Greetings and welcome to the Why Struggle Podcast.
I'm your host,
Barbara J.
Faison,
And my intention with this podcast is to offer ideas,
Insights,
And inspirations so you can live life better.
Greetings and welcome to 2025 Week 24,
Meat and Grace.
This is a podcast about prioritizing and grace.
Earlier this year,
I said I wanted to do at least one sentence as a journal entry every day.
Until a few weeks ago,
I'd only missed maybe one or two days this year.
When I opened my journal on June 7th,
The last dated entry was May 30th.
I looked at the date and smiled.
I had given myself grace.
And I did not write a journal entry that day.
I have never been that committed to journaling.
And I noticed lately my entries were very basic.
If I journaled at the beginning of the day,
It was more engaging and active.
And I laid out my desire for the day.
If I journaled at the end of the day,
It was a quick recap of what happened.
As I looked at my entry on May 30th,
I thought to myself,
Why am I doing this right now?
I decided to give myself a break from daily journaling.
I mean,
Who is it benefiting?
Anyone?
Every now and then when I'm doing some cleaning and organizing,
I will pull out a journal from the past and read through it.
And I do take note of the growth I've experienced.
And that's about it.
My observations may make it in a podcast or not.
I gave myself grace.
Why was I doing this?
What was I getting out of it?
Do I want to continue spending my time,
Energy,
Or make the effort to do this daily?
Right now,
The answer is no.
Right now,
I find myself being even more intentional with my money,
Energy,
Efforts,
And time.
The clock is ticking.
Life and time are finite for me as a person having a physical experience here on planet Earth.
How do I want to spend this precious time I have left?
I do love a good acronym.
I ask myself how I want to meet this moment or experience.
What will I have to invest?
My money,
Energy,
Efforts,
And or time?
Most things require one or all of these.
Am I willing to commit money,
Energy,
Effort,
Or time to do whatever it is?
This question helps me prioritize my time,
Experiences,
And memories I am creating.
I will continue to journal when I feel called to do so.
Releasing the daily commitment to journal felt just right.
Where can you give yourself grace?
Is it in saying no to something you really don't want to do?
Maybe you started reading a book you don't want to finish reading because you're simply not interested.
I did that earlier this year.
It felt great to release the requirement to finish that book.
Are you spending time with people and you really don't enjoy their company?
I invite you to join me now for the M-E-E-T Meet Clarity Practice.
I'll ask you the question and give you some time to allow a response to come to you and you will respond out loud with your answer.
My intention with this practice is to offer a way to prioritize and to be intentional about where you're focusing in your life.
Let's take a moment to connect with your breath and your body.
Feel free to keep your eyes open or close them if you desire.
Place one hand over your belly.
Place the other hand in the center of your chest,
Your energetic heart space.
Take a moment to connect with your breathing intentionally.
Notice your breath.
Settle your body into your breath.
Raise your shoulders up to your ears as you breathe in and let them drop as you release with a loud sigh through your mouth.
Let's do that one more time.
Raise your shoulders up towards your ears as you breathe in.
Breathe in.
As you exhale with a loud sigh,
Drop your shoulders.
Bring to mind what's most important for you to focus on right now.
Will this require money you're willing to spend or invest?
If so,
Are you willing to commit to the money required?
Take a breath and notice how your body responds.
Respond with your answer out loud.
Take a deep breath in through the nose and release with a loud exhale.
Are you willing to take on the emotional or physical energy required to do this right now?
Take a breath and notice how your body responds.
Respond with your answer out loud.
Take a deep breath in through the nose and release with a loud exhale.
Are you willing to make an intentional effort to do this right now?
Take a breath and notice how your body responds.
Respond with your answer out loud.
Take a deep breath in through the nose and release with a loud exhale.
Take a deep breath in through the nose and release with a loud exhale.
How much time are you willing to dedicate to this right now?
Take a breath and notice how your body responds.
Respond with your answer out loud.
Take a deep breath in through the nose and release with a loud exhale.
Let's take another deep breath in through the nose with a loud exhale.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Relax your hands and open your eyes if they were closed.
Begin to bring your attention back into this present moment.
Let's take a stretch.
Reach your hands up towards the sky as you continue to breathe at your own pace.
Now open your arms wide like you're about to give a hug to someone you love that you haven't seen in a long time.
Now open your arms wide like you're about to give a hug to someone you love that you haven't seen in a long time.
Wrap yourself in your own arms and bring a smile to your face as you give yourself a big hug.
Say thank you to yourself for being intentional about where you want to focus your money,
Energy,
Effort,
And time.
Keep hugging yourself and notice how that feels.
When you're ready,
Relax your arms and be fully in this moment.
I hope this practice gave you some clarity.
Return to this practice whenever you desire.
Until next time,
Take good care and be well.
How are you feeling right now?
My acronym M-E-E-T,
MEET,
Helps me be clear about where I want to focus my money,
Energy,
Effort,
And time.
What helps you prioritize?
Feel free to leave a comment,
Reflection,
Or observation where you're listening to this podcast.
Thank you.
