847: Finding Calm and Clarity | Habits with Jess Ekstrom

Jess Ekstrom is the renowned founder of Headbands of Hope and was my guest in episode 845 where we talked about the strategy of optimism. This is my habits show she began by citing coffee as her first priority habit of the day which will endear her to many of you as it did me! But then she hit on something very close to home for me, in saying she’s come to realize the value of seeking calm and clarity before she lets her day get rolling. She often wakes with anxiety and angst in the morning with so many thoughts swimming in her head and used to try and address it by doing things, but knows that doesn't calm her. So even unplugging for 10 minutes to focus on breathing, then making sense of her thoughts by writing them down because then they don't seem so scary. She shares how long she went with her goal to get to zero, cross everything off the to do list and be calm, but says, “I've never been at zero." I'll always be getting there, there's never an arrival. I think right there, so many of you will resonate as I did and will want to hear more from Jess. On the note of morning writing, I highly encourage you to visit brightpages.com, her new online, guided journal. Sign up and use code ZIGLAR and she’s giving us all a free month. Her book, Chasing The Bright Side - Embrace Optimism, Activate Your Purpose, and Write Your Own Story was the muse of our first show together and you can find it wherever you get books.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices