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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

Raise Your Vibration

Life moves fast, and our choices create patterns…some of which we want to continue, some that if we are observant, we learn from and choose to change.  There is nothing that inspires me more, and raises my vibration, than making choices that not only make my days brighter, but help put the next generation on […]
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Wendy Jones

Nostalgia & The Art of Making 'Youturns'

I didn’t realize when I pulled out of my driveway last Saturday to take Luke to Stanford that the trip up I5 was going to be a tour of the last 25 years of my life.  Given that I didn’t let it sink in until maybe 24 hours before that he was actually going to […]
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Wendy Jones

Five Ways to Embrace Evolving Over Aging

I’ve been struggling on the volleyball court lately.  Losing more than I win, seeing things that my body isn’t quick enough to react to, letting my mind wander to different areas of my life outside the court and realizing (with the help of some of the awesome people I play with) how hard I am […]
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Wendy Jones

A Day In The Life

Most days this time of year I click the light on in the morning and it’s usually still dark outside. I have thoughts and words running through my head and they wake me up, even though I’m not sure exactly how they will take shape when I start writing. Writing for me is like giving […]
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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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Create Space

It’s less about what our story is, and more about what we do to honor it. This is the line I have come up with to silence the voice in my mind when I start to think about how many other life stories are more challenging than my own.  Without that reframe, that comparative line […]
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Three Truths From the Quiet

As you read this, we are over two weeks into this thing…social distancing, slow the curve, COVID-19 and it’s all been unnerving and real on physical, mental, emotional, and economic levels. I was a homebody before, but we don’t have an end in sight, the Strand and the beaches are closed, and I miss having […]
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The Wisdom of Interdependence

“Everyone needs a hug.” - David Smith - Olympic Gold Medalist, Cancer Survivor and  paraplegic Today I don’t think any words could be more true.  Did you know that a twenty second hug with your weight over your own center of gravity is one of the human connections that completes the stress cycle?  This was one […]
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The Beauty of Not Knowing

It just so happens this year that we get to celebrate Matthew’s birthday and Mothers Day on the same weekend. In honesty, birthdays bring up a certain nostalgia and sadness that I have to acknowledge, but the cool thing is, as quickly as I have learned to recognize that feeling and admit it’s there, it […]
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The Rising Tide

Transitions can be hard.  As humans we don’t always like to change, and yet it’s the only inevitable thing in life.  This week I was fortunate to be able to interview two people in my life that I have spent a great deal of time with over the last few years who have been both […]
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