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The Optimists Journal

Heartfelt Anecdotes and Practical Resources to Help You Create Wellness for Life.

Hi! I’m Wendy, mother of four, writer, and founder of Be Better Media. I am passionate about deep health, sustainable high performance, and human connection. As a lifelong learner, I believe that our own self-awareness is the greatest gift we can give to the next generation. This is my inspiration not to be perfect but to Be Better for myself and for them, every day. I know that it takes courage to reflect and when we are ready, share our stories so that real human connection is possible. This is what I set out to create with my blog, ‘The Optimists Journal’; my podcast, ‘What I Meant to Say’, and the interviews, videos, and other content created and presented by Be Better Media. In my downtime, you’ll find me hanging out with my kids and cats, going to yoga, and playing volleyball on the beach.

I believe that self awareness is the greatest gift we can give to the next generation.

How It All Started

I remember sitting on a patio in 2016, knowing I was at the edge of an impending divorce and feeling my life fall apart at the seams.

My question at the time was "How did I get here?" and "How can I help my kids get through this?" I had always been a journaler, but I started my blog, The Optimists Journal to give my kids a place to go later in life to understand their Mom's thoughts and heart through the myriad of situations that life brings our way.

In so many ways, my blog grew to be my podcast 'What I Meant to Say' because as I released my words to the world, I stepped into a place where for the first time in my life, I wasn't afraid to be seen. It was liberating.

So, I wanted to create space for others to have that same experience. If there is one thing I hope comes from the stories we share on 'What I Meant To Say', it is that it becomes a place of connection and growth that we can all experience when we simply take the time to listen.

Check out the podcast!
Wendy Jones

Life Cycles

Once a month I open my eyes in the middle of the night and the moon is streaming in, bright as daylight. The full moon always feels ungrounded and chaotic, illuminating even brighter all the things I already know I can’t control like my kids safety, the inevitable aging process, earthquakes, other people’s happiness….the list […]
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Wendy Jones

Back to Basics

The world is back in full swing.  Morning routines, schedules, pressure to perform according to the clock, the calendar, the grades, and the score, are mounting again. As unsettling as this pandemic down time has been, I always knew there was a part of me that would miss the slower pace, the kids being around […]
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Wendy Jones

To Rebuild With Intention

There is nothing like travel to remind you that there is always more than one way to do things.  I spent the last week enjoying Spain with Luke, his teammate and his mom.  Traveling with people can be an interesting experience, all of our true colors come out when we are jet lagged, lost, or […]
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Wendy Jones

Time Flies but Some Things Never Change

Well, It’s been a few weeks…I’ve had to figure out what to do with this pain.  I found out I have a 5mm herniated disc on my L4/L5 vertabrae, it’s the most physical pain I have ever felt, including four child births and three foot/ankle surgeries, so it’s taken me more than a minute to […]
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A Case Study in Optimism

When the last ball dropped I didn’t cry.  Sitting in the BYU Fieldhouse, I felt the emotions and understood the tears and the angst of the athletes on the deepest level, but something in me knew that it wasn’t over.  I guess that’s my optimism swimming for the surface.  It’s done it over and over […]
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The Truth In Our Hearts

“Your heart will tell you things that your head never will, it’s important to listen.” This was the last quote I put in my book, 365 Days of Optimism, and I’ve enjoyed the dialogue it has produced. I think it has drawn more comments from readers than any other quote I’ve posted and comments allow […]
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What's Your Why?

Riding home from Luke’s game last night with my friend and volleyball partner, we got to talking about volleyball, and aging knees and how long we will get to play this game that we love to play so much. To be out on that beach, with dolphins jumping in the water, with other moms that […]
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Freedom, Liberty & the American Media

I had to close the newspaper this week. Actually, I wish it was a real newspaper, because I still prefer that to the blue light from my iPad or phone, but when I moved to So Cal I had to give that up because it wasn’t delivered early enough for me to get through it […]
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Spontaneous Grace

It took a little work and a few conversations, but I had my mind settled comfortably around spending Thanksgiving on my own. Thankfully, being thankful is not something I save for one day of the year, and although I wrote from Hawaii last week and am thankful for the experiences in life that blow my […]
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Shattering the Myth of 'Downtime'

The first time I visited a spa I was 24. It was for my sister’s 21st birthday and I marveled at the calm that I felt after three days there. Looking back, that was my first glimpse at what it felt like to balance an overstimulated sympathetic nervous system. I had been a fearful kid, […]
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