- Five to Thrive
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- #073 – Rapallo
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Hey everyone!
I hope you have all been well!
It’s been quite a while since my last newsletter so I wanted to check in and update you all on how my travels over in Europe have been going.
At the time of writing #072, I was in Naxos and heading to Mykonos.
Since then, I have visited Kefalonia and Lefkada which capped off my time in Greece, whereafter I was ready to explore Italy.
Bari, Rome, Florence, and Cinque Terre have now all been ticked off the itinerary and I am currently writing to you from the town of Rapallo on the north-western coast of Italy.
Here are some of my favourite postcards from the last few weeks:
Assos Beach in Kefalonia. Incredible.
Melissani Cave. My second time visiting this place and it was even better than I remembered it.
Beautiful sunset overlooking Lefkada town.
The ancient city of Matera in Puglia, Italy. The history of this place was almost palpable.
Inside St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. I can honestly say that visiting the Vatican was one of the most awe-inspiring experiences of my entire life. You will seldom find other places in the world where such fine craftsmanship is married with monumentally grand architecture.
Driving through the rolling hills of Tuscany in a vintage 1968 Fiat 500 was one of the most immersive driving experiences I could have ever imagined. What a privilege.
So, what was the reason for the break in newsletter momentum? What happened to the weekly instalments while I’ve been overseas?
The initial catalyst was that I actually got quite sick and was honestly bed-ridden for the better part of two weeks.
Not only did this mean that I felt terrible, but it also meant that there really wasn’t much to write about since I was essentially just lounging around in hotel rooms trying to recover.
After that, I spent some quality time with family and really enjoyed just completely switching off – from everything.
In the time I stopped writing, I found myself able to think about things without any sort of over-hanging ‘objectives’.
Not needing to extract or articulate any sort of profound life lessons in weekly instalments, but completely immersing myself in the places I was visiting – and I am so glad that I did.
A lot of the things I was reflecting on were also very personal to me such as my faith, career decisions, personal relationships, and life goals.
It was nice being able to have the space and time to really think about some of those big life questions in a way that was genuinely meaningful and authentic.
Which brings me to what I wanted to share with you today.
7 Reflection Questions
One of the things I’ve found is that our mind sometimes likes to fixate on certain thoughts or issues in a way that may not always lead to the most constructive or useful outcomes.
One thing that has tremendously helped me in the context of reflecting on my own life has been using guided reflection questions.
I’ve found that using guided questions or prompts creates a direction through which many of my thoughts can more easily flow.
Here are 7 of the ones I have personally been using most frequently, and will continue to use until I get back home:
How can I show up better for my family and friends in a way that instils courage by providing a safety net of support?
What are the things I don’t usually say out loud but constantly think about – how might expressing them change my relationships or perspective?
How do I define success, and am I on the path to achieving my definition of it?
If I had no fear of judgment or failure, what would I pursue right now?
If the ‘me’ of 10 years into the future was to look back at how I am living my life now, what would he suggest I do?
How can I continue to work on my relationship with, and bring myself closer to, Jesus? What does that look like on a day-to-day basis?
What will history write about my generation? What is the role I would like to play in that story?
As I said, these are just some of the questions that I have personally been contemplating. Please feel free to take anything that you think may be of some degree of utility.
Sometimes, when trying to reflect on our own lives, it can feel as daunting and untethered as trying to write something incredible while staring at a blank piece of paper.
These sorts of prompts can really help focus our thinking and often lead to insights far beyond those which one might have initially anticipated or even hoped for.
That’s all for today!
In the spirit of continuing to grapple with those difficult questions, this will be the last newsletter whilst I am overseas.
Going to take advantage of the time and mental capacity I have at my disposal on this incredible continent.
I truly hope you have all been well and I am very much looking forward to filling you in when I get back in just over a month’s time.
Talk soon.
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