14 Powerful Things to Notice This Week

14 Powerful Things to Notice This Week Introduction 

14 Powerful Things to Notice This Week is a list of journal prompts that I created to increase your self awareness in regards to your emotions, your needs, and help you take better care of yourself. 

As women, it is often far too easy to ignore how we feel because we wear so many hats. Like wife, parent, caregiver, insert career name, and so much more. But how aware are you of yourself, how things and people make you feel, and if you’re taking care of yourself? Are you overlooking these things and not taking good care of yourself? 

Come on in and let’s talk about 14 Powerful Things to Notice This Week and how they can help you. As you go through your normal week, take the time to slow down and pay attention to these things and write them down. You’ll be surprised at what you learn about yourself and your life. 

14 Powerful Things to Notice This Week

How certain people and activities make you feel 

Who makes you feel good about yourself? Supports you? Inspires you? What activities bring you joy? 

Who makes you feel bad about yourself? Who drains your energy? What activities do you want to say no to instead of saying yes? 

Think about both the good and the bad, and write them all down. 

What energizes or drains you 

Referring back to how certain people and activities make you feel, think about what energizes and what drains you. But I want you to go deeper into why now. 

Think about personality traits of the people who energize and drain you and write them down. 

Think about the activities that energize and drain you, and write down why each makes you feel both ways. Write it all down, and be honest with yourself. 

What comes up for you 

What emotions do you feel when you think about the people and things that energize or drain you during your week? Give each emotion a specific name and connect it with a specific action that you described earlier. 

Think about and note both the positives and the negatives. 

When you feel your best and worst 

When you feel your best, what are you doing? Where are you? What are you wearing? Who is with you? 

When you feel your worst, what are you doing? Where are you? What are you wearing? Who is with you? 

How you look after yourself 

Are you taking care of yourself and making sure that your own needs are met? Or are you putting them on the back burner to be ignored and forgotten? 

If you are taking care of yourself, make a list of the ways you are doing so. I like to make a list of each day in the week and something I’ve done to take care of myself. Like: 

• Monday I read a book and drank 47 ounces of water 
• Tuesday Spent time with my best friend and drank 32 ounces of water 
• Wednesday I went to a coffee shop to relax and be alone and drank 16 ounces of water. 
• Thursday I put myself on the back burner due to the kids needing extra attention and dinner taking more time than I realized. 
• Friday I didn’t do anything for myself, but drank 64 ounces of water. 
• Saturday I spent time with the family and recharged through that and going to the beach. 
• Sunday I took the day off from work and slept in and forgot to drink any water. 

When you make a list like that and write it all down, you can see if you’re taking enough care of yourself or not. Not everyday will be the same, nor will each week be perfect. You know how much time you need daily to care for and look after yourself and your needs. The key here is noticing if you’re being successful or not and paying more attention to your needs. 

Who is there for you 

When you need something, who do you call? Are they there for you when you need them, or do they blow you off with excuses? Do they support you, or do they turn things around and make it about them? 

Think about who is there for you when you need it and who isn’t. How do both make you feel? Write these down. 

How you talk to yourself 

How do you talk to yourself? Are you kind or do you speak negatively about yourself? When you get mad at something or make a mistake, how do you speak to yourself? Do you call yourself names? Are you understanding and patient? 

Make another weekly list like earlier and write down things you’ve said about yourself each day. Context doesn’t matter, you don’t need a story. Just think about what you’ve said. Did you refer to yourself as sexy or fat when you tried a dress on? Did you call yourself dumb when you made a mistake? 

Once the week is over, go back and read these things, and just take notice of how often you speak negatively about yourself versus speaking positively about yourself. If you are speaking negatively more often, you need to pay more attention to that. 

What your self care looks like 

What does self-care mean and look like for you? Write down your favorite ways to take care of yourself. Are those hobbies, alone time, time with specific people, pampering yourself? It can be anything that gives you the opportunity to relax and recharge your batteries. 

Make a list of your favorite methods of self-care. 

How you set boundaries 

Are you setting boundaries with people in your life, or is this an area that you struggle with? Do you need to set boundaries with someone specific in your life? If you aren’t sure, go back to the prompt above about who drains you and why, then decide if you need to create a boundary for them in your life. 

What exactly will you do or say to set a certain boundary with someone in your life? What exactly does that look like for you? What do healthy boundaries look like to you and how do you set them? 

What you need help with 

Is there anything specific that you need help with in your life? Are you struggling? Or trying to reach a specific goal? Who can help you? 

Make a list of the things you need and who can help you with those things. 

Do you reach out when necessary? 

Do you reach out when you need help? Or is that something you struggle with? 

If you reach out, who do you reach out to and why? What makes you want their help versus anyone else in your life? 

If you struggle with reaching out for help, why is that? It is fear, past rejection, reaching out to the wrong people, past trauma? 

Do you respect yourself? 

This can be a really tough question for many, and even I have struggled with it at times. Because we all know the answer should be yes, of course you respect yourself. Duh! But reality versus what we should be doing can often be two very different things. 

If you are struggling to answer this, go back to the prompt where I asked you to make a list of things you say to yourself and about yourself. Make two columns, one for positive things you’ve said about yourself and one for negative comments you’ve made about yourself. Which one is bigger? 

That will tell you right there if you respect yourself or not, and oftentimes the answer can be surprising. If you don’t respect yourself, are there specific changes you can make to start working on this? Because if you don’t respect (or love) yourself, no one else will. It starts with you, and that is absolutely essential. 

What are you grateful for? 

Write down three things that you are grateful for every day. If this isn’t something you normally focus on, it will seem almost impossible when you start. Trust me, it isn’t easy until it really becomes a habit. My advice is to start small. Be grateful for having hot water for a shower in the morning, for example. 

Once you start doing this consistently, you’ll notice that it becomes so much easier to see positive things in your life and you’ll see more positive than negative, and realize you have quite a bit to be grateful for. 

The ebb and flow of emotions you have 

Start paying attention to your emotions and how you feel each day. Emotions tell you a lot about things going on in your life and around you. Do your emotions ebb and flow normally, or is a more extreme change? Do you feel more emotional around certain people? What makes specific emotions more extreme or stronger feeling than others? 

When you pay attention to the emotions you’re feeling and when it is happening, you’ll be more able to articulate why you feel that way and have more control over each emotion. If you want to change a certain response to things, this is the first step in doing so. You have to understand and acknowledge emotions before you can change them. 

14 Powerful Things to Notice This Week Notes 

Once your week is over, go back and read through these prompts about your week. You’ll likely be surprised by what you learn. 

Look at it all objectively. Where do you want to make changes? Are there certain people or activities you need to limit for yourself? 

Be honest as you’re writing all of these things down. It is for you and you alone. No one is judging any of it, and you shouldn’t be either. 

14 Powerful Things to Notice This Week Discussion 

I hope these 14 Powerful Things to Notice This Week have helped you to pay more attention in your life, to be more aware of how you treat yourself, how you allow yourself to be treated, and what brings you joy. 

Are there any specific areas from this list that you’re struggling with? Is there any way that I can help to support you? Please let me know in the comments!