Another tool I use regularly when I teach journaling classes is Three Small Questions. They really aren’t small questions at all but what I want from the participants is small (read: brief) answers. Workshop participants leave with a workbook that has all types of prompts including a long list of small questions. They are asked to choose 3 questions a week to answer everyday. It’s great if they can answer them on the page, but it’s also fine to answer the questions while they are in the shower or on their commute. Today, I am encouraging you to take the Three Small Questions Challenge. Ask yourself these questions for seven days in a row so that you can see how your answers change or don’t change over the course of time and then act accordingly. I’ll explain this more after we look at this week’s three small questions.
What do I cherish?
What might I do differently?
What do I need right now more than anything else?
Here are my answers:
What do I cherish? Being with loved ones.
What brought me joy today? Having wonderful friends over for dinner to discuss Plan B by Anne Lamott.
What do I need right now more than anything else? Plan my week in a deliberate fashion in order to get everything done before going to the beach next week!
Feel free to share your answers here today and/or everyday this week. And watch your answers so that you can learn from them. For example, if one of my answers this week to What do I cherish? is “my family” and, yet, I haven’t talked to my parents in a week, I need to reflect on that incongruency and engage in different actions. If for three days straight I say that I need sleep more than anything else then the question becomes why am I not giving myself what I need. Use these three small questions to find a balancing center in your life this week!
What do I cherish?
I cherish the look of mischief in my daughter’s eyes. That is all I need to see to know that she’ll be just fine when she grows up. A woman needs to be able to make waves to survive.
What might I do differently?
Gotten over the idea that smart kids don’t ask for help. Join a study group.
What do I need right now more than anything else?
A personal assistant! Dear goddess am I swamped.
Veronica, I love your cherish statement. What a lucky girl your daugther is to have a mom that realizes this important truth.
And as for an assistant– a couple of writers I know hired high school students who are interested in writing to be assistants this summer. Many of the students have other summer jobs too but were totally excited to have a chance to work with a writer for 5-10 hours a week at $8 to $10 an hour. Maybe it could work for you?
The answers to my three questions from yesterday.
#1 My husband’s compassion. A boy in the neighborhood who we both really like but don’t know well stopped by the yard last night to say that he was graduating from high school today. “I am going to college,” he told BF, so proud and excited. BF came inside so moved, tears in his eyes. “Can we get him a graduation present?” He whispered before he couldn’t speak anymore for the tears. On the surface, BF and I are as different as two people can be. But this compassion is where our union was made– it is what guides us and it is our glue.
#2 I scheduled this week in a way that doesn’t accomodate the way that I work best. I need to be more mindful of that.
# 3 To keep focused in order to knock out several big to dos this week.
seriously – BF just brought me to tears!!! and not in the normal cracking up sort of way!!!! awwwwwww. what did you get the graduate as a gift? cool beans!!!!
Ah, Suez– that’s sweet. We’re going with cash for the graduate. It’s what we both could have used when we were graduating!
Yesterday”s answers to the three small questions:
# 1 The good-hearted and genereous women who have so generously embraced the mission of Circle de Luz. Joining in community for something so important feels like magic.
# 2 Not drop by my Blackberry into the toilet. Aye!
# 3 To take the time to stretch!
I know i’m a bit late for this but I want to play along!
1. I cherish my familia
2. I have been doing many things differently: giving back o my community by dancing in my church’s dominican folkloric dance group and singing in the choir.
3. I need my BF to stop being mad at me!!!