Once again, there has been an absence of posts on this site as making a living has taken precedent. But I do love my little corner of the internet (and I’m grateful for the people who visit daily). So I’m not going to leave it alone and neglected for too much longer if I can help it.
More than anything else, it’s a helpful place to share my thoughts and ideas, and the process of writing always uncovers even more. In some ways it is therapeutic, and in other ways it’s a little like a mind dump, but that is no bad thing.
Morning Pages
On the subject of mind dumps, I’ve recently started doing Morning Pages. They are a daily journaling practice popularised by Julia Cameron in her book The Artist’s Way. They involve writing three pages of free-flowing, stream-of-consciousness thoughts first thing in the morning. The goal is to clear mental clutter, boost creativity, and unlock deeper self-awareness.
Unlike traditional journaling, Morning Pages are not meant to be structured or edited. Instead, they are a private space to express anything that comes to mind. This practice is designed to quiet the inner critic, reduce anxiety, and foster creative breakthroughs by making writing a daily habit.
I’m only a few days in, so I can’t speak to its benefits just yet, but there’s no harm in trying it out, and it is easier than you might think to fill three pages. I am sure it is helping to get thoughts out of my head and on to the page, which definitely leads to me being able to think more clearly for the rest of the day.
The Positive Growth Community
However, taking up most of my spare time is a new venture I’m launching called The Positive Growth Community. Having spent time training with Marie Forleo, the brilliant American entrepreneur and founder of B-School, I’ve been encouraged to assess where I want to be in life and take that important next step. This new venture is the result.
It’s so easy to allow limiting beliefs and self doubt hold us back, but acknowledging them and moving forward anyway is liberating and exciting, although the prospect, for me, of launching an online community, is a little daunting.
I’m combining my knowledge of positive psychology, interest in wellbeing and self-development, and a desire to help others to create an online space that will include information and resources on these subjects, but will ultimately be a safe space for people to share ideas and encourage each other on their self-development journey.
As a way of promoting the community and offering value at this early stage, I’m offering a free 30-day Journey to Self Acceptance PDF which can be requested HERE.
Social media in the current news climate
One thing that has helped my productivity and mental health over the last week or so is avoiding news apps and being selective about what content I consume on social media.
Having got caught up in US politics during their election campaign, I’ve found there’s benefit in stepping away, as far as is possible, now Trump is in power. I’ve watched as brands leave X in their troves and commend them for this.
Having discovered that Instagram interfered with my own account and had me following Trump and Vance, I’ve lost a lot of trust in Meta too. I wonder to what extent they are under government control, or at least heavily influenced by those in power in the US.
To artificially increase the number of followers on the accounts of those in power across the pond suggests they have made certain promises to those above them, or are being heavily influenced by them. They put their own reputation and credibility at risk by behaving in this way, and it is their businesses that will fail, not Trumps.
Having made the decision to avoid US politics, here I am writing on the subject, largely out of sheer frustration, and also shock and bewilderment at what is unfolding before us. It’ll be the stuff of history books in years to come, but no one wants to be the ones living through it.
It’s easy to feel angry and helpless on the behalf of those most affected by the policy changes Trump and his team are implementing, and there are a lot of fearful people on social media.
We should not be turning our backs on anyone in need of course, or ignoring their plight, but there is benefit to those of us who are very affected by the changes going on in the world, to protect our mental health by limiting our exposure at times.
The good in the world
During the brief times I have ended up on US TikTok or spent time on Threads during times the UK is asleep and America awake, I’ve also come across a hugely supportive team of people offering help and advice, or, in many cases, providing a listening ear.
Sometimes it is not possible to do any more than that, but people want to be heard and listened to, particularly when times are hard. Social media is giving them that opportunity. Note it is on Threads, not X. I don’t know anyone who uses X any more.
It’s a reminder that there is so much good in the world too. It’s the darker side of life that naturally gets more coverage online and in the news media. It’s so easy to get sucked into a void of negativity and forget the fact there there are good, kind, humane people out there who operate in the best interest of others.
They say that good triumphs over evil. And I hope it does.
