Category Archives: personal growth

A Gratitude List

Posted on by
It’s Wednesday, which means it’s time to write a post about gratitude! 

Feel free to click here (or below) to learn more about our Gratitude Project. 
Okay – now for today’s post:
 
 Happy June! 
Today’s post is about keeping a gratitude list. 
 
There are so many ways you can do this – and you get to decide what feels best for you. 
Some will choose to have one notebook (like our I Am Grateful For… book) that is designated to hold list upon list of all that you love about your life. Some may keep this list on their computer. Others may just tell their loved ones around the dinner table each night what they are grateful for. 
It’s completely up to you! 
 You may choose to write a gratitude list every day, once a week, or whenever the mood strikes. 
And that’s completely okay! 

When we focus on gratitude and everything that is going right in our lives, our thoughts end up attracting more positive events and feelings. This is the kind of snowball effect that we can welcome with open arms!

So let’s all take some time today to write our gratitude list.
And then continue this practice when it feels right.

Here is mine:
 
I am grateful…
 
that I have a great start on writing my new book: 50 pages written so far, and an outline for the rest!
 
for self-care days – staying in my pjs all day, lying around, reading, and doing exactly what I want to do – whatever that may be.
 
that today is one of my self-care days!
 
for healthy green smoothies.
 
for a loving husband who supports me in everything I do.

that things seem to slowly be working themselves out between our new kitty and the older one who likes to bully her.

for sun showers – beautiful and refreshing.

that my sweet Biddle cat is such a mama’s boy – perfect for every day, but especially a self-care day.

that I am keeping my word and not working during this sabbatical.

for so many exciting possibilities and opportunities on the horizon.

for our local library – I am constantly amazed by their wonderful selection of books.
 
for all of your wonderful comments and feedback about this blog.
 
for a supportive community that understands that going within and taking care of ourselves is crucial for lasting happiness and finding our way in this world. 

In gratitude,
Jodi





Hearing Fear Out

Posted on by
Have you ever embarked on a wonderful new adventure that you were super excited about, and just when you really started to get into it with both feet in – fear stepped up and started listing all of the reasons why it’s probably not a good idea for you to do this after all and tries to get you to see how much safer it would be for you to just step back into your comfort zone? 
When this happens, what if we took some time to listen to what fear has to say? 
It’s there to protect you – it doesn’t want you to get hurt or fail or be disappointed. 
So the next time this happens for you – take some time and write down everything that the fear inside of you wants you to know.
Get it all down on a piece of paper. Give yourself the time and space needed to go within and bring up any reason why your new adventure might not be a good idea or why it’s a scary place to be.
And then you can crumble it up and throw it away.
Or…
You can go through your list one by one and turn it around.
Fear is ego-based and faith is soul-based.
Give your soul a chance to counter each point that your fear brought up.
I think you will find that if you really dig deep and go within, you no longer need fear to protect you on this journey. Your old patterns of letting fear take over will no longer work in your new life.
In my own life, I am writing my first full-length book. It’s a very personal book for me to write, and it requires me going within and really looking at myself and my life with what feels like a magnifying glass. And this can be a hard process that my ego doesn’t want me to go through – it can be painful and yucky and sad to relive certain events or examine my patterns and habits that haven’t always served me. And yet my soul knows that in sharing my story – in putting it out into the world – it will not only help to heal myself, but hopefully others as well who are sharing similar experiences. 
So when my fear starts taking over (and boy is it strong!), I recognize it for what is is: a scared ego that just wants me to be comfortable. 
And I thank it and let it know that we can’t learn and grow if we always stay comfortable. 
And then I get back to writing.
So please take some time today and look at the role fear plays in your own life. Give it a voice – let it be heard. And then either crumble it up or counter what it had to say with all of the reasons why these fears and ways of sabotaging your spirit will no longer work in your new, soulful life.
And then get back to what you know you need to be doing to grow into the you that person you were meant to become.

Be Your Own Biggest Cheerleader

Posted on by
It is wonderful to surround yourself with loving friends and family who cheer you on and support you in everything you do. 
I feel blessed that I have a great support system. I have a wonderful husband who loves me and boosts me up no matter what I do. I have a loving mom who has always been there for me and allowed me to always be myself. And I also have supportive friends who love me and honor me. Their love means the world to me. And it’s easy to sometimes rely on their support rather than look within and be my own cheerleader. 
And I started thinking about what would happen if we were each our own biggest cheerleaders? Rather than looking for love and support outside of ourselves, what if we turned inward and began to cheer ourselves on instead?

What if we loved ourselves unconditionally? 
What if we were easier on ourselves? 
What if we were our biggest supporter? 
What if we traded in our inner critics for our inner cheerleaders? 
What if we were the first ones to give ourselves a high five when we did something great?
If we are standing strong and cheering ourselves on, then our support system is an added bonus. We are no longer relying on our loved ones to hold us up any longer. 
We are holding ourselves up!
So let’s start cheering ourselves on!
What is one thing you can congratulate yourself about right now?
What have you done lately that you are proud of?
What can you celebrate today?
What is one gift you can give yourself as a reward for being so awesome?
Feel free to share what you have to cheer about in the comments section below! 
Remember that you rock, and you deserve a big cheer for that! 
P.S. – I’ll start the cheering section! This is my 101st post! I committed to writing one post a day 101 days ago, and I have done it! I love writing this blog, and I am so touched by the wonderful support I have received from so many of you. 🙂

Your Inner Circle

Posted on by
Who do you allow into your inner circle? 
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about our happiness levels being the average of how happy our top few friends were. This is so interesting to me, and it really brought home the fact that we are all so sensitive to the energy around us. (You can read more about this here.)
Because we are like sponges and tend to take on other people’s moods and emotions, I think it’s a good idea to be careful about who we let into our inner circle.  
By surrounding ourselves with friends and loved ones who give us energy instead of take it away, we fill ourselves up by being around them instead of feeling depleted. 
By surrounding ourselves with friends and loved ones who are positive and grateful, we raise our own vibration to meet theirs – and being more positive and more grateful is such a wonderful way to experience life!
By surrounding ourselves with friends and loved ones who are filled with happiness and pure love, we become happier and love flows more easily. 
***
I know that it’s not always easy to weed out your friends and family who don’t feed your soul. I know that ties run deep, and it can be hard to loosen the grip that they have on you. 
But I also know that your happiness is worth it. You deserve to be happy and positive and radiant and grateful.
And if you are surrounding yourself with anyone who isn’t on this same path, it is only making it that much harder for you to be on yours. 
Spend some time today thinking about who is in your inner circle.
Do they feed you or drain you?
And then begin the process of only allowing into your circle those who support you and feed your soul.
You are special, and your inner circle is a sacred space.
Be conscious about who you allow in.
And then celebrate being with those who celebrate you, who are happy, who support you, and who radiate love. 
 

Loving Your So-Called Flaws

Posted on by
Today’s post is a continuation of yesterday’s post about Mirror Work, where you say, “I love you” to yourself each time you pass by a mirror. 
In addition to feeling a bit goofy and awkward, this exercise can also bring up feelings of insecurity. Your inner critic may appear and start pointing out all of your physical “flaws.” If this happens, here is a great writing prompt from our Journaling Further Within book to help combat this voice and move on in a positive way:
Is there any part of your physical appearance that you criticize or don’t always feel great about?
If so, think of at least one thing that you like about it and write it down. 
By choosing to focus on what we like about our appearance instead of picking out our so-called flaws, we give energy to positivity instead of letting our inner critic control our lives.
You could even take this exercise a step further if you would like. 
The next time you are standing in front of a mirror, make sure you have a pen and notebook with you. Look at yourself from top to bottom and write down every single thing that you like about your body. Leave out anything that you don’t. (If there are things that you don’t like, use the exercise above to try to think of one positive aspect for each part you don’t like.)
The great part of this exercise is that you will have proof in writing of how beautiful you are and how wonderful your body is. This way, the next time you are feeling a bit down about how you look, you can take out your notebook for an instant self-esteem boost. 
Learning to love ourselves inside and out is a process – one that most of us are still figuring out and discovering. By taking these first steps toward loving your body, you will start your own journey toward self love. And this is truly the key to lasting happiness.

Mirror Work – Part 2

Posted on by
I love that last month’s post about Mirror Work is one of our most read posts. 
I think this is so great because I feel that self care and self love are essential for lasting happiness, and mirror work is one way to begin to love yourself. 
I hope you have been participating in my 30-day mirror work invitation: 
Each time you pass a mirror, look into your eyes and say, “I love you” (out loud). 
I have found that if you can commit to something for 30 days it truly becomes a habit, and you are much more likely to continue it throughout your life. 
(That’s how I started this blog, actually. I committed to myself that I would do it every day for 30 days and see where it took me – and now I am almost at 100 days! It’s become such a crucial part of my routine that I would miss it if I didn’t write each day.) 
And it’s the same with mirror work (or anything else you commit to). 
Louise Hay (a woman that I truly admire and look up to) believes that mirror work is the essential most powerful ingredient toward self love and self esteem.
I was listening to Hay House Radio last night and the wonderful Lisa Nichols was speaking about mirror work as well! (You may remember her as one of the prominent speakers in The Secret.) A caller asked her what is the quickest way toward feeling worthy and deserving of love, money, happiness, etc. 
This is what she recommended:
Stand in front of a mirror each day and say the following:
I am proud that you… 
(list 7 things)

I forgive you for…
(list 7 things)

I commit to you that…
(list 7 things)
Imagine how loved, acknowledged, and validated you will feel after doing this each day!
And remember that it’s completely okay if you don’t have seven things for each category. The point is to get into the habit of acknowledging yourself and praising yourself. If you have one thing that you are proud of, make sure you say it! 
Mirror work is such a great way to start loving yourself and realizing just how wonderful you truly are! Give it a try today and see how it feels! Remember that it may feel awkward and silly at first, but keep at it! Soon it will feel completely normal and wonderful. And soon you’ll start to notice positive changes happening in your life – all because you have begun to put yourself back on your priority list. 
And if you miss a few days, it’s okay! (I know that I definitely have.)
Just start up again and recommit to making self care a habit. 
Your soul will be forever grateful!

Sharing Our Gifts

Posted on by
I woke up today thinking about yesterday’s post where I wrote about Sanctuary One. 
I am so inspired by the wonderful ways they are helping animals, people, and the planet. 
I believe that we all want to be of service in some way. We all want to help others. 
And maybe we are clear about how we share our gifts. 
Or maybe we need a bit of guidance to figure out what we can give, see what our talents are, and learn how others could benefit from them.
Dan and I were filling out some paperwork yesterday for an authors’ program that we are a part of. We came upon the question, “What can you do to help others?” That is – what gifts do you have to offer that are unique and beneficial? 
We really had to think about it (and are still thinking about it, actually). The answer didn’t just flow out for either of us, which got me thinking about how deep this question really is and how important it is to really feel and be able to embrace what we are able to give to others and to the world.
This seemingly innocuous question really has us thinking about our lives and going within to find out what gifts we are truly able to bring to others. What talents do we possess that will ultimately help others live their ideal lives? What can we offer in terms of skills, talents, personality traits that will be of service somehow?
. 
We will be spending the day really thinking about this question, and I thought it would be great if we could all think about it together. 
What gifts do you bring to the world?
What do you have to offer that would be helpful and make someone’s life better?
It could be a specific skill that you are trained in (e.g., computer knowledge, editing, etc.)
Or it could be a personality trait that you have (e.g., listening, compassion, etc.)
How do you use your gifts to help others? 
How could take it a step further and use your special talents to reach more people?
Opportunities to go within and get to know ourselves better sometimes appear unexpectedly, such as this questionnaire. And staying open and seeing it as a way to learn and grow is a great way to embrace your own inner wisdom and learn what your gifts truly are. And once you know what your gifts are, you can share them with the world! 

Choosing to Change

Posted on by
(This was originally posted on 5/12/11. I’m so thankful that it wasn’t lost when Blogger reprogrammed their site. Here it is again!)

Today’s writing prompt comes from Journaling Within: 50 Prompts for Self Exploration:

If you could change one thing about your life, 
what would it be?
What I love about this question is that it empowers you to look at the possibilities for your life. It puts you back into the driver’s seat and allows you to create the life that you know you are meant to live. 
It’s so easy to shy away from change and think that you couldn’t possibly recreate your circumstances. You may feel that there are just too many external factors working against you, too many reasons why it’s just not a good idea to change. 
Maybe it seems too overwhelming and too scary. 
Maybe you just don’t feel strong enough to mix things up and break free of the constraints you have put on yourself. 
When we take responsibility for our own lives, stop blaming everyone else, and find the strength to change whatever isn’t working – miracles start happening. 

If your inner voice is telling you that something needs to change – listen. 
If you feel that a part of your life just isn’t working the way you would like it to – act on it. 
If your soul isn’t being nurtured and fed in every part of your life – do something about it. 
If you are still breathing, you have the power to change. 

And yes it can be scary, but that’s how we grow and learn.
And that’s also how we build up our own self worth, 
which is the key to true and lasting happiness.
So get out there and start consciously creating the life of your dreams! 

Blessings in Disguise

Posted on by
A writing prompt from Journaling Further Within: 50 More Prompts for Self Exploration.
Sometimes the hardest times in our life turn out to be the biggest blessings.
Can you think of a time when you struggled
but are now thankful that everything happened the way it did?
Spend some time today looking back at your life. 
Think of a hard time that you went through. 
Can you now see anything good that came from it? 
Were you able to learn any lessons from it?
Are you a better person somehow because of it?
Are you stronger? More sure of yourself? Wiser?
We all can grow from our past hurts and past experiences.
I believe that everything happens for a reason. 
We can grow from and learn from each situation that comes into our lives. 
Just like you, I have had some really hard moments in my life where at the time I truly couldn’t imagine them as a blessing. But having perspective can really change everything, can’t it? 
Wouldn’t it be great if we could take that perspective and apply it to our lives while we were in a hard situation? 
Instead of waiting until everything was healed and good again, what if we could look for the lessons while we were experiencing the difficult time? What if we stepped out of ourselves for a moment and looked to see how we might be able to learn and grow from this situation? 
We can all turn struggles into blessings – we do it all of the time. 
By changing our perspective and looking at each experience as a way to grow, the struggles become lessons instead of hardships. 
Give it a try in your own life and see how it goes. 
P.S. – All of our ebooks are 1/2 off for an entire month! Yay for sales!

Expanding Your Horizon

Posted on by
We live in such a vast universe with so many possibilities. 
And because we are all creatures of habit, we don’t always realize when we may have boxed ourselves in or gotten stuck in a comfort rut. 
I had the great fortune to speak with Star Ladin  from Star Marketing Media a few months ago. She is a branding/marketing expert and really loves to help women entrepreneurs take their businesses to new levels of success. While she had tons of great advice and observations, one thing she said really stuck with me. We were talking about Etsy, which Dan and I have had some success with. At the time, our products were only available for retail sales on our Etsy site. We had just been the featured sellers and were feeling pretty great about how things we going. 
The observation she made that day was that while Etsy was great, it was only a small drop in a world filled with endless possibilities. Why were we limiting ourselves to just one avenue of reaching people? 
I was blown away by this comment – it was a true aha moment for me. 
I had boxed myself in and gotten comfortable with the ways things were. 
I wasn’t even aware that there were more avenues to go down.
This was such an eye-opening experience for me. 
We have since started selling our journals on our own website and have begun to truly expand our horizons in so many other ways!
I am so grateful for Star’s advice that day! 
Take some time today and look at your own life. 
Is there any part of it where you are boxing yourself in? 
Are your beliefs limiting your true potential without you even realizing it? 
How can you expand your horizon? 
When we get real with ourselves about everything in our lives, we can begin to consciously create our ideal life. And the best part about this process is that the possibilities are infinite! Have fun expanding your own horizon and staying open to what’s to come. 
P.S. – Today is the last day to order before our one-month writing sabbatical begins!  
Here are our shops:
thisisit – journals, notepads, jewelry, and wedding goodies
soulful journals – writing prompt journals
quality craft supplies – handmade paper and beautiful beads
Use coupon code “love25” for an additional 25% off, too!