Journal Prompts About Getting Focused – Fill Your Cup
What's the most difficult thing about connecting with your kids? I ask this in every welcome letter when people sign up for the Creative With Kids newsletter, and a response like this is very common:
“When my mind is elsewhere (usually at work) and I have trouble focusing and being in the present moment with her.”
Boy, do I understand that difficulty! That to-do list just won't stop! Not only is it hard to let go of to-dos and become present, kids are highly unpredictable, the important moment do not tend to happen when you're ready to pay attention to them.
That's why these Fill Your Cup journal prompts are about focus. We don't choose to be born, and we can't choose when we'll die, but we have a choice of what we'll focus on in the moments in between. The tricky part is choosing where to set that focus.
- If you could choose five things your children would say when they are grown, about you in their childhood, what would they be? If you could only make four of those statement happen, which one would you discard? If you could only ensure three of the statements…? Do this until you have one statement – if you could choose one statement that you hope your children will make about their childhood, what would it be? What is one thing you can do this week to support that statement?
- We have a hard time focusing when we feel pulled by our many responsibilities. Assuming that urgent needs like laundry and making meals will happen out of necessity, make a list of other commitments or distractions in your life. Mark you A, B and C priorities, then look and journal about the A priorities – are they leading you in the direction you want to go? Look at the C priorities – even if you can't let go of them altogether, can you stop giving them as much mental energy as the A's?
- Write about what your body language is, your voice, your feelings, when you are focused on your child. Now, what does your body language, voice, etc. look like when you are only half focused?
Find more journal prompts on mindfulness being present here.
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Alissa Zorn is an author, and founder of the website Overthought This. She's a coach and cartoonist passionate about helping people overcome perfectionism and shame to build authentic, joyful lives. Alissa is certified through the International Coach Federation and got her Trauma-Informed Coaching certification from Moving the Human Spirit. She wrote Bounceback Parenting: A Field Guide for Creating Connection, Not Perfection, and is always following curiosity to find her next creative endeavor.