I’m super excited about this interview with Briana and Dr. Peter Borten. This episode is all about crafting a beautiful life by tapping into structure, sweetness, and space in your life. As we kick of a month dedicated to the foundations of joy, their book, The Well Life seemed like the perfect introduction to the new topic. As you guys know, one of the key messages of this show is that joy is a choice, and that at the heart of things, joy is often a mindfulness practice. It’s something you know you want to follow, and then, once you’ve locked in on what joy looks like for you, you can mindfully make choices that lead you towards it.
What I love about the book that the Bortens’ have written is that it gives a beautiful framework and foundation for finding balance, happiness, and peace in your life, and they define the three key elements for this kind of a well life to be structure, sweetness, and space. Since we’re focused on the building blocks this month, the conversation is centered on those three things. The cool thing about their book, is once you’ve gotten the foundation and understanding of structure, sweetness, and space down, they give you 8 more practices to help you integrate these things into your daily life, all of which will definitely bolster your wellness and joy.
In this episode, Briana, Peter and I talk about:
– their earliest sparks of joy
– how breaking her neck was one of the top 5 things that ever happened to Briana, and what it taught her about joy
– how Peter and Briana founded The Dragontree, and what they’ve learned along the way
– how the increasing reliance on technology and science has made life more complicated, and why we need to think in simpler ways to find joy
– what the idea of “Space” is in your life, and why it’s important (leaving a bit of breathing room, instead of having a jam packed schedule means there is time for joy and balance)
– why taking time for stillness is so important
– what “Sweetness” is, and how it can change your everyday life, by deciding to look for the good in things, moment to moment.
– how “Structure” gives you the frame work to make Space and Sweetness possible
– what “cumulative decision fatigue” is, and how it leads to “Slim Jim moments” (or that moment where you decide to pick the quick and easy thing, just because it’s there and you’re tired
– how to jump start joy in your life, in the world, and in other people’s lives
Resources:
Purchase The Well Life (on Amazon, affiliate link)
The Well Life book website
The Dragontree website
