<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:googleplay="http://www.google.com/schemas/play-podcasts/1.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Life Intelligence: Meaningful Mondays]]></title><description><![CDATA[Something productive to do]]></description><link>https://www.vpetrova.com/s/meaningful-mondays</link><image><url>https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!QWea!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6ffe4a26-8629-493e-a521-47e695420d56_1280x1280.png</url><title>Life Intelligence: Meaningful Mondays</title><link>https://www.vpetrova.com/s/meaningful-mondays</link></image><generator>Substack</generator><lastBuildDate>Sun, 17 May 2026 06:21:30 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.vpetrova.com/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><copyright><![CDATA[Valentina Petrova]]></copyright><language><![CDATA[en]]></language><webMaster><![CDATA[valentinapetrova@substack.com]]></webMaster><itunes:owner><itunes:email><![CDATA[valentinapetrova@substack.com]]></itunes:email><itunes:name><![CDATA[Valentina Petrova]]></itunes:name></itunes:owner><itunes:author><![CDATA[Valentina Petrova]]></itunes:author><googleplay:owner><![CDATA[valentinapetrova@substack.com]]></googleplay:owner><googleplay:email><![CDATA[valentinapetrova@substack.com]]></googleplay:email><googleplay:author><![CDATA[Valentina Petrova]]></googleplay:author><itunes:block><![CDATA[Yes]]></itunes:block><item><title><![CDATA[Meaningful Mondays]]></title><description><![CDATA[Getting Ready for 2024 (Part 3)]]></description><link>https://www.vpetrova.com/p/meaningful-mondays-1d5</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.vpetrova.com/p/meaningful-mondays-1d5</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Valentina Petrova]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 18 Dec 2023 13:15:16 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/youtube/w_728,c_limit/_heFIAa3hA0" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A little goofy how <a href="https://open.substack.com/pub/valentinapetrova/p/meaningful-mondays-fa4?r=mxyh7&amp;utm_campaign=post&amp;utm_medium=web">Part 2</a> came out twice. Sorry about that. But it eliminated your excuses for not doing the homework.</p><p>You will always face decisions to make. Some will come easy. Some, not so. Sometimes, the fear of making the wrong choice, or maybe the abundance of options, makes it overwhelming and challenging to decide. Then there's the pressure from external expectations, fear of change, or just plain old indecisiveness. And yet&#8230; decisions you&#8217;ll make.</p>
      <p>
          <a href="https://www.vpetrova.com/p/meaningful-mondays-1d5">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Meaningful Mondays]]></title><description><![CDATA[Getting Ready for 2024 (Part 2)]]></description><link>https://www.vpetrova.com/p/meaningful-mondays-618</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.vpetrova.com/p/meaningful-mondays-618</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Valentina Petrova]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 11 Dec 2023 15:18:29 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/30c2cb7f-94ff-42af-b53c-58ffc1f45ac4_600x315.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>How did <a href="https://open.substack.com/pub/valentinapetrova/p/meaningful-mondays-a18?r=mxyh7&amp;utm_campaign=post&amp;utm_medium=web">Part 1</a> go for you? Yep&#8230; I sent the draft version two weeks too early by mistake... No matter. But now you know I put a lot of time into <em><strong>Life Intelligence; </strong></em>I<em><strong> </strong></em>think and write ahead to make sure it gets done. :)</p><p>We all know what's good for us, yet following our own advice can be like trying to catch a slippery eel. One reason might be that giving advice to others is often easier than implementing it in our own lives. It feels like a gap in our brains between knowing what to do and doing it. Then there's the whole emotional and irrational side of us that can throw a monkey wrench into our well-thought-out plans. But sometimes, others can help and influence us, although other times, we resist regardless. It seems that we'd rather do something and regret it later than do the right thing&#8230; sometimes. We all have areas of strong resolve and others that are a little murky and tricky.</p>
      <p>
          <a href="https://www.vpetrova.com/p/meaningful-mondays-618">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Meaningful Mondays]]></title><description><![CDATA[Getting Ready for 2024 (Part 1)]]></description><link>https://www.vpetrova.com/p/meaningful-mondays-a18</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.vpetrova.com/p/meaningful-mondays-a18</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Valentina Petrova]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 04 Dec 2023 13:50:37 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/435ed52d-b42e-42be-815e-af039c2c7c77_600x315.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Socrates famously said, "The unexamined life is not worth living."&nbsp;That's what we'll be doing in the next few Mondays! A little trip memory lane will help us orient ourselves in the right direction and welcome 2024 with the right attitude. I know you probably forgot most of what you did in 2023 and why you did it. Life is like this.</p><p>The transfer between short-term and long-term memory isn't always seamless. Plus, our brains prioritize stuff, so if something doesn't seem crucial, it might get tossed into the mental recycle bin. On top of that, we experience a lot of interference, constantly bombarded by new information. It's like trying to focus on a single conversation at a noisy party. Stress doesn't help either. Under stress, we don't pay enough attention outside of what stresses us out, so we don't remember much else.</p><p>But I bet you remember more than you think. My goal is to jolt your memory and let the important experiences, insights, and learning resurface. Standing on that foundation, we can look into 2024 and contemplate what's worth doing and how we want to live another year.</p>
      <p>
          <a href="https://www.vpetrova.com/p/meaningful-mondays-a18">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Meaningful Mondays]]></title><description><![CDATA[Pondering Purpose (Part 4)]]></description><link>https://www.vpetrova.com/p/meaningful-mondays-fad</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.vpetrova.com/p/meaningful-mondays-fad</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Valentina Petrova]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 20 Nov 2023 13:55:14 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/b11b3519-1f39-4e89-bd3b-7e655e4bf8d3_600x315.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Meaningful Monday = Funday! Today is the last of the Pondering Purpose series. What a journey it has been. Thank you for the emails and comments. I am happy I stumbled upon my purpose for the last four weeks &#128522;</p><p>If you just joined the party, check out &nbsp;<a href="https://open.substack.com/pub/valentinapetrova/p/meaningful-mondays?r=mxyh7&amp;utm_campaign=post&amp;utm_medium=web">Pondering Purpose (Part 1)</a>, <a href="https://open.substack.com/pub/valentinapetrova/p/meaningful-mondays-d14?r=mxyh7&amp;utm_campaign=post&amp;utm_medium=web">Part 2</a>, and <a href="https://open.substack.com/pub/valentinapetrova/p/meaningful-mondays-4e1?r=mxyh7&amp;utm_campaign=post&amp;utm_medium=web">Part 3. </a>Best thing you'll do for yourself today! Possibly. LOL</p>
      <p>
          <a href="https://www.vpetrova.com/p/meaningful-mondays-fad">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Meaningful Mondays]]></title><description><![CDATA[Pondering Purpose (Part 3)]]></description><link>https://www.vpetrova.com/p/meaningful-mondays-4e1</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.vpetrova.com/p/meaningful-mondays-4e1</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Valentina Petrova]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 13 Nov 2023 13:55:23 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/728526d7-0c82-4570-821b-5dfc5b431777_600x315.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Happy Meaningful Monday to you. We continue working on the idea of purpose. There's so much to say&#8230; But more importantly, so much to ponder&#8230; If you just joined the party, check out &nbsp;<a href="https://open.substack.com/pub/valentinapetrova/p/meaningful-mondays?r=mxyh7&amp;utm_campaign=post&amp;utm_medium=web">Pondering Purpose (Part 1)</a> and <a href="https://open.substack.com/pub/valentinapetrova/p/meaningful-mondays-d14?r=mxyh7&amp;utm_campaign=post&amp;utm_medium=web">Part 2</a>. It's never too late to consider what your purpose is (or purposes are).</p><p>We continue&#8230;</p>
      <p>
          <a href="https://www.vpetrova.com/p/meaningful-mondays-4e1">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Meaningful Mondays]]></title><description><![CDATA[Pondering Purpose (Part 2)]]></description><link>https://www.vpetrova.com/p/meaningful-mondays-d14</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.vpetrova.com/p/meaningful-mondays-d14</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Valentina Petrova]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 06 Nov 2023 21:50:09 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/6372975b-e7c3-498f-be8b-72743ba0265f_600x315.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Monday is now my favorite day. Apparently so, for several of you who read last week's <a href="https://open.substack.com/pub/valentinapetrova/p/meaningful-mondays?r=mxyh7&amp;utm_campaign=post&amp;utm_medium=web">Pondering Purpose (Part 1)</a> and did the homework! Yes, Lulu is cute, too.</p><p>We continue&#8230;</p>
      <p>
          <a href="https://www.vpetrova.com/p/meaningful-mondays-d14">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Meaningful Mondays]]></title><description><![CDATA[Pondering Purpose (Part 1)]]></description><link>https://www.vpetrova.com/p/meaningful-mondays</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.vpetrova.com/p/meaningful-mondays</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Valentina Petrova]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 30 Oct 2023 12:55:20 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/d742d86f-aafb-4bce-a638-7366bdf8753d_600x315.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>You've heard of Motivational Mondays. I like the idea of Meaningful Mondays. So, here we go &#8211; a series of Mondays where I offer paid subscribers an opportunity to enjoy short posts, reflect on love, life, family, the world, etc., and ponder what makes life meaningful. Because, yeah, just like Socratese said, "<em>The unexamined life is not worth living."</em> But also looking forward to a future which, when it becomes the past, it will be fantastic to examine and reminisce about.</p><p>Not too long ago, <a href="https://open.substack.com/pub/valentinapetrova/p/why-finding-purpose-is-so-hard?r=mxyh7&amp;utm_campaign=post&amp;utm_medium=web">I wrote about the challenges of finding purpose</a>. Feel free to review for some context before you read the rest. I suggest you grab a notebook and use it for these Meaningful Mondays, like a journal. Do it! It will be worth it!</p>
      <p>
          <a href="https://www.vpetrova.com/p/meaningful-mondays">
              Read more
          </a>
      </p>
   ]]></content:encoded></item></channel></rss>