I keeping the practice of keeping a journal and my life story and my intense thoughts for a very long time. In fact, I have found it to be a personal solace, of sorts. I really take time to practice writing regularly, even though I don’t desire to. I take the time because it helps me grow, and notice where I am in life, and if I am struggling, and why.
I LOVE to keep a journal. being one who chooses to weekly do a little self-evaluation has helped me to understand myself better, but also to manage my emotional life better. I have been able to reflect on decisions, choices and consequences, I believe and can actually hear my intuition speak louder than it ever has, because I write down what I am thinking. I was listening to Yvette Bowlin recently, on her spiritual living coaching site on Itunes called www.iheartlifeinc.com, and I really liked what I heard.
Yvette talks about all the benefits of allowing a journal to be the balance for how well your life is going or not going. Being able to address solving your problems; develop new ideas and being able to gain greater clarity are all benefits of being able to handle your life better, and gain perspective. She talks about simply being able to notice “gains” for the day, and writing them down can show you there really is progress happening in your life when you feel as though you are headed nowhere.
Even though I already knew a lot of what she spoke about, I can tell you today, I am in a happier relationship today, and able to manage my emotional life because I have taken the time to do a little self -reflection. At one point in my life, I almost gave up something I loved to do – (writing) because I would write so often, and notice that when I did several years ago, I would come back and read my journal and simply get depressed, I found out I really didn’t like anything I wrote! I know, a shame, huh? I t helped me to realize how miserable my life was, but it also helped me to recognize patterns that kept happening and showed me where I was getting stuck. Right before I got of my miserable relationship, I was about to make a life changing decision, out of self-obligation towards someone I thought I really loved. And though I was really fond of him, I had grown out a relationship with him, because, I was simply drained. I barely knew who I was anymore. And it was time for change. If you want to gain back your life, start noticing the patterns in your life and change them to benefit YOU.
You may ask: “What if I don’t like to write?” Well…you can still self-record in some way. It’s still noticing the nuances and patterns by video-taping or use of audio files. It can have the same effect. If you would like a few exercises on keeping a journal email me on my contact page or at [email protected] and I will help you out with some insightful tips!
Hope you like my pictures, I loved taking these as much as you may actually enjoy viewing them!
