Treat yourself to some time alone and experience the art of journaling. It's cheaper than airfare, and is quite a refreshing way to jumpstart the creative process. All you need is a notebook and a pen, and a quiet place to sit where you won't be disturbed.
If you've never journaled before, it's not a big deal. A journal is like a diary. It's a private place where we can speak truthfully to ourselves, without censure. A journal can be used to express your frustrations and complaints. Yet, it can also be employed as a powerful tool for growth and change. It's a safe haven for expressing our deepest thoughts and feelings.
Once you start, you'll be in the good company of famous writers who have kept journals. Probably the best-known of these is Henry David Thoreau whose journal was an instrument for his development as a writer and naturalist.
By transferring our emotions to paper, rather than bottling them up inside, we can actually "see" our feelings on paper and then step back from them--and become a "witness" to those feelings--rather than reacting to them.
What you write should be off limits to others, unless you want them to read your words. You need to find a place that offers you a personal level of comfort. Freedom is essential to the writing. If you're worried that someone is going to read your diary, then you are going to censor your work.
|
One excuse for not keeping a journal is to tell yourself that you don't have time for it. The subtext here is that you simply aren't worth the time and that other, more urgent things, are. So now that you've decided to take some time for yourself, here's a way to get started:
JOURNALING EXERCISE:
- For this exercise, simply draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper. On the left hand side, write down all the things that make you feel good. (What are some of the things that you enjoy doing. Do you love to eat ice cream? How about going to a movie in the afternoon?)
- On the right hand side of the page, put down what you dislike doing. (For example, do you hate going to dinner parties with people who bore you?) Circle at least two things on your "I love to do" list and do them this week. Circle at least two things on your "I don't like doing" list and eliminate them from your life this month. Add to and delete from both lists on a regular basis and keep a journal of the resulting changes in your life.
For a more in-depth look at journaling, you simply need to read Unlocking The Power Within: Journaling For Personal and Professional Growth available online at
Amazon.com or goto the authors website at www.shifrastein.com to order copies of the journaling book.
|
Building Blocks For Success
 My life is my sanctuary. It is where my soul and spirit reside. I believe that you must create a life for yourself similar to the creation of a home. You have to have all the right building blocks in place in order for the structure to stand. Likewise there are four building blocks necessary for successful living.
First, You Need To Have Passion For Your Work.
Second, Your Work Must Challenge You To Grow.
Third, It Has To Contribute To The Lives Of Others.
Fourth, It Must Be Totally Right For You.
If you can't express your talent in your work, then why are you doing it? Your job is supposed to represent who you are. It's a place for your creative talent, first, then it's a place to get money. Begin to think of your work as a calling. What is it you were "born" to do? Don't worry if you can't answer immediately. The answer is within you. Let it surface.
I know people who want the most amount of money for the least amount of work. No one prospers this way. Do just the opposite. Find a place where you can give who and what you are--a place that's appropriate for you. I've found,
through trial and error, that you'll never get rich doing what you hate. That's because it's an uphill battle each and every day and it goes against the universal flow of things.
In my "Creativity and Success" workshops, I teach that you cannot receive more, until you give more. What you
have to give is your love: love of self; love of creativity; love of others; and love of spirit. When you can love, all that you are is given to that which you love, and you will prosper naturally as a result. Prosperity, then, really does become a direct effect of doing what you love.
|
