3573: 7 Journal Prompts to Inspire Simplicity by Jennifer of Simply Fiercely on Reducing Mental Clutter

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_02] Hi Freunde, seid ihr gerade auf der Suche nach einer App, mit der ihr alle eure Finanzen im Überblick habt? Mit FinanzGuru erhältst du genau das. Ihr könnt alle eure Konten verbinden, egal ob Girokonto, Kreditkarte, Depot oder auch eure Kryptobörse. Und dabei werden alle eure Eindahmen und Ausgaben automatisch kategorisiert und übersichtlich in der App aufbereitet. Und habt ihr erst einmal ein Konto verbunden, zeigt ihr die App alle Verträge übersichtlich an. Ihr könnt sogar überflüssige Verträge per Fingertipp rechtssicher über die App kündigen. Falls das Ganze euch interessiert, checkt gerne mal die FinanzGuru-App aus und jetzt viel Spaß mit dem Podcast.

[00:00:30] [SPEAKER_01] 3.000 Action Filialen in Europa und wir feiern mit extrem niedrigen Preisen. Zum Beispiel The Pink Stuff Reiniger 850ml nur 1,88 und Cenova Sensitive Sonnenmilch ohne Mikroplastik nur 3,99. Für noch mehr extrem niedrige Preise besuche unsere Filialen oder schau in die App Action. Kleine Preise, große Freude. Yep.

[00:00:50] [SPEAKER_00] This is Optimal Living Daily, 7 Journal Prompts to Inspire Simplicity by Jennifer of SimplyFiercely.com. And I'm Justin Malik, your personal narrator, reading to you every day of the year. And I'm gonna keep that up, so let's get right to it as we optimize your life. 7 Journal Prompts to Inspire Simplicity by Jennifer of SimplyFiercely.com.

[00:01:17] [SPEAKER_00] If there's one thing I know about simple living, it's that simplicity comes from within. You need to understand your beliefs before you can change your actions. With this in mind, I put together a list of 7 simple journal prompts to help you get started. Journaling has been a huge part of my life for the past few years and has definitely been one of the best things I've ever done for myself. Writing regularly has helped me become mindful and self-aware about my life choices. And it's also great for relieving stress.

[00:01:47] [SPEAKER_00] If this speaks to you, then please enjoy these journal prompts to inspire simplicity. I hope they'll empower you to let go of anything that is no longer serving you. 7 Journal Prompts for Simple Living. Number 1. What's causing you stress right now? Are self-imposed deadlines or expectations contributing? What could you let go of in order to ease this stress? Everyone experiences stress now and then, but unfortunately for many, it has become a normal state of being.

[00:02:16] [SPEAKER_00] When this happens, it's easy to lose touch with the root cause of your stress. This is a problem because you stop being solution-focused. Your attention shifts away from reducing the stress and instead looks for easy coping methods, things like mindless shopping and escaping on social media. You end up living every day in survival mode. If this has happened to you, I encourage you to take a step back. Make a favorite beverage, grab a notebook, and open to a blank page.

[00:02:46] [SPEAKER_00] Write down everything that's causing you stress, and then, with an open heart and an open mind, look for opportunities to let go. Number 2. Imagine you had an extra hour every day. What would you do with it? If your life is busy and cluttered, you might feel resistance to asking this question. After all, what's the point of thinking about what you do with an extra hour if you don't have one to spare? I understand this feeling, but one thing I've learned is that it's hard to create change

[00:03:14] [SPEAKER_00] without a clear vision of what you're trying to achieve. If you want more time for what really matters, then you need to start by clarifying what this means to you. What would you do if you had more time every day? Write a list and then think about what you're currently doing. Once you have it all down on paper, you might notice opportunities for change that you couldn't see in the past. Number 3. Name one thing you're afraid to let go of. Why? What are your fears? If you're struggling to simplify your life,

[00:03:44] [SPEAKER_00] one of the most powerful things you can do is invest time into understanding your roadblocks. Why is it so hard to declutter your stuff? Why can't you say no to additional responsibilities? Why do you keep shopping even though you know you don't need more stuff? It's a complicated question, one that we explore in depth in my Clear Your Clutter course, but a great starting point is to focus on just one item you're struggling to declutter. Sit down and write down all the fears that come to mind when you think about letting go.

[00:04:13] [SPEAKER_00] Get all of your thoughts out of your head and down onto paper and don't censor yourself. When you're done, take a step back and ask, what do I really need to let go of? Is it really your unworn sweater or your old photo album? Or do these items represent something bigger, such as limiting beliefs, old traumas, or insecurities that you need to make peace with first? It's a tough but oh-so-important question.

[00:04:39] [SPEAKER_00] Number 4. What are the three most important things in your life? Number 5. Consider how you spent the last 24 hours. Does your schedule represent your true priorities? In the words of Annie Dillard, quote, how we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives, end quote. So with that in mind, how are you spending your days? Does your schedule represent how you want to spend your life? If not, what needs to change?

[00:05:06] [SPEAKER_00] Number 5. Describe the last time you felt proud of yourself. Does the experience tell you anything about what you value most? I believe that at its core, simple living is values-led living. Life feels simple when you're living true to yourself. But how well do you really know yourself? Can you clearly define your values, life vision, and priorities? Or are you heavily influenced by external expectations and the opinions of others? If you're not sure, then a great starting point

[00:05:36] [SPEAKER_00] is to reflect on what makes you feel proud. This will give you clues as to what truly matters most to you so you can align your life accordingly. Number 6. What are you afraid to do for yourself? Why? This is another question that will help you identify limiting beliefs, stories we tell ourselves, often over the course of a lifetime, that holds us back in some way. Identifying these beliefs is the first step to rewriting these stories and moving forward with our lives. Quote,

[00:06:06] [SPEAKER_00] If you accept a limiting belief, then it will become a truth for you. Louise Hay. And 7. Examine your to-do list. What could you give yourself permission not to do and why? Whether we want to admit it or not, we all have limited amounts of time and energy. If we want to simplify our lives, we must be willing to be intentional with these precious resources. Review your to-do list with a critical eye. Are all of the tasks really necessary?

[00:06:35] [SPEAKER_00] If not, don't be afraid to be a ruthless editor. You just listened to the post titled Seven Journal Prompts to Inspire Simplicity by Jennifer of SimplyFiercely.com and I'll be right back with my commentary. You know what's frustrating? Coming home to find a trail of ants marching across your packages at the front door. That happened to me last month. Ants and these tiny springtails were all over my packages, not exactly what I was looking for.

[00:07:05] [SPEAKER_00] That's why I'm excited to partner with Pesty. They sent me this incredibly simple kit with everything I need, a sprayer, mixing bag, pesticide, gloves, and super clear instructions. The whole treatment took me less than 10 minutes to apply around my home. What I love most is how they customized everything to my specific location and the bugs I was dealing with. And it's so affordable, just $35 per treatment compared to the $800 plus per year other companies charge.

[00:07:33] [SPEAKER_00] Pesty gets rid of over 100 types of bugs and is kid and pet friendly. Plus they offer 100% bug-free guarantee or your money back. Protect your home from bugs with Pesty. Go to pesty.com slash old for an extra 10% off your order. That's P-E-S-T-I-E dot com slash O-L-D for an extra 10% off. Remember those childhood dreams? As we grow, our aspirations evolve. Instead of fantasizing about space travel,

[00:08:03] [SPEAKER_00] perhaps you're now dreaming of launching your own business around your passion for minimalism or sustainable living. But doubt creeps in. Do I have the skills? Can I build a website? How will I find customers? Enter Shopify. The commerce platform empowering millions of businesses worldwide and handling 10% of all US e-commerce from household names to fresh startups. Worried about design? Well, Shopify offers beautiful templates that align with your brand's aesthetic. Need assistance? Their AI tools help with everything

[00:08:33] [SPEAKER_00] from enhancing product images to crafting descriptions that resonate with conscious consumers. Concerned about reaching your audience? Shopify simplifies customer connection through streamlined email and social campaigns. And if you get stuck, their award-winning support team is available 24-7. Turn those dreams into... And give them the best shot at success with Shopify. Sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com slash old.

[00:09:01] [SPEAKER_00] Go to shopify.com slash O-L-D. Shopify.com slash old. Thank you to Jennifer. I'm a big fan of journaling. And what I've realized from many different variations doing it for years is that I'm not a huge fan of doing the exact same prompt every single day. I've had one of those journals where the same thing is literally on every single page. The only thing that changed was the quote at the top. I didn't find that super valuable. Others do.

[00:09:31] [SPEAKER_00] It got a lot of good reviews, but that was just my experience. Instead, I like either something different every day, like what we heard in this episode from Jennifer, some different questions to ponder, or doing more of a brain dump where you just get all of that gunk floating around in your head out onto paper. You don't even need prompts for that. I know I've talked about the brain dump here on this show before. Those are what work best for me. If any of the journal prompts Jennifer had in this post resonated with you, write it down and try it out later today,

[00:10:00] [SPEAKER_00] maybe before bed or even tomorrow morning. These exercises can be extremely helpful. I have the link to this article in this episode's description and at oldpodcast.com so you can quickly find this article and then scroll through to remember the prompts. And then one of my favorite methods, as I mentioned, the brain dump, is actually super simple. All you need is a blank sheet of paper and a pen or pencil. Everything that comes into your head, write it down and don't let yourself stop writing. And don't correct anything.

[00:10:30] [SPEAKER_00] Just literally words pop into your brain, write them down. I find it to be super cathartic and also enlightening. You really see what's going on in your head for reals. Often getting all that stuff out on paper can be so relieving. And filling up a page with nonstop stuff coming from your mind actually doesn't take much time at all. So something to try this week. Let me know how it goes. Thank you for listening and being here and for subscribing to the show. Have a great rest of your day and I'll be back tomorrow as usual where your optimal life awaits.