Self Empowerment

Be present to be inspired

Jen Morris

I got home from work this afternoon and was in a bit of a rush. I had lots of things to do but I knew I had to walk the dog before I could do anything else.

So I threw on my walking gear, grabbed the dog and headed out. Usually I listen to an audio book when walking because otherwise I tend to get a bit bored. Today I left my headphones at home because I figured it would be a quick walk around the block so I could head home and get on with things.

And a funny thing happened. Instead of powering around the streets I noticed myself walking slowly.

I noticed myself noticing.

I heard things I never normally hear: the sound of the wind through the trees, the crunch of my shoes on the ground, children playing in a nearby park, the distant drone of a lawnmower, birds above me.

And it wasn’t just my sense of sound that was better – all my senses felt heightened. I noticed the warmth of the sun against my skin, and the gentle touch of the wind. I could smell the sweet scent of early spring flowers.

I even saw things around me that, for some reason, I normally don’t see. One house I walk past all the time has chickens in their front yard. Another has a cute little caravan nestled at the back of their lawn. I found myself noticing tiny details and wondering about them.

What made this walk different from any other walk I’ve taken? I was present.

Rather than rushing through the walk to get home, to get things done so that I could get to bed on time in order to get up early and make it to work on time… I was present in that moment. I was walking slowly and my senses were engaged. I was savouring the moment.

Sure, my heart wasn’t pounding, I wasn’t sweating profusely, nor was I toning my buns and thighs. But I felt a little more alive and a little more inspired, by being fully present in the moment. And now I find myself with a little more energy to go and work in my art journal, something I’ve been ignoring for days.

The word ‘inspire’ literally means to breathe in. By ‘breathing in’ the world around us through deliberate awareness, we can ‘breathe in’ inspiration.

If you find yourself feeling uninspired, take a moment to focus on the present. Savour what is in front of you. Sit somewhere comfortable and sip a cup of tea slowly. Sit in the sun and notice how it feels on your skin. Go somewhere that you can listen to the birds. Take a long bath and luxuriate in the feeling of the water against your body. Notice what your senses are picking up.

Breathe.

Creativity, Self Empowerment

How journaling improved my relationship

Jen Morris

When I first started journaling regularly, I began to develop a deeper relationship with myself. With that came a desire to express myself creatively and I even began to imagine the possibility of starting my own creative online business.

And something else happened too: my relationship with my partner improved.

I didn’t plan for this to happen. I certainly didn’t start journaling with the intention of improving my relationship. But it was a happy side-effect.

In fact, it wasn’t until I looked back on the benefits of journaling after doing it for several months that I realised how wonderful things had been in our relationship at that time.

Why did our relationship improve? I think it’s because I had made myself a priority.

It sounds paradoxical, but by putting myself first – by regularly journaling, connecting with myself and nurturing my creativity – I had formed a better relationship with myself, which had a flow-on effect to our relationship.

I’ve heard it said many times that you can’t love someone else or be truly loved by someone else until you love and accept yourself.

Over the past six months, through my journaling, I have developed a level of self-acceptance – no, self-love – that I have never before had.

For the first time in my life I can honestly say that I love and accept myself, exactly as I am, with all my imperfections. Journaling (and quitting dieting) has helped me to get to this point.

By loving and taking care of myself every day, I have become a happier, more secure and more creatively fulfilled person. And this has had a profound effect on my relationship.

In what ways? Well, we don’t argue very much at all. We actually spend less time together, because I spend a lot of time doing my creative things (he’s very understanding because he has his own creative things), but the time we do spend together is quality time. It’s enhanced by me being happier, more relaxed, more fulfilled and more in touch with who I am.

So, if you’re looking for a way to improve your relationship, try taking some time out for yourself regularly to journal or do something creative.

Have you noticed any outward improvements in your life or relationships because of your journaling practice?

What Inspires Me

What’s inspired me this week

Jen Morris

Every week I share some of the things that have inspired me online recently. Please feel free to add any of the things that have inspired you in the comments!

A really cool interview with journaler Dawn Herring

Mel asks the big questions about creativity and work

Your impact matters

Found this online course and thinking about taking it to help me launch my online creative business

Can’t wait until I have some time to explore this amazing art journal class

Creativity

25 Days into the 100 Day Project: A reflection

Jen Morris

Today is the 25th day of the 100 Days Project. I’m a quarter of the way through the project, and I want to reflect on how it’s going.

It’s hard.

I know I’m probably not supposed to say that, but in the interest of being authentic and vulnerable, I should be honest.

I’m actually really enjoying the challenge of coming up with new topics and things to post. I’m enjoying the daily journaling and creativity, the daily commitment. I’m enjoying getting comments and support from readers and other bloggers – that has been such a huge pleasure.

This is the first time I have blogged this consistently.

It keeps me focused on what matters in my life: creativity and sharing my creativity with others.

But some days I am tired. I work as a teacher which requires a great deal of energy. It is especially difficult at the moment because I have moved to a new school which is further away – so I have to get up extra early if I want to journal before work. That is fine, but then it means that I have little energy in the evenings to blog, or do any other creative work, such as my art journal, or poetry.

Oh, and my best friend and I are planning our own online business, which takes a lot of time and energy too! But it’s the good kind.

heart close upSo what does this mean for my blogging? Nothing much. I’ve thought about stopping the 100 Days Project but in truth I don’t want to. I enjoy the challenge. I like being committed to something. I like having to share my thoughts and my creative practice regularly. I think if you want to achieve something creative, particularly writing or art, doing it every day is important.

Can I keep going for another 75 days? I don’t see why not. When I read about amazing inspiring people like Lisa Sonora’s 1008 paintings project I am just blown away. It makes me laugh about my 25 days of blogging.

Lisa says throughout the course of the project she dealt with questions such as:

‘How do we stay on track with a big goal?
How do we start again when we’ve gotten sidelined?
What supports constructive action and creating? And what undermines?’

These are things I should explore in my own journal. If I’m feeling like I want to give up, why is that?

why I want to blog

Susannah Conway has said that every week she worries she has run out of good blogging material. Anne Lamott says that she often worries she has run out of ideas. So I guess the mild panic I feel each day about what to blog about is only normal.

I like the fact that it keeps me on my toes. The discomfort and challenge of blogging every day is good for me as a writer and artist. It keeps me pushing forward towards a goal, even when it feels a little uncomfortable.

So, on that note, here’s to 75 more days of getting outside my comfort zone!

Creativity, Self Empowerment, Spirituality

When in doubt

Jen Morris

When you’re pushing for something you really want and it doesn’t seem to be happening as quickly as you’d like, it’s easy to lose faith. It’s easy to start doubting yourself and your dreams.

But, you just have to remind yourself to have faith.

Everything is exactly as it should be.

When I start to feel doubt creeping in, I write myself little reminders in my journal.

I find writing things like ‘have faith’ and ‘trust the process’ work as great reminders to myself.

It’s like having a wise friend reminding me that things will work out.

If you’re feeling doubtful about your dreams or goals, try writing affirmations to yourself in your journal. It always works to get me back on track.

What Inspires Me

Find beauty in the ordinary

Jen Morris

Today, take some time to look around you. Notice the beauty in the most ordinary things. Sometimes we can get so busy running from one thing to the next, or thinking about what is coming to us in the future, that we forget to notice the beauty around us now.

ordinary-beauty

Some of the beauty I noticed today:

  • Cuddles with my puppy
  • A hot cup of coffee
  • The scent of beautiful flowers
  • Dinner with my family
  • Laughs with my partner
  • Time alone to journal and be creative
  • A warm and cosy bed to come home to
  • A lovely comment on a blog post

There are many things I hope to achieve in the (near) future, but I also aim to remind myself of the beauty around me in my life right now.

Look for beautiful and ordinary moments in your day. Write your own list in your journal.

Creativity, Self Empowerment

On authenticity, vulnerability and courage

Jen Morris

These words are thrown around a lot. Especially the word ‘authentic’. It’s become a self-help buzzword, of sorts. What does authenticity really mean? I believe it is closely tied with vulnerability and courage.

Why? Because in order to be truly authentic – that is, to be truly yourself – you need to have the courage to be vulnerable, exposed. Being who you really are in a world that constantly tells you to be someone else requires courage. Especially if who you are is a little different.

The word vulnerability is a little scary, isn’t it? Sounds a bit dangerous, a bit risky. But really, there is a paradoxical truth here.

Vulnerability actually empowers us.

The more that we can truly own who we are, claim our identity and just be us – the less that others can influence us or hurt us. No one can take away who you really are. And if you know and love your true self, it really doesn’t matter what others think or say about you.

I’ve been finding that the more I come to accept and embrace – even celebrate – the quirks that make up who I am, the more I am forced to be vulnerable. I have to share myself, my true self, with others. It’s very difficult to tell ourselves that we are good enough while actively hiding parts of ourselves from others.

But a strange thing is happening: The more I share who I really am with the world, the more I am developing courage.

Brene Brown likens courage to swimming – you get good at swimming by practicing swimming. Similarly, you get good at courage by practicing courage. This makes sense.

So often we don’t share our true selves (our feelings, opinions, dreams, hopes, disappointments, fears) with others, because we don’t feel brave enough. We hide who we are; we are afraid to be vulnerable. We lack courage. It is only through the practice of being vulnerable that we can develop courage.

This can all seem a bit abstract. Let me put it in concrete terms. For me, vulnerability and courage look a bit like this:

  • Making peace with the way I look, including being overweight, and accepting that some people will have a problem with that (but that’s not my problem)
  • Accepting that others may judge me for some of my unconventional beliefs/choices (such as wanting to live in a tiny house, refusing to watch the news because it makes me very sad, not caring about things like fancy weddings or expensive clothes/makeup, choosing to be at home alone rather than out partying, refusing to eat low-fat dairy – because really, what is that?)
  • Being open about how I feel if I’m having a bad day
  • Asking questions when I am unsure, even if I think I’ll look stupid
  • Not caring what others think of me (still working on this one!)
  • Sharing personal things about myself on a blog!

But I’ve come to realise that in order for me to be authentic – to feel like I am accepting and loving who I am and just ‘being myself’ – I need to be willing to be vulnerable. I must have the courage to share who I am with others, regardless of what they will think of me.

Journaling has helped me immensely with learning to love myself and developing courage. The more often I engage in a journaling dialogue with myself, with my dreams and desires, my fears and opinions, the more I come to accept and even celebrate who I am.

Some questions to ponder in your journal:

  • What does authenticity mean to you? And courage? Vulnerability?
  • How authentic do you feel you are? Would you say that most people know the ‘real you’?
  • Are there parts of yourself that you deliberately keep hidden from others? What are they? Why do you hide them?
  • Are there parts of yourself you would like to share with others more readily?
  • How could you be more authentic? What parts of yourself could you start to share?
What Inspires Me

What’s inspired me this week

Jen Morris

Lots of inspirational findings online this week! It was hard to narrow it down to just a few…

If you have anything that’s inspired you this week, please share it in the comments below.

Creativity

Journal prompt: The ‘stop doing’ list

Jen Morris

I’ve started reading The Creative Entrepreneur by Lisa Sonora Beam, and I love it. I’m a very visual person and the thought of planning a business the ‘normal’ way bores me to tears. But this book is something else!

Anyway, I got this awesome idea from it: the ‘stop doing’ list.

We are so busy running around, dashing from one thing to the next, and running a mental checklist of all the things we have to do. I feel like I have a never-ending to-do list, and just when I think I’ve checked off something I find another five things to add to it.

The focus most days seems to be on adding to the list, rather than ticking things off.

As a highly sensitive person, it doesn’t take much for me to feel overwhelmed. On my busiest days, I sometimes find the simplest things to be too much.

While I find writing a to-do list to be helpful as it allows me to organise my thoughts, I really like the idea of a stop doing list. Rather than writing another list of things I have to do, things I’m cramming into an already full schedule, why not look for the things I can stop doing, the things that don’t really add any value to my life?

stop-doing-list

>>> Prompt:

Take a fresh page in your journal. You can complete this prompt in whatever way feels best for you: a list, a mindmap, visually, or just free writing whatever comes to mind. If you like to use a filofax or a planner, it might be nice to take one of your to-do pages and change the heading to ‘stop doing’!

Now, consider all the things that you do on a regular basis that don’t contribute anything to your life, or contribute very little. What can you take away so that you can allow more space for the good things to grow?

Here are a few of the things from my stop doing list – things that don’t add any value to my life:

  • Browsing Facebook and Instagram aimlessly
  • Online shopping for craft supplies (mostly – this is a tough one!)
  • Complaining about feeling tired
  • Watching TV shows/films I don’t absolutely love
  • Spending time with people who don’t support my dreams or don’t ‘get’ me
  • Going to bed late

Take one thing from your list and make a real effort to remove it from your life for the next week. See if it makes a difference! For the next seven days I really want to work on complaining about feeling tired – I really want to spend less of my energy thinking about that, and more energy focused on the good feelings.

I think it is essential that we take a good look at our lives from time to time to see what’s working and what’s not. It’s easy to fall into bad habits without realising.

If there are things you can take out of your life so there is more room for the good stuff – then do it!

Having more time and energy free to dream, journal, be creative, be positive and just move at a slower pace will contribute to a greater quality of life than keeping up with the Kardashians or catching up with friends you don’t really love to be with.

It’s your life and your time, so you get to choose how you spend it. I know we all have obligations (work, kids, partners, looking after family members, etc) but often we are spending our free time in ways that don’t actually add value to our lives. You have control over how you spend this time!

Stop doing the things that don’t add to your life.