance and fear of new experiences
Believing that traits,knowledge, and skills are already predetermined, and no amount of effort can change them
Mistakes are viewed as failures, not as opportunities for learning and/or growth
Have the urge to repeatedly prove themselves and seek approval
There have been tons of studies which prove focusing on positive thinking and gratitude has a long lasting effect on our overall happiness and self esteem. One of the best ways to change your mindset is to create a new habit. Daily journaling can make this easy and fun for both kids and adults.
A positivity journal does not need to be complicated, and you don’t need to spend more that a few minutes a day journaling. Below is a copy of a journal page including prompts to get you to exercise that growth mindset muscle!!
Today I Feel. It is important to acknowledge and express our feelings each day, even when they are not positive. Helping our kids to verbalize their feelings is key to long term adjustment.
Something I Learned Today. Everyone learns something each day. It doesn't need to be something from school, it could be a fun fact about anything.
Character I Showed Today. Striving to show strong character each day is a must to develop a positive outlook. Again, it doesn't need to be something big, but can be as simple as telling the truth or helping a friend.
My Favorite Part of the Day. This is something that is part of my family's bedtime routine. No matter how terrible the day may seem, I always remind my kids that there was something good in it. So we always make sure to tell each other our favorite part of the day. This can be really fun to look back on too!
How I Will Make Tomorrow Better. We all make mistakes. And learning from them instead of dwelling on them is key to our happiness. This section helps us to reflect on that and look forward to tomorrow.
Three Things I Am Thankful For. This is the heart of the journal. Reflecting on our gratitude every day is something that we all need to do. Here is where you write the big and small things that you are thankful for each day.
I hope you find a way to incorporate this exercise into your family’s daily schedule. It might even be fun for the whole family to journal their daily experiences and share! See you again next week!!
Namaste ~ Cassy
P.S. Looking for a great book to read during quarantine?? Check out Mindset: New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck.