The Journal Prompt

Insightful Journal Prompts Delivered Weekly.

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Welcome back to The Journal Prompt, your weekly companion for introspection and personal growth. 🌿

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In This Week’s Issue (8-minute read)

💬 Quote of the Week

🖼️ Framing Your Reflection

✍️ Three Insightful Journal Prompts

 ✨ New Section ✨

⚔️ Thinker’s Arsenal

Framing Your Reflection 🖼️

Monday November 11th was Veteran’s Day in the United States.

I wore the cloth of the nation as a Marine Corps infantry officer for 7 years.

In the week leading up to that day, my son Dillan (10) asked me if I wanted a specific gift for Veteran’s day.

He told me they made little handwritten cards at school to “thank a veteran”, but that he wanted to check with me if I wanted something more.

I know he meant well and wanted to make me feel special - his primary love language is receiving gifts (if you’re unfamiliar with love languages, read Dr. Gary Chapman’s book. It’s excellent.).

But I felt really repulsed by his ask.

And I couldn’t put my finger on “why”.

So naturally….I journaled to figure it out.

I’m glad that Dillan’s school is doing something to instill a love of country in our youth. Flawed as we may be, only love is strong enough to muster up the devotion to make things better.

I am beyond grateful for the legacy I had the privilege to preserve in my own small way.

But for me, gratitude loses its meaning when it’s amorphous.

It feels like a check-in-the-box that we want to make sure others see us checking off.

And given that my time in the service gave me so much of who I am, I feel like it is me who should be expressing gratitude by paying it forward.

During next week’s issue, I will do just that by sharing one of the biggest lessons I learned as a leader of Marines.

This lesson has shaped how I view marriage, parenting, friendship, business….in essence…everything.

But for this week, and in the spirit of Thanksgiving…..

Try to operationalize your gratitude.

Reach out to the specific person about the specific thing for which you are grateful.

If you’re in the U.S. and celebrate Thanksgiving, be specific when you go around the table saying what you’re thankful for.

In addition to doing this with my family and friends later today, I’ll go first here with you.

I am grateful to you for reading this newsletter because you trust me with your time on the journey toward a wiser version of yourself - I will continue to put my best foot forward.

And I am also grateful for the deeply personal comments that all of you who rate the issue leave me.

I read every single one, sometimes multiple times a day, because it reassures me that this is making a difference at the individual level.

Let’s not let our gratitude become amorphous.

Let today be the day we can to provide a ray of genuine appreciation to someone else.

They may need it more than you know.

Three Journal Prompts ✍️

🔍 Where to Begin

Remember a time when someone thanked you in a meaningful way by specifying the details for which they were grateful. How did you feel afterwards? Why do you think that their gratitude felt so powerful?

🧠 Finding the Dragon’s Lair

Who has had a significant influence on your life? How have they shaped who you are today, and for what are you most grateful to them? When is the last time you shared the depths of your appreciation with them?

🔭 Forecasting Resentment

We must also remember that we are a community of Selfs spread out through time.

We live in Yesterday’s Tomorrow. Write a letter of gratitude to your past self, thanking them for the choices that brought you to where you are today.

As a twist, you can write the same letter to your future self, thanking yourself for the things you are doing today in support of that future you.

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The Thinker's Arsenal includes:

• • Study Deep Dive 📚 - Analysis on recommended reading
• • Brain Science 🧠 - Understand how neurology & behavioral science affects your decisions
• • Loving Your Temple 🧘‍♂️ - Discover bio & life hacks to improve your body's health, longevity, and performance
• • Artful Connections 🎨 - Enjoy music and art that adds another layer of connection with the content