PoP ~ January Thought Prompts and Discussion

The rules are pretty simple:

  • This is a safe place for you to share your thoughts and ideas on each day’s prompt.
  • Critical thought and poignant questions are encouraged.
  • Any behavior that seems aggressive, abusive or attempts to undermine the efforts of other participants will be banned from the conversation and the site.

January’s journey is new beginnings, reinvention and second (or third or 100th) chances.

It’s time to trust, not force, your life’s purpose and path. It’s about beginning again with absolute faith that your next steps allow for the unfolding of your success.

There is no emotional attachment to outcomes here. Merely an openness to the single…next….step on your own personal path.

Clarity Portion of the Month

(Days 1-10, minus weekends)

Identify (don’t judge) your previous commitments to change and growth.

Day 1 Thought Prompt

Write down 3-5 patterns you have when you take on new challenges.

They can be what works, what doesn’t or anything in between.

I used to have a pattern, for instance, of going headlong and extremely strong at the very beginning of any new change. Only to burn out quickly and start looking for something new again. If I HAD to finish it I’d slog through the middle parts and then finish strongly at the end. If I didn’t … wellllllllll….*guilty face* a lot of times I’d move on to the next big thing.

Day 2 Thought Prompt

What have you done to during new beginnings in the past that worked and why?

It’s ok to pick out the parts that worked out of a larger habit that didn’t.

The pattern I mentioned on Day 1, for instance, had a key ingredient to my ongoing success now. I worked so hard in the beginning because I was CURIOUS. Once I tapped into that curiosity and used it for those tricky middle sections of an endeavor I could turn it all into a “I wonder what happens next” kind of game that has made continuous progress pretty sustainable for me now.

Day 3 Thought Prompt

What have you done that no longer works or didn’t work at the time? Why did you do it? Why didn’t it work?

You had your motivations. Check in. Are they the same? Different? Maybe it’s easier to change the pattern than you think.

Obviously my own pattern that led me to burn out didn’t work but I did it because it kept my mind active and my playfulness fed. Once I could tap into those motivations I knew to look for a new, more helpful pattern that could do the same.

 

Day 4 Thought Prompt

 

Have you ever watched someone else succeed through a change?  Who was it? How’d they do it?

Get specific.

This is more than just a blanket “everyone else seems to handle this stuff just fine” kind of practice. What do they do the same as you? What do they do differently? What informs their decisions? What are their expectations when they set out?

Day 5 Thought Prompt

Think of the person you identified yesterday. What did they have available to them that you might have available to you?

This isn’t just about resources like money or connections. This is about characteristics too. Were they creative? Adaptable to change? Willing to be wrong?

Remember the “You spot it, you got it” principle I talk about incessantly. If you can see it in others it exists in yourself. That’s just as true in this context as it is in any other.

Day 6 Thought Prompt

Think of the qualities and resources you identified yesterday. What is available to you to adopt? How can you foster those elements within yourself?

No need to reinvent the wheel on this. Build on what works and be willing to get rid of the rest.

Day 7 Thought Prompt

What is the smallest step you could take toward your goal each and every day?

Seriously…think small. If you did ONE thing that was easily repeated as a part of your routine, every single day. What would it be?

When you think about it, most of our greatest successes that we now take for granted have come to us with just a little day-to-day practice. Walking, talking, driving, our professional expertise … all of it.

 

Day 8 Thought Prompt

When you consider committing to the step(s) you identified yesterday do you notice any resistance?

Do you REALLY want what you thought you wanted?

This is when it is absolutely VITAL to start checking in with your body’s wisdom. Our brain plays tricks on us. There’s what we think we want, but it’s not worth the struggle to get it or we’re afraid of what would happen if we get it. There’s what we really, REALLY want that for some reason we can’t stop thinking about it, we end up giving up a lot to get it  and we can still be afraid of what might happened next.

Our Expansive Mind knows more about what we really, REALLY want than our Limited Mind yet it is our Limited Mind that will tell us all of the reasons it simply won’t work out.

 

Gathering Portion of the Month

(Days 11-20, minus weekends)

Take stock of the resources in yourself, others and your circumstances that you can use to work toward the change and growth that you’ve identified.

Day 9 Thought Prompt

What resources do you want/need for your new direction or your baby steps?

Which ones can you pull together and/or commit to?

Time, money, inspiration, tools, people, location … what would it require to start working toward your dreams? What do you have at your disposal? Maybe you need even smaller baby step to create that one, critical resource. That’s ok too. Every step forward brings you one step closer, no matter how small that step may be.

Day 10 Thought Prompt

How will you track your progress?

Where are your milestones and how will you keep track of them?

Keep track of your wins!! Every step. Every milestone. Every lesson. Every hiccup overcome. Watching yourself succeed at every level provides the proof your belief system needs to change in your favor. The more grateful you are for each little win the stronger that proof feels and the faster the belief changes.

Once you can deeply believe in your inevitable success each new step and pivot comes easier and the growth comes faster.

Day 11 Thought Prompt

Who is willing to team up with you? Friend, doctor, new connection, me?

Make a list of people who share similar goals and curiosities.

Having a team makes any change easier. Especially the big ones!  Write everyone on the list, even if they seem out of reach or impractical for some reason. Time, attention and progress may bring you together in one way or the other!

Richard Branson, Ellen DeGeneres and Elizabeth Warren are on my list!  You never, ever know.

Day 12 Thought Prompt

What potential obstacles can you foresee in yourself, others or your circumstances?

We can’t know them all but those that seem likely we can at least prepare for!

Day 13 Thought Prompt

What circumstances do you predict will help you? There is the help you’ll want while you’re building and the help you’ll want when the obstacles arise.

Large (seasons, trends, age/stage) or small (your habits, most productive time of day, music that revs or soothes you), it doesn’t matter.

You already have a tool kit at your disposal. You’re just taking stock of what you already have available to you. That way you’ll know specifically what you have AND what you’d like to add.

Day 14 Thought Prompt

What can you say to yourself or track that will act as encouragement when you need it?

Remember that took box you just took stock of? What else is in there? What are you adding each day? What progress becomes the tool of the “proof” you need when the going gets tough?

Track every single win. Remind yourself of every single win. When problems arise the problem remains as only PART of what you have in front of you. You also have tools, resources, courage, tenacity, ____________. Make a list NOW before the storm hits.

Day 15 Thought Prompt

What are some minuscule milestones you can identify that feel reachable?

Remember small means doable. Doable means accumulative-able. <— I’m sure that’s a word. 😉

Daily wins. Moment by moment. Do them. Track them. Celebrate them.

Day 16 Thought Prompt

What rewards do you plan to use for hitting the milestone you identified yesterday?

Whether they’re big or small make them COUNT and FOLLOW THROUGH on them.

Remember, you’re gearing up for massive, positive change. The beliefs that you have that keep you stuck and frustrated are being rewired and replaced so we MUST generate the feeling state that cements the new habits and beliefs.

  • Your thoughts create your habits
  • Your habits create your beliefs
  • Your beliefs create a bias toward “proof” that supports it.

To re-engineer that you must work backward:

  • Create proof (that you can FEEL as true) that supports your new belief
  • Let that belief change your habits
  • Those habits will create to thoughts that will in turn lead to more positive beliefs .

 

Action Portion of the Month

(Days 21-End, minus weekends)

Do the thing … celebrate the “win” of doing it. It ALL counts even those things you about which you think “that’s just what I do.”

Just because you do it naturally doesn’t mean it’s not amazing that you do it.

This isn’t necessarily about giving MORE of anything, unless you feel motivated to do so. This is about being intentional about how and what you give. Don’t surprised if you choose to reallocate though. 😉

Day 17 Thought Prompt

Review day 11

Heal the circumstance you said created mere relief. i.e. Get enough rest, foster attentive relationships, etc.

Basically do what you said you wanted/needed to do. 🙂

It’s WONDERFUL to think about these things and have eye-opening conversations but at some point you really want to make some changes. Obviously this won’t be a one-time thing and that’s ok. Every time you feel yourself going “whew, that’s good news” you know it’s the reminder to ACT on the idea you had about really getting grateful.

And it’s ok if you forget sometimes too. It’s normal…true evolution doesn’t happen overnight and you’ll get LOTS of opportunities. Give yourself a hug from me while you’re going through all of this. The Action portion is where shit really gets real.

Day 18 Thought Prompt

Turn the obvious gifts (nice cashier, 49/50 safe drivers, clean underwear, WHATEVER) into grateful moments.

Gratitude is like a muscle, it only strengthens when you flex it. Flex away, my Lovely!!

Day 19 Thought Prompt

 

Give your attention.

Hint: You’re giving it anyway. Give credit to attention as a give to others.

You’ve done the work to identify where you give your attention. Perhaps you’ve even noticed where it is well received and isn’t or where it is reciprocated or not. You’re intentional now … you get to choose where to place your attention AND you get to appreciate yourself for giving it.

Day 20 Thought Prompt

Fully experience your gratitude for everything you have to give, are able to give and willing to give.

Revisit what gratitude (vs relief) felt like to you in November. Or visit TriffanyHammond.com/PoPJourney if you’re new to this practice and missed November.

The more we strengthen that gracious “my cup filleth over” feeling the more we change our default belief from lack to abundance. The more abundant we feel the more able we are to create the path to our passion, purpose and the life of our dreams.

Day 21 Thought Prompt

Review Day 13:

Review the ideas you built on Day 13. When something feels scary use your plan, find the gift in it real-time (instead of waiting for hindsight) and just see how grateful you can feel for it.

Hint: it’s totally ok if you can’t feel grateful yet ~ you’ve only just begun this process. #ProgressNotPerfection

The more you’re tuned into your body the more you’ll feel the difference between, “OMG, this is amazing but scary” kind of scary and “Alarm bells are going off, listen to your intuition” kind of scary. That’s why learning how your body communicates with you is SUPER important.

Day 22 Thought Prompt

Remember the ideas in your “yes ands?” Begin using them. Begin saying them. Search for them at every possible “yeah, but.”

Change your language, change your thoughts, change your habits, change your beliefs. Word choice matters!

 

Day 23 Thought Prompt

You found your “should” (obligation),
you realized they’re actually “coulds” (choice),
now get clear on what you “would” do (empowerment) so that you can get in alignment with gratitude.

“I should go workout (because if I don’t _____ guilt/blame/blah)” turns into
“I COULD go workout (I have a choice and if I DO choose it I’ll feel ______) turns into
“I WOULD go workout (because I enjoy feeling _____).

Basically instead of ordering yourself around all the time you’re graciously getting your own buy-in to decisions that lead to outcomes you enjoy. Once you’ve really bought in then you can feel curious, playful and even joyful at the choices you’re making in life and that changes EVERYTHING.

Day 24 Thought Prompt

Review day 16

Those things you identified that feel similar to your gratitude feeling in your body…schedule them, do them and do more of them.

Visualizing them helps too. The more you’re in that feeling space (emotionally and physically) the faster you improve your chemistry to support positivity, passion and purpose.

5 Comments

  1. Triffany

    Aside from the one I mention in the prompt itself, I notice that when I feel a little out of my depths I dawdle and dab. I’ll kind of poke around the activity and nudge it. Once I’m in, I’m all in, but it can take me awhile to take it on.
    I’ve also noticed that when I’m mid-challenge I get some of my best ideas for future projects. I really, REALLY want to be better about writing those down.

    Reply
  2. Triffany Hammond

    I do better with thinking partners. It’s hard for me to find people who are as excited about my goals as I am but I’ve found I can at least manufacture some team-thought through mastermind meetings and sometimes just reaching out and asking.

    Reply
  3. Triffany

    Not quite to the topic of what hasn’t worked in my previous patterns but this is what came to mind. I’ve recently taken on an entire new job and, with it, a completely knew context for all of my tools. I’m still using all of my tools as an entrepreneur, coach and writer. I’m ALSO using them in the context of employee, teammate and manager. I’ve discovered a new richness in what I do and who I am. Some of it feels new. A lot of it feels familiar. It’s interesting to re-introduce myself to parts of my life experience that shaped me in ways I wasn’t even aware of at the time.

    Reply
  4. Triffany

    Every strong woman I know understands the concept of “feel the fear and do it anyway.” The women I admire dive in, headlong. At varying levels they inspect a greater context for their experience and find or assign meaning to their experiences that help them have even more courage next time.

    Reply
  5. Triffany

    I’m reminded how little I lean on my resources. I want to be better about that.

    Reply

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