Episode 47: Gratitude Practices…for When You Can’t Even Pee by Yourself - Journaling & Exercising
What You’ll Learn
Improving Your Life in Hard Seasons (01:15)
Journaling (03:57)
Exercising (18:55)
Recap (31:30)
Invitation (31:40)
This week we’re trying something new! This episode is part one of five ALL about gratitude (In a mom-friendly way). Today we’ll cover journaling and exercising (and how to fit these in as a mom). Make sure to come back for parts two through five, when we’ll cover drinking more water & getting more sleep, volunteering & savoring your experiences, writing to someone & visiting a friend (or going on a trip), and prayer (meditation) & mindset. Are you on our e-mail list yet? Each Monday we check in with our community of moms-and we want you there!
Improving Your Life in Hard Seasons (01:15)
Motherhood is hard. There are seasons of loss, job or loved ones, seasons of transition, new babies, toddlers, teenagers, or toddlers AND teenagers. When we look at the advice from the “experts” it can be difficult to transfer it to the daily reality for a mom.
Our goal for this week is to take the common advice for increasing gratitude and adapt it to fit into a mom’s life. We’ll talk about. . .
Journaling
Exercise
Drinking More Water
Getting More Sleep
Volunteering
Savoring Your Experiences
Write to Someone
Make a Visit or Go On a Trip
Meditation & Prayer
Notice Your Complaints & Reshape Your Mindset
Journaling (03:57)
Journaling is Britt’s thing! It helps her process things, get them off her heart, and let them go. It isn’t always the easiest though, because when you sit down to journal and you get interrupted, or you wake up early to journal and then the kids wake up early, it can turn into a practice of frustration.
Is it really worth the struggle?! We say yes!
Last year, in 2021, we had a mom mastermind where we got together each Friday and shared our wins. During the week, we would journal (recording our wins) and it was a great way for us to realize that there WAS good in our week!
In our day-to-day there are so many struggles we come up against (that we undoubtedly unload on our husbands when they get home)-and journaling can give you a place to put those things down, and to ALSO think about the GOOD in the day as well!
A win can be as simple as folding laundry, or making a dentist appointment, so small they don’t even feel like “wins,” but momma they ARE!
Britt ended up making her own journal, and when she was keeping up with it, she was staying focused, reaching goals, and getting things done!
So, how do you journal when you don’t have the time or bandwidth? Here are a few thoughts. . .
Voice memo, or video memo. Think about reality TV or real world, when they talk directly in the camera. The next time you sneak a minute away in the bathroom (when you’re done), pull out your phone and make a quick voice-memo (slap a date on it) or a video, and say one daily gratitude, or win, or silly/crazy event from the day.
For example, Britt’s youngest Aoife was sitting on the counter watching her sister get ice cream and took the opportunity to sneakily grab a handful of and shove it in her mouth. . .and thankfully Britt was able to document it quickly with her phone (as she was dying laughing of course). What a beautiful moment to have!
You can record a moment with your kids, talk about something that was frustrating, or even your Facebook memories!
Britt also loves the instagram reels where you can still hear the kids and family in the video but there’s also a well-chosen song, it can force you to look at your life almost like a movie. As our kids grow, we recognize the fleeting time with them, and looking back at videos can give us perspective—and it’s a gift to us and our children—to have these memories.
What a treasure it would be for your kids to find later—if you could make a 30 second video in the quiet of the morning. In my own life, I was able to find a few of the journal pages written by my own mother (after she passed away last January), and it was amazing! One page I found documented a day that was particularly hard, and it was savage and real in the BEST way.
Britt & Brandon keep a common journal that they pass back and forth occasionally (not every day). It’s a book that goes from one side of the bed to the other, and occasionally when they feel the need to apologize, say thank you, honor one another in some way, or share camaraderie about a particular event, they will write a few lines and pass it along. Britt cannot wait for the kids to read that later, because there is stuff in there about the kids (that they will laugh over), and there are sweet things in there that will remind them that their parents loved each other and had a wonderful relationship.
Britt’s mom was recently going through the papers of her grandparents and found some love notes that were SO beautiful (from two people who didn’t act overly lovey towards one another) and so touching, and they are treasures that can’t be beat!
Remember, we’ve talked big about the benefits of journaling, but if it’s NOT your thing, that’s ok too!
Exercising (18:55)
The realistic mom-thoughts are. . .
I can’t do CrossFit.
I don’t have eleventy-billion dollars to buy a peloton.
I don’t have time, I can’t even shower in the morning.
I would like to go work out, but my kids make that miserable.
Getting outside, and getting exercise can feel impossible as a mom. We buy that video, pay for that subscription, and the “doing” is the hardest part!
I am a big fan of Jon Acuff’s “Day after perfect,” idea. There will always be a “day after perfect,” so you need to know from the outset that you need to do the best you can. You need to be ok being “consistently not-consistent.” If you do something more days than not, you’re winning!
Britt started walking each morning, the first and second day went great, the third day it was ok, her kids joined her for days four and five, then the next three days, she didn’t go at all. In the past, she would have decided that walking just wasn't going to work, but now she knows it’s just waiting there for her. As moms we have to start small and be willing to be consistently inconsistent.
Does getting outside change anything? I found Dr. Huberman through Ed Mylett, and he has a lot of really good information on Instagram. He says, “Getting sunlight in your eyes first thing in the morning is absolutely vital to mental and physical health.” I bet this works for adults AND kids too! I saw Britt on her front porch with her teenager the other morning and it was amazing!
The positive effects of getting outside are. . .
on your metabolic well-being
your hormones
mental health (space for gratitude to grow)
sleep (getting outside in the morning and evening can re-set your clock-even just 2 minutes)
Do what you can do! That’s the secret-sauce. Like walking. . .it’s free! You can walk, big kids can walk, even little ones can walk. Reduce opportunities for resistance. No need for snacks, no need for extra waters, just let it be easy (in the words of Susie Moore).
Your kids might even begin to ask for it! They want you and your attention! I have one son who sees everything! My goal might be to walk two laps, but his goal is to see ALL the things. Now that I have older kids, I realize what a gift this is-it is harder when you have little ones.
If you do have little ones, you can put them down for a nap, grab a monitor, and walk up and down your driveway. It doesn’t have to be insta-worthy!
If you are a person who likes a workout-you can easily find an 8, 10, or even 15-minute workout on YouTube! (There are even 15 minute workouts on Beachbody!).
Finally, don’t forget to count what you do everyday! If “extra” isn’t available to you right now, you are moving with your kids! Do squats while you brush your teeth, walk in place, incorporate little movements into your current daily activity. Picking up a baby 45 times a day counts! Putting your laundry away counts! Brittany will add an extra up & down her stairs when she can-THIS counts!
Recap (31:30)
Even busy mommas can experience more gratitude in hard times. Even busy mommas can start to change their lives with good daily habits.
Journaling: keep it simple, short, and easy.
Exercise: move in a way that you love and enjoy, and invite your kids.
Invitation (31:40)
Go for a five minute walk, and record yourself sharing one win (regardless of what you look like). Tag us in your video on IG, or send it to us in DM’s! Momma, this world needs more REAL. . .you are inspiring others just by being YOU!
Consider checking out GrowthDay! The basic membership comes with a Daily Fire AND a journal (in the app) and it’s a GREAT way to quickly begin a journaling habit! There IS a free trial, and you can click here to save on a membership if you enjoy it as much as we do!
