213. 4 Journal Prompts for Emotional Rest (When Your Mind Won’t Slow Down)
Have you noticed how your body can be still, but your mind keeps going?
The same thought. The same worry. The same unfinished conversation looping, even after you’ve rested. You might be sleeping more. Taking breaks. Trying to slow down. And yet, you still wake up tired.
In my conversation earlier this week with Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, author of The Seven Types of Rest, she shared something important: emotional rest doesn’t come from stopping the noise. It comes from processing what your mind is holding onto.
Today, we slow things down. Not to fix anything. Not to solve the problem. But to create space for what’s been quietly draining you.
Journal with me using these prompts:
- What thought, worry, or conversation keeps replaying in my mind right now? Write it down exactly as it sounds in my head. No filtering. Just capture the loop.
- What type of rest deficit might this be pointing to? Mental, emotional, social, spiritual, physical, sensory, or creative.
- Why am I actually holding on to this thought? What do I believe will happen if I let it go or don’t solve it right now? What am I afraid this situation means about me?
- If I truly wanted to pour back into this depleted area — not just stop the bleeding — what would that look like? What would help me feel restored, not just less drained?
By the end of this episode, you’ll feel calmer and clearer — not because everything is resolved, but because you understand what your mind has been trying to protect.
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
Hello, welcome to today's journaling session. On Tuesday, we chatted with the Dr. Sandra Dalton-Smith. She's the author of Sacred Rest and the researcher behind the Seven Types of Rest Framework. We talked about why sleep alone won't fix your exhaustion. So those naps that you keep taking, or at least that I keep taking, isn't the only thing that you need to feel restored. We also talked about what actually
does restore us versus just stopping the energy drain and why so many high achieving ambitious women wake up tired even after eight, even nine hours of sleep. if that conversation interests you, head back to Tuesday's episode, just the previous one right before this. But she also mentioned on that episode how helpful a brain dump is for mental and emotional rest. And she said,
that you can't fully rest emotionally until you process your emotions, not just brain dumping it out on paper. And so today we're doing a strategic journaling session around something on your mind so that you can experience that true emotional rest, or at least the start of that process. The actual prompts will be in the show notes, so open those up and screenshot them if you want to do them later.
or just save this episode and you can come back to it. All right, let's dig in. Prompt number one. What thought, worry, or conversation keeps replaying in my mind right now? Write it down exactly as it sounds in my head. No filtering, just capture the loop.
Prompt number two, what type of rest deficit might this be pointing to? Mental, emotional, social, spiritual, physical, sensory, or creative? Again, that list of seven types of rest is in the show notes.
Samantha Hawley (:Prompt number three, why am I actually holding on to this thought? What do I believe will happen if I let it go or don't solve it right now? And or what am I afraid that this situation means about me?
And finally, prompt number four, if I truly wanted to pour back into this depleted area, not just stop the bleeding, what would that look like? What would help me feel restored, not just less drained?
Samantha Hawley (:Amazing job. You just started the process of true emotional rest. Not just acknowledging what's draining you and dumping it out from your brain onto paper, but understanding why you're holding onto it, why it keeps repeating in your brain in the first place. This is where the real restoration and rejuvenation actually happens. So I'm really proud of you for going there with me today.
come back and do this again the next time something heavy comes up on your mind. And if you want to continue this work, you can grab my free Calm Mind Blueprint. It's five strategic journal prompts that's deeper than just what are you grateful for and getting you to not think about what you're actually thinking about. And it's designed to help you process whatever is weighing on you, whether that's daily work stress, marriage struggles, or the over-stimulation from all of your responsibilities. The Blueprint comes with a PDF guide.
daily email reminders to keep you on track, just five, because there's five prompts, and a companion podcast series where I walk you through each prompt. You can also download it at www.samanthepenkoff.com slash calm hyphen mind hyphen pod. Or again, just click the link in the show notes. Thanks for journaling with me today and I will see you next week.
