1. Prompt: What is one Example of "Small Stuff" that you let get to you recently?
One thing that can be considered small stuff that got to me is probably taking comments to literally and or getting in my own head after something similar to this happens. I feel as though I get into my own head and think how this could've gone differently. Though I just need to remind myself that things happen and theres nothing that you can do about it, so you just have to move on and grow from these.
Week 2
2. Prompt:How Does your 'ego' distract you
I feel as though my ego can get the better of me at times, though it is not very often. know the limits of my knowledge and my body, so when I know that I'm wrong I'll admit it. Though when I let my ego get the better of me I become very stubborn and think that I'm always right even though I'm usually not. It takes pride and vulnerability to admit. You have to know you and when you accomplish that you can begin to grasp control of your ego.
3. Prompt:"when you have what you want (inner peace), you are less distracted by your wants, needs, desires and concerns. It's thus easier to concentrate, focus, achieve your goals, and give back to others"
In my opinion I believe this to be true, though who do you actually know who has inner peace? I believe that inner peace is something that everybody strives for but never actually achieves. Though that doesn't mean that you can't achieve your goals, focus, and give back to others you can do all of these things! It's all based on you if you desire these things.
Week 3
4. Prompt: Do you notice how your body and mind feel when your thinking is out of control
When my thinking gets out of control I become very stressed and unmotivated which only makes me more stressed because there is something that has to be done. I begin to spiral and get very flustered as people say. There are also times where my mind goes 1000 miles per hour which also makes me stressed and become light-headed at times. Though when my thinking is in check and I have some ducks in a row I feel much more calm and ready to move forward with projects.
5. Prompt: Can you recall a time when you made something “big” and dramatic when in reality it was “small” and not that big of a deal?
A time then I made something so big that wasn’t even worth my time was when I was driving and someone cut me off. In my head, I was mad and frustrated because I thought that I was driving well and doing everything correctly, but looking back at it I don’t know what was going through their head, they could have been having a terrible day and just acting on impulse. Looking back there was no reason to question myself because I know that I was doing everything correctly and it wasn’t that big of a deal.
6. Prompt: What does your ‘in basket’ look like?
Some things that are in my ‘in basket’ are school, sports, responsibility, and work. These are things that I have in my life that will most likely never go away, all of these things keep me busy and on task because without some of these my life would be incomplete chaos. All of these things keep me balanced. Though some will never be complete they will be passed on to someone new and then someone after them and after them. It is just a cycle that can never be broken. But a cycle in life can help maintain your balance in life.
Week 4
7. Prompt: “Do you believe you’re a strong listener or could use some work?”
Personally I believe that I need some work with listening, sometimes I zone out or get side tracked and just forget my train of thought. Though I do believe I need some work I don’t believe that it is the absolute worst that it could be. There are times when I just don’t hear and have to ask multiple times or ask multiple questions to clarify what I need to do or what is asked of me. I believe that there is nobody who is perfect at this but those who understand and comprehend well and those are considered good listeners.
8. Prompt: “Recall a time you have given, did you expect acknowledgement?”
One time I gave by helping out this elderly woman with her yard, she seemed weak and looked like she needed help. I went over and just started during her yard work(picking up leaves, flower bed,etc). Personally I saw someone in need and went to help,I didn’t want anything, I didn’t go in expecting anything, all I wanted was the self satisfaction that I helped someone who was in need. I want people to understand that it’s not always for a reward it’s for helping someone who needs the help. After it was all said and done I felt so good to know that I made a positive impact on someone who really needed it.
Week 5
9. Prompt: Have you experienced someone else stomping on your story (glory)?How did it make you feel?
Personally I have had someone undermine me or one up me while I was telling a story and It really hurt because I knew what I had accomplished was a milestone for me but it got overlooked because someone decided that they needed the glory. But that didn’t stop me from working hard, it pushed me to work even harder so that I got the recognition rather than someone who just talked about it.
10. Prompt:What are some ways that you work to stay in the present moment?
I work to stay in the moment by tully living in the moment rather than being on my phone and recording the moment, because I know that some people only record things to have the memory, so that means they have it so I can ask for it. Whereas I live things through my eyes and not a lens and get the personal (brain ) memories and I can always ask people to send photos and videos so that I have them. Moral of my story is live life through your eyes and not your phone lens.
11. Prompt: Think of a time when you were frustrated, now look at it as a moment of being taught…...What did you learn?
It takes a lot for me to show frustration but when I do I usually get stressed and almost shut down, or I will think of it as a joke and play it off. When I get frustrated I usually don’t want to listen but I do and I generally learn a thing or two too better what I was trying to do the next time. When I learn while I’m frustrated it makes me put things into perspective and really think of why I was frustrated and whether or not it was worth me getting frustrated over. It makes me take a step back and look and learn.
Week 6
12. Prompt/Prompt: The next time you’re in an argument/discussion, let the other person be right and take notice on the initial feeling that transpires.
Personally I don’t get into many arguments where I’m wrong, no that's a joke I argue sometimes and I’m wrong but I’m also right. When I got into an argument with my brother and let him be right he thought that I was using reverse psychology but that wasn’t the case. When my brother truly found out that he was right he was shocked because we are both stubborn and don’t want to let the other person win. My brother's expression when I told him he was right was shocking and just surprising because we’re both stubborn.
13. Prompt: Do you ever have a reflective moment when you realize you are so very small in this vast world and really ‘drama’ isn’t that big of a deal.
Personally I do this a lot. I think of a time when I could’ve/should’ve done something and it would’ve changed the outcome, but there's nothing that I can do in the moment after it’s already passed. So really I just live and learn with the new knowledge I have, like it's said in the prompt my drama/problems aren't really that big of a deal in the whole grand scheme of things that are going on. I also have to realize that I have it better off then some in distant countries, cities, towns, etc. I’m very fortunate to be able to do the things I do. Everything is just perspective.
14. Prompt: do you have a mantra, a statement, that you make to yourself daily or weekly?
Yes I do have a mantra that I say to myself, sometimes it’s daily sometimes it’s weekly it just depends on what is going on/what I’m doing. My mantras that I cycle through or tha work for different situations consist of “just breath” , “you’ve got this” and “calm down you’ve got this/know this”. These mantras just help me calm myself down or pump me up because they help me with tests and different challenges.
Week 7
15: Have you lost a relationship because something “small” created a “big” divide?
Personally I haven’t really had this happen to me. My mom always says “don’t make a mountain out of a molehill?” To me this is keeping everything in perspective, because in reality it’s not that big of a deal. You just need to keep everything in mind before you speak or ask, because words have power.
16: What do you hope to do a year from now?
My time in highschool is coming to an end, which means in about a year I either should be at school studying to be a nurse or made a physical therapist who knows or I could be taking a gap year to travel and find myself. All of these answers will come in due time but most likely I’ll graduate from highschool and get ready/ already at college. The only way I’ll know where I'll be is to keep working hard and see where it takes me.
17: Is life meant to be fair? What does that even mean?
I believe that everyone thinks life should be fair but it isn’t. You have the high class, the middle class, and the poverty stricken class. You think all of these people in the clases wanted to be where they are, well maybe yeah but others no. Life isn’t always fair and equal but you just have to work through it because hard work pays off. I always like to think of thesong by gary allen “Life ain’t always beautiful”, he wrote this song after his wife committed suicide, this song helped him and others coup with it and it still has an impact.
Week 8
18: Do you take the time to be bored?
I believe that I’m a very on the go person but when I crash, I CRASH. I believe that I do take some time for myself with no other outside distractions, and to be quite frank it is really nice to let myself just get energy and mental capacity back. Though I don’t do this all of the time It is nice when it happens.
19: Have you been taught that high stress is a positive thing?
I feel as though a high stress level is more put on by the individual rather than the people around them though they do play major keys. I feel as though people choose to take on high amounts of work and responsibility resulting in high stress levels. This happens because we all want to be the best and get ahead so that we can “go places in life”. Those who put highstress on themselves are usually the top people though people play a major part in the way you have to do this, this, and this to accomplish this and that can’t be healthy.
Week 9
20: When was the last time you sat down and wrote a letter to someone with gratitude.
The last time that I wrote a letter that expressed gratitude was probably towards the end of December because that is the time of year where it's about giving rather than receiving. Some of the best gifts come from the heart and what’s better than a gift that makes you feel all good about the things that you have done and the impact that you’ve had on other people. Writing the letter was very therapeutic because it made me reflect on everything that I’ve done and everything they’ve done.