Category Archives: journaling

Choosing to Change

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(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! 

You Make the World a Brighter Place

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Today’s writing prompt comes from our Journaling Further Within book:
Think of a friend or family member 
whose life is better because you are in it. 
How do you make their life a little brighter?
We frequently impact our loved ones’ lives more than we know.
This is a great exercise to do when you are feeling great about yourself, and then you can go back to it and reread it whenever you need a little self-esteem boost.
If you aren’t sure what sort of impact you make on their lives, ask them. 
I’m sure they would love to share how wonderful you are, how much joy you bring them, and how happy they are to have you in their life. 
This is a great way to bring you closer together, too. And positive feedback and warm fuzzies are always so good to hear and feel. 
You matter, and you are definitely making a difference in someone’s life. 
And that’s such a great thing!
P.S. – Thank you to everyone who has answered our weekly poll so far! It’s in the top right corner, and there is still time to answer. It’s about the things you do to relax and recharge, and reading and spending time with pets are the top two choices so far! 

Embracing the Good

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I love choosing one of our Soulful Journals and randomly picking a writing prompt.
Today’s question comes from our Journaling Further Within book:
When something good comes your way, 
are you able to embrace it or do you sabotage it? 
If you do sabotage yourself, can you think of why you might be doing
that and what you can do to change?
Why Sabotage Yourself?
You might be wondering why we would ever sabotage ourselves from receiving something good into our lives. 

It could be for a number of reasons:
Maybe you were comfortable with how things were going in your life. 
Maybe the unknown is scary – even if you know that the unknown is a good thing.
Maybe you feel that you aren’t really worthy of this good news or good fortune.
Maybe you are afraid that now you will have no excuses – nothing is standing in the way between you and your own happiness. 
Maybe you are waiting for the bubble to burst or the other shoe to drop. 
Maybe you think that something this good definitely couldn’t truly happen to you,  
and you wait for it to go away.
The Right Emotion at the Right Time
It’s okay to not be completely ecstatic when good news appears in your life. 
It’s okay to take some time to take it all in.
It’s okay to sit with it until you understand the ramifications of how it will change your life.
It’s okay to notice any feelings of fear, anxiety, or uncertainness that surface. 
It’s okay to be in whatever emotional state that you are in. 
As long as you are aware of your emotions and are able to delve into why you are feeling the way you are, you’ll come to see that any reaction to any circumstance is just right.
Embracing the Good
By truly believing that you are worth all of the good fortune that you are receiving, you will open yourself up and be able to embrace all of the wonderful things that come your way. 
Hopefully after spending some time calming down your own saboteur and building up your self esteem, you will come to realize that you truly deserve happiness.
You can start to embrace all of the good that enters your life!
You’re worth it! 🙂

The Importance of Following Through

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If you’re anything like me, your head is usually spinning with lots of ideas, you have started many wonderful projects, and you feel scattered and overwhelmed at times at the prospect of finishing them all. 
Because we are currently restructuring our business, I have had a lot of time to really think about how I work – what tends to happen – and how I can be more efficient and finish all of these fun projects.
Following Through
And while thinking about and talking to each other about all of this, Dan and I realized that it’s not so much the actual projects or goals that are the issue here – it’s really about keeping our word to ourselves – following through and finishing what we started. Because each time we do this, we are building up our self esteem – we are creating a habit for ourselves where in the future we will just assume that we will finish any project we start because that’s what we do. We know that we will keep our word both to ourselves and to others because we will have a proven track record of doing so. 
Creating a Habit
I started this blog exactly three weeks ago with the intent to post every day. In the past, blogging was one of the many projects I wanted to start and had every intention of keeping up with but seemed to get put into the pile of unfinished projects. This time it’s different though. I really feel that I have found my niche, and I am committed to following through and keeping my word to myself. A habit is formed after three weeks of performing it regularly – so yay! I now have created a blogging habit. And a wonderful bonus is that I get to write everyday and create this wonderful community with all of you!
Holding Yourself Accountable
Many of us make resolutions each January only to give them up by February. And this can really do a number on our self esteem. We will start to question whether we are truly able to keep our word at all. When future goals come up, we will wonder if we should even commit to anything given our past track record of not following through. This can be extremely detrimental to our own well being, which is why keeping our word to ourself is so crucial. 
In our Commitment Book, we created a simple system that holds each of us accountable for keeping our word. We emphasize that the goal itself isn’t as important as following through on it – it’s just an added bonus.
We suggest to start really small with your first goal – something that you know you can succeed at. That way you will be creating a habit and building yourself up to where you know you will be able to complete any goal you set for yourself in the future. 
Good ideas are only that without following through and
committing to making them happen. 
Create the habit one goal/project at a time, and you’ll truly be amazed at how good you feel about yourself – and imagine how much lighter you will feel when all of these unfinished projects that have been taking up space in your mind and home are completed!
What do you want to commit to today?

Make Someone’s Day

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A writing prompt from our Journaling Further Within book:
If you could wave a magic wand over one person’s life, who would you choose? 
How would you help them?

The great part about this question is that the possibilities are truly endless – you have a magic wand, after all! Dream big and really think about how great it would feel to help someone in need! 
After you’ve spent some time brainstorming, take some time to write about what you came up with. 
And even if you don’t have a magic wand in real life, you can always help someone with what you do have: your words. You can tell someone how much they mean to you today, give someone a compliment, thank someone.
Spread the love today – we all know a little bit of love and gratitude goes a very long way! 

You’ve Already Gone So Far

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Imagine that you are climbing a very tall mountain. You are struggling to take each step, and all you see is the peak far, far away. You keep going though – one step at a time. And after awhile, it might feel that the peak isn’t getting any closer, and you feel so tired and aren’t sure if you can take another step. When this happens, look down for a moment. Notice how far away the ground is. Realize just now far you have already gone – how much progress you have made.

So often we focus solely on the goal ahead, which at times can feel overwhelming and so far away. Taking a moment to look back and realize how far you’ve already gone in your journey immediately puts things in perspective and does wonders for your self esteem.

So the next time you are struggling and running out of steam – take some time to think about or write down just how far you have come since you started on this path. You’ll be amazed by how far you have already gone. 
In gratitude,
Jodi and Dan