😌 The Sunday Spark: I am writing again

The Sunday Spark!

Hi Sunday Sparkers,

The best moment for me last week was when I published a new blog post on my blog, where I have not shared anything since January. The energy I felt when I hit that publish button was insurmountable.

If you have been around here for a while, you would know how much writing is important to me and that writing consistently was a goal I had in 2021 that resulted in 117 posts throughout the year.

Although I am writing to you every week here in The Sunday Spark, publishing that post felt different because it honors my creative aspirations and grows my body of work. Writing is the foundation for my podcast and all my future content, like posts and workshop materials.

So...cheer me on by reading my blog and subscribing to receive my posts as soon as I publish them.

You will also see more of my blog writings in the weekly sparks in the future.

Here is a post I wrote last week, enjoy:

What Your Treasures Truly Reveal About Your Desires

I am reading the brand new book All it Takes Is A Goal by one of my all-time favorite authors, Jon Acuff. He shared an idea I loved about how the objects we keep tell a story. We love the objects we own or want to own because they make us feel one of five feelings:

Younger
Successful
Inspired
Cool
Connected

He used the example of his 64-pack of Crayola crayons set as an example of an object that makes him feel younger. I never considered my multiple coloring sets as objects that make me feel younger, but they do!

He mentioned that the Lego sets he assembles and collects are objects that make him feel young but also successful because, as a kid, Jon couldn’t afford to buy a toy like The Porsche Lego set that cost $400, but now he can.

Books are examples of objects that make him feel inspired. Don’t we all feel the same about books? He also mentioned a bowl of acorns he keeps on his desk because an acorn symbolizes potential, which is what all his excellent book is about.

Cool is something we define, like he humorously said, “Cool is the younger cousin of successful. They’re related, but not exactly the same”. Jon feels cool when he uses his notebook on a plane to write ideas.

Objects that make Jon feel connected could be mementos from family members, like the Bible his grandfather used to have, with his scribblings all over. Objects that make you feel connected could be reminders that you belong to a community, like a Harley motorcycle.

Jon invited us to use these feelings as filters when we buy new things and declutter our house. If an object does not invoke any of the above feelings, it may be time to let it go.

Just for fun, here are some objects I own for each category:

Younger (Prettier?): My makeup, I love makeup. My stationery, I feel so excited when I go into a stationery store, and I display lots of it on my desk.
Successful: Elegant shoes and blazers. My planner. My podcast microphone.
Inspired: Magnet souvenirs on my fridge from our trips. My books. My home desk. Empty and full notebooks, and stationery again.
Cool: My glasses. My timers, all of them. My starfish key chain from Greece. The Titan collectible book by Seth Godin.
Connected: The little spiritual altar on my desk. Books. The altMBA graduation coin. Printed photos (I don’t have many of those, which means a project is on the horizon), and my phone.

Did you like these object filters as much as I did?

Can you create a list of objects you own that make you feel terrific, then categorize them according to one of these five categories?

It’s a fun self-awareness exercise.

Taken during a delightful walk last week in Weibdeh

Here is your weekly dose of The Sunday Spark ⚡️ a newsletter listing 5 3 sparks to ignite fireworks, that I thought were worth starting your week with:

1. 🕊️ The Single Most Parenting Strategy. Please watch/listen till the end; the exercise in which the author Becky Kennedy asks the audience to participate brought tears to my eyes and drove her speech home.

2. ❤️ Be Kind, Be Kind, Be Kind.

3. 💭 📅 Here is a quote to remind you to put what you say you want to do in your calendar or timebox it:

“It is not as effective to make ourselves a “to do” list of goal intentions as it is to decide how, when, and where we are going to accomplish each of the tasks we need to get done.”

―Timothy A. Pychyl, Solving the Procrastination Puzzle

(Thank you Readwise for helping me find this quote from a book I read)

This is Sunday Spark issue #147!

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Some cool resources I personally use, love and recommend, with discounts just for you:

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🌞🌐 I like to start the day with my personalized Momentum Plus tab, which helps me stay focused with a powerful mantra, an inspiring image, a to-do list, countdowns to big dates, and world clocks where I keep an eye on time zones of friends and family living abroad before contacting them. Being a newsletter friend, you would get a special offer of a 10% discount when you subscribe to Momentum Plus with the promo code: bardees.

Note: some of the links above may be affiliate links, but always keep in mind that I don’t endorse anything I don’t use and love myself.

See you next Sunday First name / my dear friend! Double Fresh Start Alert: October 1st is a new week AND new month!

Have a Brilliant Autumn 🍂

Bardees

In case you missed these posts on Instagram…

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