Greetings!
Welcome to the wabi-sabi letter, the digital newsletter that promotes healthy living, wellness, mental health awareness, fitness, positive habits, and all around happiness. Clear your head and cleanse your inbox with a tiny space for wellness as you set your intentions for the day. Badabing badaboom.
Harnessing The Jar of Awesome
Motivation expert Tim Ferris writes in his book, Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers, that in order to build positive habits, you need momentum. That’s where the “Jar of Awesome” exists. It’s essentially a positive feedback loop and tool for you to acknowledge your wins.
Here are simple step-by-step instructions on how to create a “Jar of Awesome” of your own and how to use it to maximum effect.
Find an empty jar and several pieces of paper.
Start by writing down between 5-7 “small wins” in your life.
Write each “small win” on its own piece of paper, then place it in the jar.
Whenever you need an extra boost of motivation, pick a random paper from the jar and read it to yourself.
Give yourself a moment to reflect on the “small win” and let the positive emotions surface.
Whenever you have another “small win,” write it down and add it to the jar.
Keep adding to your collection. The more “small wins” you have saved, the more positive memories you have to draw from and be inspired by.
Waking Up Mindfully
Patrick K. Porter, PhD, a neuroscientist and creator of the meditation app, BrainTap, and Kristen Willeumier, PhD, a neuroscientist whose research focuses on neurobiology and neuroimaging recently spoke with Well + Good on waking up with optimal brain health.
According to the article, both neuroscientists wake up mindfully (and Dr. Porter doesn't set an alarm).
Technically, the first thing Dr. Porter does to support his morning brain health actually takes place in the evening: he does not set an alarm. "One of the worst things you can do to your nervous system is wake up to a blazing alarm," he says. If you can't wake up without one, he recommends opting for a relaxing tone.
Action Item: Try waking up mindfully as an action item this week. Find this mindful waking meditation from our friends at Mindful.
Identifying the Root Cause: Advice from a Couples Therapist
Couples Counselor & Sex Therapist Deborah J. Fox, MSW writes for MBG that often the intensity of your partner's reaction doesn't appear to match up with the current situation. This is what makes these sudden flare-ups so confusing. I know many times people look back at an argument and say, "I don't even know what started it," or "Why did she react so irrationally to that trivial thing?" or "What just happened? All I did was ask a simple question, and he went nuts!"
The other person probably does have a perfectly logical explanation for their angry eruption (don't we all!), but that explanation oftentimes obscures the real origins: hurt or pain that was quickly buried in one defensive reaction after another.
Identifying those feelings is the key to arguing less. You can't resolve something when you don't know what the problem really is.
Like us? Share the well(th) with your friends & family.
You're amazing. Enjoy the world today.
Love,
wabi-sabi team