Journaling tool share: Motivational quotes

Ready to stay calm and journal on? Let’s try some more journaling together! 

• Write an affirmation/quote/saying your parent or grandparent always said to you that felt inspiring. 
• It could also be a line of poetry, verse from a spiritual text, or a saying from a group, like AA, that motivates you. 
• Brain Fact: “Motivational quotes affect our brain, our behavior, and our lives because they make us feel like we are in control of our own success, and that we have self-efficacy. Quotes make us believe that we have the confidence to complete a task successfully, which is different than having the motivation to succeed. Motivation means to WANT to achieve. Self-efficacy is the CAPACITY to achieve.” (“The Powerful Effects Motivational Quotes Have on Our Brains and Our Lives” by Melissa Gouty).

I’ll start us off: My father, a storyteller, wrote me a poem once when I was moving out to the southwestern U.S. And the words I remember the most from this poem were these: “And your kindness / Will show you the way.” These words have helped me start up conversations with strangers, build connections with new friends, and planted a seed in my heart that I have the agency to “be the path” I want to walk. 

Can’t wait to hear in the Comments what words pass through your “thought stream” as reminders of love and care.

In a recent episode, “Making Meaning and Writing Toward Posttraumatic Growth with Lennie Echterling” Lisa Ellison notes that so often writers will encounter trigger warnings (when writing their story) and are encouraged to sort of “back away” from these warnings in order to care for the self. This is necessary! And Dr. Echterling, a long-time crisis counselor, reminded listeners to also look for “triggers of resilience.” In other words, can you find moments in your day that make you aware of how much your are loved, supported, and cared for?

I think this journaling prompt helps us do this.