Episode 102: 20 Ways a Cookbook Writer Can Start the School Year

Welcome to another episode of the podcast. With the beginning of the school year, I wanted to talk about 20 things we can do to start the school year - to learn something new and grow into a new project or create a new habit. 

Give yourself some time to complete this exercise. This is the kind of stuff I like to reflect on as I embark on a new school year. I hope you enjoy this reflection.

1. Write down everything you have accomplished this past 12 months.
2. Pat yourself on the back. Tell yourself the story of how awesome you are to accomplish all of that.
3. Write down the name of three people who helped you become the person you are today.
4. Write them a note of appreciation.
5. Write on a piece of paper the story you tell yourself about not being worthy of becoming a writer, author, or business owner, or whatever you dream of doing.
6. Burn this story in the next neighborhood firepit gathering or in your fireplace. Your worthiness is never questioned. Ever. You were born worthy. The end.
7. Practice telling yourself this every morning. 
8. Write down something you wanted to accomplish yesterday, but didn’t.
9. Write down the reason you didn’t accomplish this. 
10. Take a look at this reason. If your reason is one that crops up ever so rarely, like, “My son had a fever of 103F and I sat with him and watched movies” then as a mom tell yourself, “I was standing where you were supposed to be standing” as Ron Rohlheiser says. You were doing what you needed to do. This happens rarely so all is well.
11. If your reason for not doing what you want to do repeats and repeats itself over and over in your life, reasons like “I didn’t want to”, “I’m too busy”, or “I decided it wouldn’t matter”, “I don’t have enough time”, then….
12. Understand that sometimes we have to feel discomfort (negative emotion) to get to our dreams of becoming a writer, decluttering our closet, drinking less, or losing weight. And acknowledge that the real reason we don’t write, declutter, drink less, or lose weight is because of how it makes us feel to change and do something different.
13. Write a letter to time. Tell time how you feel about it. 
14. Reflect on this: Time is truly finite and the one finite thing we have - the minutes of our lives. Are you using the minutes of your life to make a difference? Or watching others make a difference?
15.  Update your Instagram app. In the top right corner of the updated app, tap and set the timer to alert you when you’ve been in IG for 15 minutes/day. IG is fun and I use it too, but in this new school year let’s get back to living our lives and not watching others live their life. 
16. Write a list of the recipes you love to cook and bake that everyone asks you for. You know - the recipes that make you the hit of the family, neighborhood, or office party.
17. How can you package and monetize these recipes? Maybe write a short PDF eBook for your website, or consider a print cookbook project.
18. Write down one habit you need to break or start for this school year. 
19. Write down 10 reasons you can’t break that habit. Write down 10 reasons you need to break the habit. Decide which list wins.
20. Every morning, write down in your new notebook all your thoughts. Get them out. Then decide if your thoughts are helping you take action to be the person you want to be, or are your thoughts causing inaction? Or are you just reacting? Did you know you can change your thoughts to take the action you want to take to get the results you want to get? Lifechanging for sure.

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