1295: The art of noticing
We’re kicking off a new week of The Daily Pep! with a challenge to help us weather the storm and notice the joys in hard times (even when that feels impossible).
Episode transcript:
Good morning, Daily Peppers, and a very happy Monday to to you. So I thought we would kick off this week on the Daily Pep with a bit of a challenge, which is also very micro, very doable, but also could make a massive difference to your week. For many of us, it can be really easy to get sucked into doomscrolling. And when we look around us in terms of the news and what's going on in the world, well, it's some really heavy shit to put it mildly and can leave us in this place of existential dread and wondering what is the point. So for today's episode, we are really leaning heavily onto the improv concept of yes, and. And that's the idea that parallel things can be true at the same time. So my challenge for you this week, and I'm gonna be joining in too, is to create a note on your phone or a section in a notepad or sketch pad if you carry one around with you all the time, and title it something like tiny joys or cool shit. And the idea is that for every day this week, try and record one little thing that either made you smile, made you take notice, or was a moment of delight or beauty.
This could be as simple as noticing some flowers popping up somewhere, actually hearing some birdsong, or it could be that you didn't bump into your shitty coworker, or that thing that you've been absolutely dreading turned out a lot better than you thought it would. And the idea here is to simply get into the practice of noticing. We've all got a built in negativity bias. We tend to see the world through shit tinted lenses, and it is a survival thing. But I think particularly at the moment, it is not very helpful. And I know for me, I absolutely need some training in the other direction. Now there are quite a few different ways you could do this. Like I said, it could be to put one thing on that list every day this week, or it could be about when you feel you're about to doomscroll or check the news again for the billionth time.
Opening that note instead and finding something to put on it. Now this is not about toxic positivity and denying what is going on in the world, but it is about keeping us sane. There are many things in the world that we don't have control over, and I think a lot of us are feeling quite powerless. But I really believe that joy can be a rebellious and radical act. So go for it in the easiest way you can think of doing it. And my hope is for all of us that this noticing can start filling up that bit of brain space, which is maybe getting a bit scary. That this is a way of adding a little bit of joy to our lives and to leaning into that yes and of, yes, things feel really hard and are really hard, and we're also alive, and there are tiny joys all around us. So give it a go, see how it works for you, put your own twist on it, and here's to a week where we notice unexpected joys and delights. I'll see you tomorrow.
Transcription produced by Castmagic.io
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A short, snappy and sassy daily podcast to keep your internal - and external - dreamshitters at bay!
The Daily Pep! is the rebel-rousing, daily podcast for couragemakers, creative, multi-passionate and unconventional women. If you’re surrounded by people who don’t get who you are or what you do, if you want reminders you’re on the right path (no matter how scary it feels), or you’re sick of being your very own worst enemy, this is the podcast for you.
Every weekday, your host - writer, coach and professional rebel-rouser - Meg Kissack helps you build a creative and wholehearted life, one day at a time. Through short and snappy insights, reminders and stories, The Daily Pep! is here to remind you you’re not alone, and that everything changes when you believe you matter. Each episode is short and snappy, designed to fit in with (or help you start) your habits and routines.
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