I’m on Day Six of the Begin with Yes 21 Day Companion Workbook. I’m doing this with 3 of my girlfriends who live almost 2,000 miles away from me (I’m on the island of St Croix, USVI, and they are in my hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio).
We take “keeping in touch” a few steps further by doing things like this “together” from far away. Then we meet up (there are 6 of us) and record a podcast about our adventures and experiences (Siren Soapbox – you can find it here). Sometimes we agree…and sometimes we disagree. But we always love each other!
This morning, my Day Six prompt was to create a list of things I want More of and a list of things I want Less of. Paul Boynton, the author, states that many people find it easier to identify what they want Less of, and this side of the page is often longer. For me it was the opposite.
The author also instructs us to keep our journal private…I think this is so we can be very open and honest about what we are writing (but, I’m a pretty open-book kind of girl). Oops…
One thing I noticed about the “More” side of the page is that it was filled with things that I completely control and could do RIGHT NOW & RIGHT HERE! Things like: adventure, laughs, new experiences, time with Dino, exercise, reading, writing, time in nature, new places, good conversation, new foods, noticing beauty, success, accomplishment, fun…
I wrote my list at 7:30 am. It’s 2:00 pm. I’ve done 18 out of 28 things on my More list!
We stopped at a little grocery store that we’ve never visited. They’re known for their sandwiches and wraps, so we ordered breakfast wraps at the deli. We took our wraps to a beach and ate on a little broken bench (we had to stay carefully balanced).
Then we decided to do a hike we’ve never done before – Goat Hill. We’ve both wanted to do this hike for a while, but were a little intimidated at the idea of the mile-long consistent incline in the Caribbean sun. It wasn’t as bad as either of us imagined, and we chatted and stopped to take in the beauty (and take some selfies) all along the way. #AlwaysTakeTheSelfie. The views from the top were stunning!
Doing this journal together is important for so many reasons!
- It makes 2000 miles seem like nothing – it keeps me close with my girlfriends,
- We all stop and reflect: It causes us to think about things in our lives,
- This particular prompt really made me stop and think about what makes me happy (what I want more of),
- I realized how much control I have over increasing the things that make me happy,
- It motivated me to do those things RIGHT AWAY!
The trick is to do more of those things more often!
What do you want to do more of? What kind of beautiful places can you visit right where you live? I challenge you to get there soon! Take some pics and share them with the rest of world – we can all use a little more beauty in our lives!
The Joy of YES! 