“Something that feels important for me to reflect on today is…”
This is a journalling prompt we use in our training. And I thought I’d use it to help me get started with today’s blog…
When we woke this morning Paul asked me “are you writing your blog today?” And my immediate reaction was resistance. It dawned on me, how my weekly blogging has started feeling like a chore rather than a joy, when every Friday comes round, particularly if there isn’t a particular subject that I feel drawn to talk about.
This is worthy in itself of exploration! Paul followed up by saying “why did you want to start writing again?” Fair questions. Also worthy of further exploration!
So, why did I want to start my blog up again? If I think back to the beginning of the year, I set myself the word – FLOW – as my word of the year and writing was one of the ways that I wanted to find my flow in 2026. Last year was a year that went by in a blur. I felt as far from the word flow as you could be. It was a year full of uncertainty, worry, sadness, frustration – it wasn’t a time to be indulging in writing. Writing is a gift, it’s a time to go inward, to reflect, to access the creative parts of your brain, to escape from everything else that is going on. It is an indulgence, but it is also a great way to bring yourself back to you, to reconnect – which is so important for wellbeing. And wellbeing isn’t an indulgence, it’s necessary, if we want to live our lives with as much vitality as we can.
Understanding your why is so important when it comes to your goals. Because motivation is going to wane. Life gets in the way, and that resistance will bubble to the surface – even when the goal or activity is something you love doing and you know it’s good for you.
When it comes to understanding your why – that can also be a bit vague if you haven’t clearly articulated it for yourself… knowing your values can really help with defining your why.
My values are currently – Connection, Freedom and Energy. I’ve toyed with changing the last one but for now it feels right. But what do I mean by these three words?
Connection – this represents my relationship with myself, with others, and the world around me. Connection is something that we talk about a lot at POINT3 and there’s so much research out there that shows the power of connection as an antidote to so many of the tough stuff that we go through in life (loneliness, grief, change, uncertainty). Having it as a value, means that I prioritise quality connection with all the people and things in life that are important to me. Me and my mind, body and soul, my family, friends, Paul, my work, my community and countryside around where I live. And it fuels my wellbeing – I feel it and know it.
Freedom – this is an interesting one for me. And I’m sure there’s some deeper psychological influence going on with this value. Simply speaking, I like the freedom to choose what I do, when and why. I think this is why having my own business works so well for me. I’m my own boss, so I am accountable for myself (to a point – there are two of us at POINT3!). I’ve talked about how independent I am (which helps and hinders me in different contexts!) and with this I like to be in control of situations – my day, my life, my decisions. I think this is where having a regular goal of writing a weekly blog feels like it is at odds with the concept of freedom. Because somehow I’m tied to it, and that feels like the opposite of freedom to me. Strange, because I love a daily routine. One to ponder some more!
Energy – my third value is all about being as healthy and energised as i can be. It’s linked to my value of connection in the sense that I want also to be a positive source of energy on everyone I come into contact with. This can sometimes come at a cost as I do find being around others draining of energy… that is the definition of an introvert which people don’t believe me when I say I am one! So, energy for me, is a measure of wellbeing and of connection too. And it’s a balance, like so many things, to do those things that energise me, rather than deplete me of energy… and that depends on the day, on the week, and the year. And who’s around me!
Thinking about writing and why I write, which is how I started this blog, how does this feed into my values? It definitely helps me to connect with myself, to understand who I am, and what I need/want in my life, by emptying my thoughts and articulating them in a way that makes sense to me and hopefully helps others too.
So, to end, I ask you – if you’re still reading… What are your three values? What is your why? And how would you finish the sentence: Something that feels important for me to reflect on today is…?
Happy Friday! x
Not The Mayo Clinic 