Learn the difference a daily writing practice can make.

“I am in a throuple. A 3 person committed relationship.” — Dr. Nicole LePera

These words saw Dr. Nicole LePera making headlines in 2021. A few days after the revelation she was in a relationship and business with two other women, Dr. LePera revealed she’d lost 18,000 followers on Facebook.

While I was taken aback by Dr. LePera’s news initially, I was equally taken aback by how her audience was seemingly judging her for showing up as her authentic self. Which is exactly what her teachings are all about. It’s no wonder most people walk around with masks on for most of their lives.

A different kind of headline first drew my attention to Dr. LePera in early 2021 on Mel Robbins’ YouTube channel. The title of the video read, “How to heal yourself with Holistic Psychologist Dr. Nicole”. While I can feel people who aren’t ‘into’ personal development rolling their eyes at the screen as they read this, hear me out. Everybody has a story and over time, we all collect scars that sooner or later, require reflection and healing. People are like onions. We are complex beings with multiple layers. The more we dare to peel back those layers, the more layers we unearth. We can spend a lifetime sifting through these layers without ever nearing our core.

Dr. LePera’s book changed the course of my year 

After dabbling into Dr. LePera’s work thanks to Mel Robbins’ YouTube interview, I decided to take the plunge and read Dr. LePera’s high-profile book, How to do the Work. My Audible order history is living proof that if I am not ‘feeling’ a book after two or three chapters, I’m requesting a refund (one of my favourite Audible features). That said, from the moment I began reading How to do the Work, I was hooked. In a nutshell, the book explores a holistic approach to mental health, redefining trauma and showcasing how a person can repattern their life… if they are willing to do the work, of course.

Enter future-self journaling

Dr. LePera provides readers with a number of skill-building exercises, tips and prompts to help them to do the work at one’s own pace. She is not selling a ‘quick fix’. Think meditation, proactively fuelling the body with nutrient dense foods, moving the body… we’re hardly being asked to reinvent the wheel here. For me, future-self journaling was the big game-changer. Put simply, future-self journaling is the daily practice of taking five to 10 minutes to write consciously and shift behavioural patterns using prompts. I committed to journaling for 30 days at first and I’m still on my writing streak as I type this article.

Full disclosure: I write for a living which means that when I clock off for the day, YouTube or Netflix often look like far more attractive ways to spend my downtime as opposed to writing. Over the years, I’d forgotten the small gems of wisdom that one often mines when given the opportunity to populate a blank page with nothing in particular at all. Sure, my notes are often absolute drivel and completely random thoughts but that’s the point: to write like no one is reading! Future-self journaling led me back to rediscovering how impactful spending 10 minutes each day writing can be. And unlike other forms of ‘doing the work,’ writing is affordable (grab a pad and pen and you’re good to go), accessible 24/7 (there’s no waiting list) and if you’re a fan of destroying your writing (personally, I like shredding), completely off the record.

Developing a daily writing practice created change across other areas of my life

I never thought I’d be one of ‘those’ people to have a morning routine. For so long, rolling out of bed and heading outside for a quick walk before being at my desk at 9am for work, was all I knew. I am not a morning person at all. That said, these days, I go on a 40 minute walk, write for 10 minutes and meditate each day before work. Once I’d kept that small promise to myself to write each morning, I was able to successfully habit stack. To the extent that even meditation is manageable now. I fell on and off the meditation bandwagon for so long. I understood its many proven benefits but sitting in meditation remained a struggle. After all, I could be doing so many other things in that time.

Sure, it’s easy to spend a couple of hours ahead of 2022 writing up a heap of New Year’s resolutions that will inevitably get tossed out the window by the third week of January. Yes, it’s much harder to make a daily commitment and to potentially find yourself exploring the thoughts you typically brush off from moment-to-moment. As they say, fortune favours the brave.

Developing a daily writing practice is one of the simplest ways to increase your awareness levels and to change your life. But don’t be fooled, simple doesn’t mean easy.

Need help developing and maintaining a daily writing practice? Try the Write to Thrive 5 Day Challenge for just AU$17. Click here to read more.

Learn the difference a daily writing practice can make.

“I am in a throuple. A 3 person committed relationship.” — Dr. Nicole LePera

These words saw Dr. Nicole LePera making headlines in 2021. A few days after the revelation she was in a relationship and business with two other women, Dr. LePera revealed she’d lost 18,000 followers on Facebook.

While I was taken aback by Dr. LePera’s news initially, I was equally taken aback by how her audience was seemingly judging her for showing up as her authentic self. Which is exactly what her teachings are all about. It’s no wonder most people walk around with masks on for most of their lives.

A different kind of headline first drew my attention to Dr. LePera in early 2021 on Mel Robbins’ YouTube channel. The title of the video read, “How to heal yourself with Holistic Psychologist Dr. Nicole”. While I can feel people who aren’t ‘into’ personal development rolling their eyes at the screen as they read this, hear me out. Everybody has a story and over time, we all collect scars that sooner or later, require reflection and healing. People are like onions. We are complex beings with multiple layers. The more we dare to peel back those layers, the more layers we unearth. We can spend a lifetime sifting through these layers without ever nearing our core.

Dr. LePera’s book changed the course of my year 

After dabbling into Dr. LePera’s work thanks to Mel Robbins’ YouTube interview, I decided to take the plunge and read Dr. LePera’s high-profile book, How to do the Work. My Audible order history is living proof that if I am not ‘feeling’ a book after two or three chapters, I’m requesting a refund (one of my favourite Audible features). That said, from the moment I began reading How to do the Work, I was hooked. In a nutshell, the book explores a holistic approach to mental health, redefining trauma and showcasing how a person can repattern their life… if they are willing to do the work, of course.

Enter future-self journaling

Dr. LePera provides readers with a number of skill-building exercises, tips and prompts to help them to do the work at one’s own pace. She is not selling a ‘quick fix’. Think meditation, proactively fuelling the body with nutrient dense foods, moving the body… we’re hardly being asked to reinvent the wheel here. For me, future-self journaling was the big game-changer. Put simply, future-self journaling is the daily practice of taking five to 10 minutes to write consciously and shift behavioural patterns using prompts. I committed to journaling for 30 days at first and I’m still on my writing streak as I type this article.

Full disclosure: I write for a living which means that when I clock off for the day, YouTube or Netflix often look like far more attractive ways to spend my downtime as opposed to writing. Over the years, I’d forgotten the small gems of wisdom that one often mines when given the opportunity to populate a blank page with nothing in particular at all. Sure, my notes are often absolute drivel and completely random thoughts but that’s the point: to write like no one is reading! Future-self journaling led me back to rediscovering how impactful spending 10 minutes each day writing can be. And unlike other forms of ‘doing the work,’ writing is affordable (grab a pad and pen and you’re good to go), accessible 24/7 (there’s no waiting list) and if you’re a fan of destroying your writing (personally, I like shredding), completely off the record.

Developing a daily writing practice created change across other areas of my life

I never thought I’d be one of ‘those’ people to have a morning routine. For so long, rolling out of bed and heading outside for a quick walk before being at my desk at 9am for work, was all I knew. I am not a morning person at all. That said, these days, I go on a 40 minute walk, write for 10 minutes and meditate each day before work. Once I’d kept that small promise to myself to write each morning, I was able to successfully habit stack. To the extent that even meditation is manageable now. I fell on and off the meditation bandwagon for so long. I understood its many proven benefits but sitting in meditation remained a struggle. After all, I could be doing so many other things in that time.

Sure, it’s easy to spend a couple of hours ahead of 2022 writing up a heap of New Year’s resolutions that will inevitably get tossed out the window by the third week of January. Yes, it’s much harder to make a daily commitment and to potentially find yourself exploring the thoughts you typically brush off from moment-to-moment. As they say, fortune favours the brave.

Developing a daily writing practice is one of the simplest ways to increase your awareness levels and to change your life. But don’t be fooled, simple doesn’t mean easy.