Hi friends,

 

There is a prayer I learned from the author Julia Cameron, which I say before writing to you every week: 

 

 

It means all I need is to show up to the page, start typing, and let God take care of the output. I am just a conduit, a deliverer of a message. 

 

This might be too spiritual for your taste, but spirituality has always been a part of my identity and what makes me come alive. For example, in a video series with my friend Osama four years ago, I discussed the book The Power of Now, which was mentioned twice last week as a favorite book of people I recently met. If you have not listened before, you will be pleasantly surprised by the 36 episodes of them. I will always consider them a proud part of my legacy.

 

Another prayer I learned to recite before starting writing or even starting my day is one I learned from Marianne Williamson: 

 

 

When I ask that last question, I think of a dear friend and what encouraging message she might need to hear from (through) me today.

 

Try using similar prayers or mantras before starting your creative tasks. 

 

They work.

 

 

 

 

I can switch what’s not working to goals for the new week. As for what’s working, all I need to do is keep doing them.

 

As usual, it’s your turn. 

 

Pause for a moment and think…What has been working well in your life lately? Make sure to record these habits somewhere to be able to recreate them. For instance, using my alarm clock and turning my phone off was a habit I had last year and forgot about it! Thanks to doing the annual review I remembered and re-initiated it! How cool is that?

A snapshot from my week: the once-a-year-bloom

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

 

1. 🔥 Burnout is one of my favorite topics to talk about because, as many of you know, it is how it all started for me; that's why I found this article, The 6 Causes of Burnout (and How to Avoid It), to be simple and rich which is the signature style of the author Scott H. Young. Also, my interview about burnout a year ago on Mamlaka TV is here.

 

2. 🎯 I love learning about a new framework for goal setting, so I listened to this podcast episode twice! It talks about the STAR|MAP method, which is setting goals with purpose, which remarkably resonated with my own teachings and practices in goal setting. Additionally, I found Jen's logic incredibly inspiring, particularly her insights on the line aspect.

 

3. 💬 An excellent reminder when you get hard on yourself, just like I do sometimes:

 

"When I start sabotaging my self-worth, this statement is very helpful, “I did the best I could with what I had.” I believe this statement, now…but when I started saying it, I would think, “But did I really do the best I could with what I had? I knew better. I knew it was a bad choice, even as I made it!” Yes. I knew better. But I still did the best I could. Here is why. I am not just my mind. It is common for our mind to argue with us as we make decisions. “You shouldn’t do this…it won’t be good.” Yet, we still do it. Why? Because our subconscious and emotions are just as involved in our decision-making as our mind is.”  

― Jonathan Heston, The Unlimited Self

 

(Thank you Readwise for helping me find this quote from my readings)

* Note: To the best of my ability, I am trying to share content by authors who have not disappointed me, and they are hard to come by! Please let me know if any author I share about was disrespectful to Palestine.

 

 

 

 

 

See you next Sunday First name / my dear friend