Tag: inspiration

step away from the problem

Posted on by jplatt27

Sometimes you don’t need to work to figure it out.

The amazing thing about the human brain is that it doesn’t need to be consciously thinking about things to be working on solutions.

I was a math major in college. We frequently had take home exams — some proofs couldn’t be completed in a 1 hour time window. I worked on this one proof for hours and just wasn’t getting anywhere. No kidding, I woke up at 4am knowing the answer. I scribbled down the proof and went back to sleep. When I got the test back, it was right!

I’ll sit in front of a blank screen at work trying to write a letter. The second I get to the bus stop at the end of the day, the words come pouring out. Luckily I carry a notebook with me everywhere and jot down a full letter while it’s fresh in my mind. And usually it’s pretty much good to go after that.

Moral of the story — stop worrying and focusing so much on the problem at hand. I’m sure you’ve churned this over in your brain enough already. Have faith that your brain is working on it and go do something else. The answer will come soon enough.

Has this ever happened to you?

Where could you benefit from a mental break and letting it work itself out?

it’s ok to want what you want

Posted on by jplatt27

Deep down you know what you want.

It’s OK to want that.

In fact, it’s more than ok. It’s amazing. It’s necessary. There will be less tension and stress in the world if you do.

Give yourself permission to want that.

When you want what you want and own it, you give the universe permission to bring it to you. And when you get it, everybody wins. Because you’ll add a little more joy to the world.

Can you imagine if we all did that? If we all gave ourselves permission to want what we want? That little bit of peace from each of us would change the world.

one of the best things i’ve done for my mental health

Posted on by jplatt27
One of the best things I’ve done for my mental health in the last year is unsubscribe from the business building newsletter mailing lists I was on.
I’d read these emails and think I’m not good enough, I’m not doing enough. I don’t want to do that. I can’t do that. It just made me feel really shitty.
I knew I wasn’t going to build a successful business from that place of lack and I’m not good enough so I unsubscribed. And it made me feel a million times better.
If you’ve subscribed to something meant to be helpful and motivational but instead makes you feel small and shut down, it’s not doing it’s job and could possibly even be slowing you down from your goals.
If the dating sites are reminding you of how single you are and make you think “I’m never going to find the love of my life” take a break, don’t login for a while.
If listening to podcasts and reading articles about money make you feel hopeless and sad about your financial state, take a step back and don’t listen to those things for a bit.
If fitness pages on social media make you feel fat and inadequate, change your settings so those things don’t pop up in your news feed.
If reading blogs about positive psychology and your mindset overwhelm you, set up your reader so they’re not the first thing you see.
Step away. Unsubscribe. Funnel it into a folder where you don’t have to see it unless you choose to.
You do not deserve to feel shitty about yourself. I personally believe that you’ve got to love yourself into change. Approach it with hope, optimism, and love for the possibilities ahead.
If there are things that are coming across your screen that don’t allow you to feel good, inspired, and expanded, please, please, please, take the action necessary so they don’t come across your screen.
If they’re going to make you feel less than, get them out of your inbox.
You’ll be amazed at what mental creative energy will be opened up to you when you do.
What do you need to remove from your screen?
P.S. I sent this to my email list this morning. If you want to get things like this right in your inbox, subscribe here.

what i’m learning about sports

Posted on by jplatt27

For as long as I’ve known Mike, he’s been a huge Philadelphia sports fan. Between the Flyers, Eagles, and Phillies we’re always in-season for one of the sports. When we moved in together, one of the most notable things was how much he watches sports. If it’s not an actual game, it’s what we’ve come to call “talking about sports”: Mike and Mike, SportsCenter, Pardon the Interruption, pre- and post-game coverage. In the car we frequently stream Philly sports talk and Mike will also listen to it on his morning and evening bus rides. And though he’s normally a pretty calm, steady guy, that all goes out the window when the Flyers or Eagles are on. The hootin’ and hollerin’ is really something else. It got so bad one time, I was afraid he was going to get so riled up he was going to throw the remote or something and ruin our new TV.

So given all of this, I never really got it. And now, almost 6 years later, I get it.

Sports give you something to be a part of, something bigger than yourself. They bring commaraderie among fans, across generations, and can even bond people through mutual hatred of other teams. One of the most basic human needs is to be a part of a tribe. Being a sports fan is a great example of that.

Sports are an emotional roller coaster and allow you to feel your full range of emotions in a way that isn’t socially acceptable in many other contexts. From an amazing goal to a devastating loss, sports give you permission to openly feel and express it all – joy, anger, and sadness.

It’s home. It’s comfort. It’s the annual hope that this could finally be the year that your team, your city, wins it all.

Are you a sports fan? What about it draws you in?

link love

Posted on by jplatt27

life coaching assignment

assignments for a coaching client

I love nothing more than relaxing and reading on a Saturday morning. Here are some links for your weekend. Enjoy!

1. I love The Good Life Project by Jonathan Fields and I really enjoyed this episode.

2. As someone that had the privilege to receive this, I can totally agree that this is one of the best things you can give a friend.

3. You know how much we love Jessica’s recipes. You can bet your bottom dollar we’re buying this.

4. A four word phrase that might change your life (I definitely want to try this)

5. I love this reflection about why the writer yells at her kids.

that’s me

Posted on by jplatt27

I love when I read something and think “oh my God, that’s me.” That’s exactly how I felt when I read this passage:

“So I decided that’s what God wanted to me to do. He wanted me to walk around telling people the truth. No mask, no hiding, no pretending. That was going to be my thing. I was going to make people feel better about their insides by showing them mine. By being my real self.” ~Glennon Doyle Melton, Carrior On Warrior

I try to do this here on my blog, but also in true, honest conversations with the people I interact with on a daily basis. I want authenticity to be my thing.

Have you read anything lately that made you think that’s me? If so, share in the comments.

what else will i find?

Posted on by jplatt27

The other day I was talking to a friend and she shared a concern about her relationship. “We’ve been dating this long and I’m still finding things that bother me. It makes me wonder, what else will I find?? Will I continue to find things that bug me?”

The short answer is yes.

Yes, you will find more things that bother you. Because we’re human and always changing, it’s very likely that he will develop some new habits. It’s also likely that you may become irritated by some things that never bothered you before.

Like the ice-chewing. He’s probably been doing that for years. But one day, you’ll hear it for the first time. And you’ll think it’s annoying.

But you’ll also find more things that you love, more things that are endearing.

Like the toilet paper. And how he’s really good about noticing when it’s getting low and putting a new roll on the back of the toilet so you’re not stuck. That’s a pretty great small thing. And it speaks to something about his character that you really really love.

And you’ve got to set yourself up to look for that instead. You’ve got to decide that the little annoying things say nothing about his character and who he is as a person. And that the endearing things have everything to do with it.

deep down you know

Posted on by jplatt27

You know what you want to do. Deep down part of you knows exactly what you’re going to be, what you want to do with your life. It knows. It really really knows. And it knows it will be fulfilling and you’ll be good at it. And it doesn’t worry about money because it knows the money will follow.

It’s always known.

So, tell me, or more importantly, tell yourself…what are you going to do? Who are you going to be?

don’t cry. don’t say that.

Posted on by jplatt27

I’m a crier. I’ve always been a crier and will always be a crier. I cry in conversations with friends, I cry at commercials. I’ve cried at work, and in yoga class, and in church. This is all pretty normal for me.

So take it from me, when someone is crying, the last thing they want to hear someone say is “don’t cry.” Please don’t say that. It doesn’t do anything for the person crying. When you say that, it cuts off the connection.

When someone is crying, you don’t necessarily have to say anything. When someone is crying, you don’t necessarily have to do anything.

The best thing you can do for a person crying is hold space for their tears.

Tears are sacred. Don’t be scared of them. Let them come. And let yourself be present for the person shedding them, whether that’s you, a loved one, or a stranger.

 

P.S. A beautiful little short on the power of empathy. Please watch this.

 

a quote to help with uncertainty

Posted on by jplatt27

I’ve been feeling a little uncertain about my career and purpose lately (read: since college) so this quote, shared in my Desire Map Book Club Facebook group, really resonated with me. I read it and felt like it was written just for me. If you’ve been feeling uncertain or anxious, I hope you find comfort in it too.

Sending so much love,
Joanna

“Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.”  ~Rainer Maria Rilke