20 Minutes to Notice: Catch and Choose

Before you change a thought, you have to catch it.

Most of our thoughts run in the background, directing the show while we go about our day. Some are helpful. Some are old scripts we picked up years ago and never questioned. Some aren’t even ours. They came from family, media, marketing, the person in line at the grocery store.

This container isn’t about fixing your thoughts or judging them. It’s about noticing. Once you see what’s running the show, you get to decide who takes center stage... and who waits in the wings.

Why this works

The Huna principle called Makia: energy flows where attention goes. Every thought you give attention to gets a little more energy. Noticing is how you take your power back.

Expressive writing and “affect labeling” (simply naming what you think and feel) means that that putting thoughts into words can help calm the brain’s stress response. When a thought is on paper, it’s something you have, not something you are.

What you need

A timer, paper, a pen, and a quiet spot where you won’t be interrupted.

Remember, 20 minutes ⏰ can be the whole practice, or a portion.

Set your timer for 15 minutes. Get comfortable, close your eyes, and take a few deep breaths. Let your mind settle.

Now open your eyes and start writing. Every thought that shows up goes on the page. The grocery list, the worry about tomorrow, the replay of that conversation, the song stuck in your head. No editing, no judging, no fixing. If you catch yourself thinking “that’s silly, I won’t write that down”... write that down too. Keep your pen moving until the timer goes off.

When the timer ends, set it for 5 minutes, review what you wrote. Notice what repeats. Notice what surprised you. Then, next to each thought, make a simple mark: feed it (checkmark) or let it pass (x). The thoughts you feed get your energy this week. The ones you let pass can wait in the wings. No need to argue with them or push them away. You’ve seen them, and that’s enough.

Want to keep going? Once you’ve noticed which thoughts you’d like to step back from, try 20 Minutes to Elevate: Joy on Demand to call in the feeling you’d rather have center stage.

20 minutes won’t change your life...until it does.