Where Do YOU Fit In?
Life is busy – that’s just the way it is.
We all have so many things to do – so much to keep track of on a daily basis. Many of us tend to be overscheduled, overworked, and overexhausted. We’re just trying to make it all work – make sure we keep up with everything – make sure things don’t unravel.
In a perfect world, there would be a 25th hour every day just so we could rest, take care of ourselves, rejuvenate, relax, and unwind.
But that’s not obviously not going to happen.
This may seem counterintuitive, but taking time for ourselves each day will actually free up more time. It’s true!
When we don’t put fuel in our own tanks, we run around on just fumes – which will eventually run out. By simply taking some time each day to refuel, we will have so much more energy for our family, our job, and our daily lives than before.
Don’t you feel so much better after you pamper yourself a little bit – read a book, watch your favorite show, meditate, exercise, take a long bath, etc.?
We forget sometimes that we are the most important part of any “to do” list. If we aren’t recharged, the list has no chance of getting checked off anyway!
Take some time today to write a Self Care List. List all of the wonderful things that you can do to pamper yourself. It can range from small things (such as baking your favorite cookies and eating them while reading a great book) to large things (such as taking a beach trip for a weekend of relaxation). Once you have your list, put it up somewhere where you will see it frequently. And make sure to do at least one thing on your list each day. Even if it’s just for a few minutes. I promise you will feel so much better – more recharged – and better able to be an active, vibrant participant in your own life. =&4=&
Take some time today to write a Self Care List. List all of the wonderful things that you can do to pamper yourself. It can range from small things (such as baking your favorite cookies and eating them while reading a great book) to large things (such as taking a beach trip for a weekend of relaxation). Once you have your list, put it up somewhere where you will see it frequently. And make sure to do at least one thing on your list each day. Even if it’s just for a few minutes. I promise you will feel so much better – more recharged – and better able to be an active, vibrant participant in your own life. =&4=&
Make Someone’s Day
A writing prompt from our Journaling Further Within book:
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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!
New Month – Fresh Start
Happy March!
I love the first day of a new month! We get to start over again. If our last month wasn’t the greatest, we can put that behind us and start again. If our last month was great – we can make this one more of the same (and even greater). I love that the possibilities are truly endless. March is an especially great month for new beginnings because Spring is just a few weeks away – new life, new growth, a new freshness starts to fill the air.
It’s completely natural in winter for us to hunker down and take more time than we usually do to go within and really think about where we want our life to go. We tend to spend extra time journaling, pondering, and organizing (both our thoughts and feelings and also our material possessions). We declutter, make warm meals, and cozy up with our loved ones in the comfort of our homes. We build our own cocoons of comfort.
And now that March is here, we can start thinking about taking all that
Your OWN Show…
I love Oprah’s new network, OWN. I have admired her since I was young and grew up watching her show. I love how she has evolved into using her show to inspire and show us all how we can live our best lives.
In one of the new shows on OWN, lucky viewers were chosen to compete for their own show. It was a great show to watch and see what each person wanted to share with the world – what they thought their strengths were – and how they chose to inspire people. It just ended a few days ago with Oprah choosing the winner and offering a great surprise! (I won’t say what that is if you haven’t seen it yet and want to watch.)
It got me thinking about my own life and if I had the opportunity to have my own show, what would it be about? It’s fun to dream about this, and it really got me to focus on what I see as my life’s purpose – what is the message that I want to share with everyone – why am I here – how can I help others – what do I see as my strengths, etc?
While I would still like to take some more time to journal about this and dream a bit more, I know that my show would be very
Journaling Within – Describe Yourself
I thought it would be fun to post questions/writing prompts from our Soulful Journals from time to time.
A question from our Journaling Within book is up first!
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Really take some time to think about this and then write what words come up.
If you would like to take it a step further, write about how you feel about these words. Did any surprise you? Are there any that you are proud of? Are there any that you would like to change? Would you want to be friends with someone who had these traits?
If you would like to take it a step further, write about how you feel about these words. Did any surprise you? Are there any that you are proud of? Are there any that you would like to change? Would you want to be friends with someone who had these traits?
Have
Affirmations and a Free Gift!
I first learned about saying affirmations many years ago after reading Louise Hay’s books. She is an expert on them, and they were a huge part of her recovery from cancer.
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If you haven’t said affirmations before, it might feel a bit strange at first. Especially when what you are saying doesn’t feel real yet.
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You created this affirmation because this is what you want for yourself – this is how your ideal life looks.
However, at the present moment, your life may be far from this. That’s okay. We all have to start at the beginning. Say this affirmation to yourself and out loud often throughout your day. Look at yourself in the mirror and say it. Write it onto post-it notes, and hang them all around your house. Even if it feels strange at first, keep saying it – keep believing it – and before you know it, it will sink in, and you will be living a calm, balanced life.
They really do work, but you have to keep at it and keep believing in it. When you say it to yourself, really feel what that calm balanced life feels like. Really remember why you created this affirmation to begin with. Really imagine yourself living this life each time you say the words.
Affirmations are amazing tools for visualizing and creating our authentic lives. They are wonderful for our self esteem and our well being.
Spend some time today writing down your affirmations. This is the fun part of the process – you get to dream and really think about what kind of life you want to create! When you write your own, make sure to write in the first person whenever possible.
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I created this screensaver for myself years ago, and I still use it today. I am happy to share it now with you! It comes with 12 affirmations – each paired with one of our paintings.
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Simply put “affirmations” in the subject line. We’ll then email it to you with instructions.
Have fun creating your affirmations, putting them up around your house, and saying them! You’ll be amazed at how much your life will change once they start to sink in!
Gratitude List and Some Kitty Love
There is always so much to be grateful for. Even in the toughest of times, you can always find even the littlest thing to be thankful for. And studies have shown that expressing your gratitude daily helps create a happier mindset, which in turn leads to a healthier, longer life.
You may want to spend some time today and write a list of what you are grateful for. When Dan and I first met, we each kept “Things That Make Me Happy Lists.” We would continue to add to them – and we had tons of entries. From the bigger things (like each other) to the smaller things (like someone letting you go ahead of them in the grocery line). These lists are great to post somewhere in your home where you will see them often. And be sure to update them frequently, too as your interests change. If you are ever having a rough day, you can go back to your happy list, and I guarantee it will immediately cheer you up. *** =&0=& =&1=& =&2=&| A once-in-a-lifetime moment…they really aren’t friends. |
| Cutie Pie Biddle |
| Sweet kitty Buncom |
| Here they are on the day they were born. |
Two years ago, we had just lost our sweet cat, Pato, after a 2-year battle with kidney failure. We were absolutely devastated and heartbroken. He was an amazing cat, and our lives revolved around taking care of him.
Who Are You Living For?
This is a really important (and sometimes really hard) question to answer.
In an ideal world, we are living for ourselves and only doing things that make us feel great and are on our authentic path.
But…it doesn’t always work this way. It’s normal to want to please others. It’s normal to want to be liked. But ask yourself at what expense are you willing to sacrifice your own wants and desires to fit in.
Think of how you live and the decisions you have made and continue to make.
Are you making them based on what you think people will want or expect you to do?
Are you making them because someone else’s voice (a parent, a spouse, a friend) is inside of you directing how you live?
Are you making them because you don’t want to upset anyone?
Are you making them because that’s how you’ve always done it?
And now think about how you want to live. The answers are always within us if we just take the time to listen.
As the answers come to you, write them down. And as you write them down, make sure that it is your authentic voice coming up with the answers. This is an exercise that you can keep coming back to with every part of your life – every decision, every action you make, every second of how you live your day.
Showing ourselves and the world who we really are can
What Do You Deserve?
This is a continuation of yesterday’s post where I talked about how we create our life with our thoughts. In this post I focus on our beliefs about our own worth.
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It all comes down to our thoughts, our beliefs about ourselves, and our self worth.
To give an example – imagine you are looking for a life partner. All you have ever wanted in life is to find someone who loves you for you – who appreciates you – who cares about you – and who would give anything to be with you. You know you deserve this.
And yet…the partners you actually end up with are afraid of commitment, treat you horribly, don’t appreciate you, and don’t
