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I was delighted this spring when I heard that Mari L. McCarthy was due to release a follow-up to her bestselling Journaling Power books, the third in the series.
Mindset Medicine takes up very much where Heal Yourself With Journaling Power left off. The final chapter in Heal Yourself was one of my favorite moments in the book. Mindset Medicine jumps right in to discovering how to love yourself more.
The new book is revolutionary, as Mari calls you to act on the things most important to you – what you want and deserve. There is no beating around the bush with Mari’s approach to this book! So often we put off what we ourselves really want. In this book Mari helps us identify what we really want and offers tools to help you work on getting those things.
She reminds us early on to check your assumptions about the things you do that may not be helpful to you. In my case, a big thing was being ‘always available’ for work now that we are working from home during the pandemic. Once I realized that this was an issue, it became the primary issue in my tissues to improve.
In Chapter 6: Establish Rock Solid Boundaries Mari calls on us to focus on our personal boundaries. This is so critical, and if you don’t know where they are, or haven’t set any, it is so easy for others to break through and contribute to your feeling stressed and distracted. It truly is a gift, a strong medicine when you recognize your boundaries, and you begin to enforce them. It is not easy – there is much pushback from those who have pushed your boundaries and benefited from it. Pushing through this is so powerful.
One of my own favorite techniques is found in Chapter 7: Focus on Joy and Laughter and In Chapter 7 Mari inspires us to look at our lives through a lens of joy and laughter. It is not always easy to laugh at our own lives, especially in these times we are living in. By focusing on this, however, I find myself finding much more humor and joy in my everyday life, even if the dogs are driving me crazy, or my internet is being disagreeable.
Mari encourages you to thinking about how you have been a hero to yourself and to others. When was the last time you felt like a hero? Chapter 9: Celebrate Being A Hero to Others and Chapter 10: What Do I Promise to Do to Be MY Hero is Mari asks you to ask your journal these questions. The process can feel uncomfortable because it is growth. It made a difference in how I perceive myself. Reflecting on how I help and make a positive difference my in own life and the lives of others was a very powerful medicine indeed!
At the root of the word ‘journal’ is the idea of a journey. Recognize this and enjoy the journey of learning and growth. Mari has thoughts and exercises to help you do just that in Chapter 11: Love the Journey Because You Never Really Get “There”.
I firmly believe that the best way to grow is to ask and answer good questions. This is Mari’s focus in Chapter 12: Transforming Your Life by Asking the Right Questions. Mari offers up some of her own questions for you to consider pondering and encourages you to make your own. I was able to come up
with ten empowering questions about the most important areas of my life – self-love, relationships, and work. She even has you make an ‘all-star list’ of the top ten questions to ask yourself to keep handy. The one question that empowers me to look more closely at myself and my growth is, “How am I feeling, and why am I feeling that way?”
Mindset Medicine wraps up with Mari taking you through how to create a Mindset Medicine Mission - a tailor made roadmap to help you chart a course to healing. Once you have completed the exercises from the previous chapters, Mari instructs to “Paint a picture with words about the ripple effect your self-love will create.” Using the medicine Mari has just administered through the book I think you will find that the ripple effect will cause bigger waves than you could have imagined!
Author bio: Stephen Van Vugt is an IT Applications Manager at a mortgage bank in Ontario, Canada. When he is not working, he can be found journal writing, participating in the year's NaNoWriMo, performing as an amateur storyteller and spending time with his family. You can check out Stephen's blog at www.madmanwithajournal.com
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