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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

Perception vs. Reality: #operationvarsityblues

In a nutshell, I’m over elitist culture.  From Washington D.C. to Stanford University I am tired of people and institutions that play by different rules than everyone else and create an ever widening gap between perception and reality. This was my thought as I watched the new Netflix documentary, Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions […]
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Wendy Jones

The Incomparable Power of Purpose

One of my favorite things is to wake up to an inspirational text from my friend Chrissy.  She is an amazing writer and mom (check out her blog Life with Greyson + Parker) and when we met 10 years ago, we were trying to figure out the ins and outs of having kids on the […]
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Wendy Jones

My Mantra

There is a new piece of art that hangs over the doorway in my living room. It’s a rustic wooden sign from @HarperGrayce that reads:  “Cultivate Calm”   It’s become my mantra to back up my life philosophy and I love the imagery it brings to my mind in just two words.  From my deep […]
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Wendy Jones

When Life Becomes Art

I was in 9th grade in 1990 when the AVP came to Lost Lake, just outside the Fresno city limits on the 41 freeway…the gateway to Yosemite and some of the world’s most breathtaking views.  My family had always been more for the mountains, but I had been to the beach a handful of times […]
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Own Your Energy

Sometimes I wonder what the world would be like if we all realized the power we each have to do good, to make choices to challenge each other to be the best versions of ourselves and see what results.  In the past, I could get myself so excited about human potential and then so quickly […]
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Foundations for Peace

Over the past five years, I have learned so much from my body.  I didn’t realize I had left it, in many ways I had disconnected from it long ago to protect myself from all of the things highly sensitive people feel.  But as I’ve come back into it, through breath, movement and human connection, […]
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Will Power Trump Mindfulness In America?

The play on words is intentional and not lost on my political brain. About eight years ago, I abandoned politics and 24 hour news cycles in the name of sanity, health, and wellness. Between my youngest child who was highly sensitive to the news stories on TV, and the constant fighting instead of intelligent and […]
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Fields to Beaches

Almost every time I descend the grapevine on the valley side I start to cry.  I think there are many reasons for this; maybe a sense of loss, maybe because I see so much wide open space it overwhelms me, maybe out of a sense of wondering where I belong.  For the most part, I’m […]
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The Paths That Lead us Home

It’s typical in the human experience to seek what we know.  Traditions, habits and patterns are part of a successful journey and, when we pick good ones, they set us up for success. But as this imperfect life would have it, we can also be prone to seek out patterns that, although might be comfortable, […]
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Why Not Be An Optimist?

“Let’s dig into the fresh bucket of optimism and if we fail we fail.” - Casey Jennings Optimism has been mentioned in every podcast I have listened to lately. Whether it’s Bobbi Brown on Finding Mastery, Kai-Fu Lee on Impact Theory, or Casey Jennings on The Net Live, it seems the world is in need […]
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