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Why you should be writing
Writing heals. Writing calms. It connects and brings self-awareness. To write, we have to slow down our busy minds and focus on our purpose. It requires us to reflect on our thoughts, beliefs, emotions, and see them clearly–which is why journaling has been found to benefit one’s long-term mental health even more than assistance from therapists. This process of reflection engenders self-awareness. curaJOY’s Shining Moments are personal narratives of when people’s character strengths helped themselves or their communities. Both the reading and writing of Shining Moments focus our attention on what we’ve done right, character strength goals and when we were internally rewarded/fulfilled by these inner strengths. One of my favorite authors, Epictetus, writes “You become what you give your attention to.” Shining Moments begins a positive reinforcement cycle by exploring inwardly for those moments and consequently seeking to demonstrate character strengths so we can create more Shining Moments. Growth only starts when we put our attention and first recognize where we are, our strengths and weaknesses so we can enhance those inner strengths that we wish to possess.
When I first ask students to write Shining Moments, many of them come up empty and tell me they haven’t done anything great. They picture only news-worthy efforts at a Nobel prize level like Malala or Gretchen to be worthy as Shining Moments. That reasoning is akin to fledging falcons in their nests thinking they can’t immediately dive and soar like full-grown falcons so they might as well not try.
Start by asking yourself when you
1. Felt confident
2. Understood another person’s perspective
3. Worked well with someone else (teamwork) to achieve a group’s goal
4. Bounced back from a setback/disappointment and didn’t give up.
5. Restrained yourself from doing something that you wanted to but knew was wrong
Really dig deep and try to identify at least one example each from your life. This is no easy task because you’re not used to explorations like this. Start writing them down, and after a week, share a moment when you were the happiest with our community.
Touched by what you read? Join the conversation!
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Breaking the Entry-Level Hiring Cycle:
A Call for Employers and Young Professionals to Collaborate We have a system that isn’t set up for the benefit of either job seekers or employers. On the one hand, recent graduates are desperate for a foot in the door; on the other, employers face a deluge of applications and quiet quitting, and without a…
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Snowballing Problems
The internet is a weird place. You can find pictures of cats, deep dives about a niche franchise older than you are, or in some cases, people talking about their existential crisis/incidents they just emerged from. Things ranging from “I’m 35 years old and after so much burnout and deep depression, I’ve finally found my…
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AI for Good Workshop
RSVP Are you passionate about responsible technology and making a social impact? We’ve got the perfect event for you! Join us for the AI for Good workshop, hosted by Bright Data and curaJOY. This immersive, free workshop is designed to explore the powerful intersection of AI, data science, and tech for good. Mark your calendars…
Responses to “Why you should be writing”
This is surprisingly deep, considering the fact that the age range is six to eighteen, I believe. Most people do think that the small, kind actions they have done are incompetent to the ones who have impacted the world. But with every choice you made, you literally guide the world.
Yes, we are all connected. It is people who form stereotypes, cliques and discrimination, so it’s also up to people to break them. We can’t control other people’s action, but we can choose our own actions and steer the world to what we want it to be. “Be the change you want to see in the world.” is repeated so many times because it is true. Why should the perfect world, ideal life just drop in our lap? Dreams come true because you MAKE them come true. Nobody else know, as well as you, what your dreams are exactly, so if you want a say in how your life will turn out, you need to take ownership with your actions.
One additional benefit of writing Shining Moments or even the steps you take in trying to come up with a Shining Moment is that you inspire yourself, erase self doubt and give yourself the courage the go onto do greater things. 😺