211. Journal With Me: Why You Know What to Do But Can't Make Yourself Do It
You know what you should do. You know meditation would help. You know you need transition time between work and family. You know you should stop checking email at 9pm...
So why can't you make yourself do it?
Today we're going beyond awareness into the root belief keeping you stuck. Grab your journal - we're digging into what's actually underneath the pattern.
Journaling prompts from the episode:
- What’s one pattern you’re aware of but can’t seem to change?
- What story are you telling yourself about why it keeps happening?
- What would it cost you to change this pattern? What might you be protecting?
- Based on what comes up, what actually needs to heal?
We're not shaming ourselves or relying on discipline. We're addressing the root belief so your solution actually works instead of being another thing you "should" do.
Resources Mentioned:
- Free Calm Mind Blueprint: http://www.samanthapenkoff.com/calm-mind-pod
- Newsletter: www.samanthapenkoff.com/prompts
Work with me:
- Breakthrough Intensive - You already know you should slow down, delegate more, stop overcommitting. So why can't you? That's what we figure out in 90 minutes. Plus integration call 2 weeks later. Book your Breakthrough
- Exhale: Private Coaching - For women ready to do this work until it sticks and you can't revert back. 4 open spots: Work with me
Transcript
On Tuesday, I announced that journal entries is now beyond awareness. So today, I'm really excited because I wanna show you exactly what that means by walking you through the process of becoming more than just aware, because you already are so good at being aware of what your problem is, what you're going through in life, what it is that you would love to be better in.
whether that be your relationship, your work, ⁓ just your self-improvement. And what I see a lot is that you're so aware that you're often aware of what you quote unquote should do. And so today you're going to get a taste of going beyond, I know I'm stressed and even I know I quote unquote should give myself more time to de-stress before
switching from work mode to mom mode, or I know I should meditate more because it's actually part of my morning routine, I'm just not doing it, into, ⁓ that's why I'm not doing it, that's why I'm not changing, that's why I'm not following through. Because once you know that, once you get clear on why you're not doing it, then the actions that you do decide to do become way more aligned with
what your life is and what your goals are. It's not just something like, ⁓ so-and-so told me that I should meditate. So-and-so told me that I should start time blocking. It's something that actually resonates with you and aligns with what you enjoy doing or what your goals are. And it just feels better and you'll actually do it. You'll stick to it for the long term because you've addressed that core belief beneath it. If you are new to the podcast,
or new to my journaling method, the first step is awareness. I have five prompts and prompt number one is awareness. And again, this is what you're good at. You probably are very well aware already of what's happening in your life, but this is often where my clients and probably you, you stop or you get stuck in and maybe that's why you haven't journaled or...
Maybe you're afraid to journal because you think it might just be brain dumping and then you stop. Or you might jump to my fifth prompt. It's the fifth prompt that we get to the action of what to do. And today we're going to do the messy middle of working through it so that sure, whatever action you choose by the end, whether it's meditating or whatever, then it actually works. So that was a long intro to say.
go grab your journal or open up a Google Doc or the Notes app on your phone, whatever it is. If you're busy, if you're driving or your hands are sudsy from doing dishes, whatever it is, then feel free to just think through the prompts I'm about to share. Also, you can add this episode to your listen later list or just save the episode to come back to because these are juicy. They are getting
like so much deeper than what you find on Pinterest and what you probably have journaled on in the past. let's dive
Prompt number one. What is one pattern that you're aware of but you can't seem to change? This might be something that is frustrating or it's just leaving a restless feeling inside of you. Write it down, whatever it is, without any judgment.
Prompt number two, what do you think that this pattern means about you? Maybe what story are you telling yourself about why this keeps happening, why you can't follow through, or maybe why this is happening to you?
Prompt number three, and this is the prompt that we go beyond the awareness. So I want you to ask yourself, what would it cost me to change this pattern? Another way to look at this is, what am I protecting by staying stuck here or by staying in this pattern, by repeating this this pattern? Even though this pattern feels exhausting or maybe annoying or frustrating, what
also feels comfy cozy about it. Write whatever comes up, even if it doesn't make sense to you.
Prompt number four, based on what just came up for you, what needs to heal here? Not what do you need to do differently, but what belief needs to shift in order for you to change or in order for your solution to actually stick.
Amazing job. That is the difference. What you just experienced is the difference between awareness and then going beyond it and not jumping to the solution. Awareness is naming the pattern, naming what happened. And beyond awareness is understanding what's underneath it so that you can actually heal it. So that when you do come up with an aligned solution,
you're actually able to use that solution to achieve the goal, not just put a bandaid on the problem or mask it. And if that last prompt, prompt number four, was more challenging for you to come up with of what is it that needs to be healed there, that's what I do with my one-on-one clients. So consider working with me at some point. If you do want to go deeper, there is the Calm Mind Blueprint in the show notes. That's my free resource.
and it's the five full prompts that you can completely customize for what it is that you're going through. So click the link in the show notes for that. You'll also see my 90 minute breakthrough intenses if you do want some one-on-one time with me. Thank you for journaling with me today and I will see you on Tuesday.
