Mar 10, 2011
Do you ever have one of those days where from the moment you wake up you feel that you are being pulled in several different directions, you have more things to do than hours in the day to do them, and you just want to go back to bed, pull the covers over your head, and try it again the next day?
Today is one of those days for me.
Our mantra has always been, “There is no such thing as a journal emergency.”
We both have the tendency to lose perspective of this at times and get caught up in the whirl and spin of orders needing to ship, journals needing to be made, and our customers needing to be put first.
When this happens, our breathing is shallow, our bodies are tight, =&0=&
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If you are feeling at all overwhelmed and stressed and wonder how you will ever get it all done – take a moment today and just breathe. Take a moment and sit with yourself. Remember that you are only given what you can handle. You are only one person and you do everything in the perfect way at the perfect time.
Take a deep breath. And then another one.
And then mindfully go through each task one by one.
Mar 6, 2011
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, =&1=& – 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.
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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.
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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?
Feb 27, 2011
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?
Have
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Feb 24, 2011
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.
Make sure you are living YOUR life – whatever that means for YOU.
There may be friction…
Sometimes when you start coming into your own power – your own authentic self – the self you know you were meant to be – friction occurs with those around you. When someone we love changes, it can sometimes be seen as threatening. It can bring up emotions, fears, and questions about our own life. This is why so many people resist it and why so many of us live lives that we know aren’t our best lives – comfortable, “I’m not rocking the boat” lives. And through this process of finding your own voice, you may have to let go of the voices you have carried within you – and this may mean letting go just in your mind or letting go of that person in reality as well.
Sometimes the perceived friction is only in our heads…
We all know how active our imaginations can be. When we are consciously deciding to live our best lives, we can start imagining how rocking the boat will lead to anger, disconnect, and complete withdrawal from those we love. We just know they won’t support us or understand this new person we are becoming. We get ourselves all worked up just thinking about showing them our authentic self. We are so afraid we won’t be accepted. And sometimes we aren’t. But more often than not, our loved ones completely support us and are completely okay with our changes. And we wonder why we were so worked up about it in the first place.
Showing ourselves and the world who we really are can More
Feb 23, 2011
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 More
