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James Fitzgerald Therapy, PLLC
James Fitzgerald, MS, NCC, Psychotherapist
Strengthening Your Conscious Self © 2022
March 26
Daily Self Care Inspiration to Nurture Self Compassion
Please accept this self-care resource from James Fitzgerald Therapy and Strengthening Your Conscious Self Health & Wellness Program. You are invited to consume as much or as little of the content as you feel comfortable with. You don’t have to read every article, or watch every video, or do all of the activities every day. This feature of the website is a tool in your toolbox, to be used as you need it. Thank you for using this feature, I appreciate your support.
Day #26 Daily Meditation:
“Remembering Motivation”
Source: Mindfulness Exercises (Website)
Today’s Psychology Today Article
The Mystery of Motivation
The most carefully crafted incentives, from cash rewards to social props, routinely backfire.
What does it really take to get people to do the “right” thing?
By Gary Drevitch published January 3, 2017
Source: Psychology Today (Website)
Today’s Good Therapy Blog or Psychpedia Page
Motivation
The driving force that determines much of our behavior.
Our desires can motivate us to act in positive and negative ways.
In psychotherapy, motivational interviewing techniques are used to encourage people to make positive behavioral changes in their lives.
Source: Good Therapy (Website)
Today’s Positive Psychology Today Article (Blog)
Motivational Enhancement Therapy
Source: Positive Psychology (Website)
Today’s Health & Wellness Article/Blog
What is Intrinsic Motivation
by Mallika Bhattacharya
Medically Reviewed by Poonam Sachdev on November 10, 2022
Source: WebMD (Website)
Today’s Emotion & Emotional Intelligence:
Gratitude
Source: Good Therapy Psychpedia (Website)
Today’s Inspirational Quote:
“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep, loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.”
— Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
Today’s Virtue: Appreciation
Appreciation is seeing the good in life, recognizing the gifts that come our way and showing gratitude for them. When we expres appreciation to others, we mirror the virtues we see in them. We perceive their positive intentions and honor them with our gratitude. Love thrives on appreciation. Intimacy grows deeper when we know we are seen and valued. As we do the spiritual work life calls us to do, it is important to appreciate our own efforts and to acknowledge our progress. We don’t dwell on the unpleasant events and experiences of life. We value the learning and appreciate the lesson, even during painful times. Drinking deeply of the beauty and pleasures life offers, we don’t wste a single day.
To practice appreciation. Look for the good in life and in people, realize that other people have protective parts of their personality that have a positive intent for that person. Freely express gratitude and admiration. Acknowledge, honor, and reward your own progress. Value the gifts of the tests in life. Don’t allow yourself to stay critical, judgmental, and disappointed in yourself. Enjoy all the beauty and pleasure that life has to offer. Express your gratitude for the abundance in your life.
Source: The Virtues Project
Today’s Character Strength:
Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence
[awe, wonder, elevation]
Appreciation of beauty and excellence (or simply appreciation) refers to the ability to find, recognize, and take pleasure in the existence of goodness in the physical and social worlds. A person high on this strength frequently feels awe and related emotions (including admiration, wonder, and elevation) while, for example, walking in the woods or in a city, while reading novels or newspapers, while learning about people’s lives or while watching sports or movies. A person low on this strength goes about daily life as if wearing blinders to that which is beautiful and moving, taking little pleasure in the scenes that pass by or in the strengths, talents, virtues, and accomplishments of others.
Source: Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification (Vol. 1)
Today’s Coping Skill: Gratitude Journal
Writing down a few things you are grateful for is one of the easiest and most popular exercises available. The purpose of the exercise is to reflect on the past day, few days, or week, and remember 3-5 things you are especially grateful for. In this way, you are focusing on all the good things that happened to you in a given set of time. What is the appropriate amount of journaling one should do per week? Some people propose doing it every day while others suggest once per week. The arguments against doing it every day are that it can be tedious and forced. It becomes a practice you feel you should do or need to do instead of something you want to do. When journaling becomes a banal task and not an enjoyable practice then you need to adjust the amount of journaling you do. Besides the benefit of focusing on the wonderful things, this practice actually can increase your quality of sleep, decrease symptoms of sickness, and increase joy. It is important to cater your practice to what you need. Perhaps journaling every day for a short amount of time works for you, but over time, it feels better to journal every Friday. Paying attention to what you are grateful for becomes easier as you practice it. Imagine your life without the things or people that matter to you, before you begin writing. That should definitely boost your gratitude barometer.
Source: Positive Psychology (Website)
Today’s Self Care Practice Suggestion:
What Is Enough?
Do you live in a continual state of trying—seeking, waiting, hoping, and wanting? Today, spend some time journaling, asking yourself, What is enough? Tune out your wildest hopes and dreams for a minute. Instead, focus on what is enough. You gain a sense of well-being from feeling full in life. Is it possible that you already have it?
Source: Shaw, Dr. Zoe . A Year of Self-Care: Daily Practices and Inspiration for Caring for Yourself (A Year of Daily Reflections)
Reflection & Journal Prompts:
List as many things that you can see right now that you are grateful for?
Source: Fox, Rossi. 365 Journal Writing Ideas: A year of daily journal writing prompts, questions & actions to fill your journal.