Savoring the Ordinary: Where Real Growth Hides

Hello, everyone, and welcome back. This is Dr. Jessica Green, and today we are going to talk again about personal growth. So as we wait for everyone to chime in, I am going to share a little bit about myself. I am a clinician here along the Grand Strand in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. So I'm a licensed professional counselor here. I'm also licensed in North Carolina and in Georgia, and I am excited to be a practitioner in everything that we have have to offer in the profession. I'm licensed in North Carolina.

I'm also licensed in Florida. I serve as a supervisor, but for LPCAs. And I am a continuing education provider for South Carolina for practitioners. Good morning, Rick. So glad to have you. And you will see me looking to my right or to my left because I am keeping track of everyone who is chiming in with us this morning for this wonderful Wednesday. Good morning. Good morning. Yeah, sometimes we feel like we are not productive as we should be because we're always on the go. You know, we have on that Superwoman or we have on that Superman cape, and sometimes we need to take it off and be able to relax.

We need to be more present, we need to be more intentional, and we also need to be more of us. Good morning, Rick. So today we are going to talk about personal growth. But today, the live may seem a little short, but it is going to be powerful. And the name of today's live is called Savoring the ordinary. All right, so when I say savoring the Ordinary, I want us to take that deep breath. I want us to pause, I want us to inhale, and then I want us to exhale. And in that moment, I want us to slow down.

So as we talk about this content that we are going to review, I want it to be intentional, and I want you to be able to be present in this moment, all right? Because today we are going to slow down. So when you think about the rush, you know, have you noticed how much of life we rush through, you know, whether we're dropping our kids off at school and this, they're in the car rider line, and we're just literally almost pushing them out of the car because we need to be at the office by a certain time?

Johnny did not want to put his shoes on. He barely ate breakfast. And we're trying to rush through the morning to get our day started. Good morning, Michelle. And sometimes with that morning coffee, that morning coffee becomes fuel. And not a moment where we can take that. That 30 minutes before we get up and drink that coffee, but savor that moment, think about our day as opposed to telling ourselves, I need this coffee because I'm going, going, going and doing, doing, doing. And when we're doing that, that we're not taking in that moment when we drink that coffee or even think about that commute, going to work, sometimes it becomes that blur, as opposed to being in that moment where I think about those things that I can see, I can taste, I can touch, I can feel.

Using our five senses, or even the small laugh with a loved one. But by dinner, we've forgotten about that moment. And I love that term Brene Brown uses dress, rehearsing tragedy, where we have that small laugh with family, with friends, but then we. We think about that negative, you know, oh, I need to do XYZ and not be in that moment. Or even that moment where we're kissing our children good night. But then we think about, what if something bad happens to them? We're not able to be in that moment sometimes.

Growing up, we were taught we have to hustle, hustle, hustle. We have to achieve. We have to multitask. But growth doesn't always live in the big goals. It's often those whispers in those in between moments. So when we think about personal growth, it isn't just about those breakthroughs. It's also about noticing, you know, us noticing the way the sunlight moves through our room, you know, in our bedroom or in our office. The way your body feels when you stretch after sitting for too long. And even the sound of your children laughing.

The silence after a deep conversation, allowing yourself to have that moment, to debrief internally so we can say, okay, this is what I need to do to be my best self. And these are the moments that build us. These are those moments that ground us. And they also remind us that we are alive. And when we savor the ordinary, we stop waiting for the next big thing to happen to validate our existence. But we're being in that moment, and we are starting to visualize and start to realize, this is my life and what can I do as far as personal growth?

To be in this moment, to be the best of me and focus on building those connections, focus on being courageous, but then also having that sense of compassion for yourself and giving yourself grace. So as we wrap up this live, I want to leave you with three small but mighty takeaways. All right, I want you to write this down. If you have a pen or paper, pencil, if you are in the car, I want you to think about this. And I also want you to go Back and listen to this recording so you can write this down.

But the first thing I want you to do, I want you to pause with purpose. So I want you to set a one minute timer. I want you to sit with your coffee, sit with your tea. And I want you to either look at that sunlight, look at that rain, or watch that rain. And in Myrtle beach, we have had rain consistently the last couple of days. So I can definitely relate to this. But I want you to feel your breath and I want you to be there in that moment. All right? So I want you to pause with purpose. The second thing, I want you to name one small joy a day.

It does not have to be a big win. It could be a tiny. A tiny sense of joy. All right? So I want you to name one small joy for that day. Generally, I always talk about two roses and a thorn. So I want you to talk about those roses, those small joys that we have in the day. And third, I want you to let ordinary moments teach you, all right? Letting those ordinary moments teach you whether it's folding laundry, whether it's walking your dog, you know, whether it's, you know, washing your vehicle. But I want you to find those moments and think about what they are teaching you.

Are they teaching you about rhythm? Are they teaching you about being in that moment and being in that present? Finally, I want you to realize that growth doesn't have to be loud. Sometimes it's quiet and sometimes it's us with our ability to notice it in our own life that changes everything that we do. So I thank you for joining me today. And if this episode resonated with you, I want you to share it with with someone who needs a reminder to slow down and savor the ordinary. So until next time, I want you to keep growing and don't forget to breathe.

Do not forget to be in that moment, and do not forget to be intentional when it comes to personal growth. Again, you can find me on the Cadre app. I have lives are available, recorded content. And one great thing I love about Cadre is you have the opportunity to be able to search what you're looking for. So you may be looking for something about growth, content about growth, content about grief, anxiety, but it allows you to filter and see what works best for you, what resonates with you. So again, thank you for joining me today.

And until next time, continue to be courageous, continue to have compassion, continue to grow and allow self growth and personal growth to elevate you to the next level.