5-Day Journaling Exercise: Are you suffering, and not doing something about it?
Theme: Are you suffering and not spending time to help yourself?
Newsletter: Are you a suffering fool? Spoiler alert, I am. - Read
Day 1 – What Is Suffering?
If you look in the mirror, where does distress or heaviness show up in your body, mind, or relationships?
What are your most common patterns of suffering?
What made you feel that way?
Write about how your inner critic describes your “distress.”
Day 2 – Defining Suffering
What does “suffering” mean to you? (Write your own definition before looking one up.)
Where in your life do you feel pain, distress, or heaviness right now?
Does admitting you are suffering make you feel weak, or does it feel like honesty?
Day 3 – Every Moment Counts
How many of your daily “moments” are spent not taking advantage of limiting your suffering?
Where do you notice yourself justifying “mindless” time (scrolling, zoning out, etc.)?
Write about whether these justifications relieve suffering or quietly add to it.
Day 4 – The Anti-Wellness Justification
Where do you use busyness as a shield (“I’m busy, so I deserve this time”)?
In what ways does this shield protect you, and in what ways does it harm you?
If you removed one hour of “justifying” this week, how could you use it to reduce your suffering? What one practice (nature, exercise, meditation, therapy, etc.) can you commit to right now?
Day 5 – Choosing Lightness
Write a vision of yourself with less suffering. How do you act, think, and feel?
End with this question: If I’m not willing to stay a suffering fool, what small step am I willing to take today?
Write a story of yourself 1 year from today, having reduced suffering.