fbpx
LoginSHOPshop

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

New Beginnings

People care, or they are curious, or both:) When people ask me what happened to my ankle, I tell them I had ankle surgery. “Wendy, you need to start saying I had an ankle reconstruction.” said my amazing PT.  “I did?” I said.  Well, suddenly it made a lot of sense. Both because of the […]
Read More...
Wendy Jones

Beginner's Mind

When I learned to play volleyball, there were nine players standing on a blacktop volleyball court on the playground of my elementary school.  I was in 6th grade and the coach was a teacher, standing in his slacks wearing his tennis shoes and carrying a clipboard.  He was about 6’6 and a basketball guy, but […]
Read More...
Wendy Jones

Epiphanies

Epiphanies have always come to me in the water.  As a swimmer, I used to wish that there was a device that would record my thoughts as I stared down at that black line.  People say it’s a lonely sport, but as an adult with real world thoughts and challenges, it was an introvert’s dream.  […]
Read More...
Wendy Jones

The Trust Bar

The BE BETTER story isn’t about me. It’s a story of relationships that helps remind us that we are strong on our own, and better together. It’s about the people who trust me, ask me for recommendations and advice, and who I coach to recognize the beauty and potential that is already inside each one […]
Read More...

You may also like...

Volleylife

The adrenaline rushes, even when you sit in the stands.  But one thing I have learned is that once they take the court, there is nothing you as a parent can do about the outcome.  The athlete in you might want to spring out of the seat, the coach in you might think you have […]
Read More...

Finding Calm

Life is moving pretty fast these days…all four of them are in full swing, we’ve had first days of school, a concussion, volleyball tryouts, football games, videos to make, and as I try to do these days…zen out and try to find the calm.     Eeerily, when I think of moments of calm in […]
Read More...

You, Me, and Now

Authentic connection. It’s part of a healing process and what I am most passionate about in life.  I feel it when it happens, deep in my chest, in long conversations with relationships in my life, or casual encounters at Starbucks. The magic is found when we have the presence of mind to connect to the […]
Read More...

Most Viewed

Alchemy Over Strategy

I usually don’t have the title of  a blog when I sit down to write, generally speaking it comes last.  But I have leaned into something new that has given me so much peace in the hardest moments of transition  that I knew it was time to write about it.  I’ve been working with Emily […]
Read More...

Everyone Needs a Song

Hi.  I’m Wendy.  Even though I’ve written over 200 blogs, you don’t really know me.  I show you glimpses of me in my writing, if you have seen it.  But even though I write openly about my life, you don’t know everything; I suppose that’s how it should be.  I worry about exposing too much. But […]
Read More...

Circa 1994

I had the chance to revisit my 19 year old mind this week with a reconnection that happened because of this crazy social media world. I have journals, but the chance  to look back on a letter I wrote to someone else about life in that season, my sophomore year of college, was even more […]
Read More...
crossmenu