Creativity

Journal prompts: Creativity and wellbeing

Jen Morris

This post is featured as part of the Journal Chat Live Open House, hosted by Dawn Herring

I have had issues with depression for most of my life.

I’ve tried many different things to deal with this – counselling/psychotherapy, herbal supplements, exercise, medication, changing jobs/houses/partners etc.

However, last year when I began to consistently tap into my creative energy and express myself creatively on a regular basis, I noticed that the feelings of depression that tend to surface quite frequently with me didn’t visit so often.

In fact, if I keep tapping into mcreativity is essential for wellbeingy creativity on a daily basis, as well as doing a few others key things (exercise, rest, play, connecting with loved ones, eating well, etc), I tend to feel pretty damn good most of the time.

With all that other stuff I’m doing, how do I know it’s creativity that’s brought about this change? Because I tried all the other things before, and they didn’t work. At least, not without adding creative self-expression into the mix.

I’ve always been a creative person at heart – drawing, singing, writing since I was little, but once I hit adulthood most of that stuff sort of got forgotten about as I got ‘serious’ about life. Funnily enough, I have also spent a good portion of my adulthood dealing with depression.

I’m not suggesting that creativity is a cure-all for mental illness. But for me, personally, I have found creative self-exression to be essential to my mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. I can’t imagine my life without it now.

From my journal:

Ever since I’ve been exploring my creative side I’m a totally different person. I’m happier and more fulfilled. I feel like I know myself, what makes me happy. I feel a greater connection to the divine, to my own inner resources of strength, courage, wisdom and faith. I know that through developing a creative practice, I have a routine that supports me in daily life.

Creativity comes in many different forms. It doesn’t have to be artistic, it can be anything – cooking, building, the way you organise your furniture, or dress.

I believe that everyone is really a creative person at heart, and those that don’t think they are creative simply haven’t found the kind of creative expression that works for them yet.

>>> Prompt:

What does the word ‘creativity’ mean to you?

In what ways would you consider yourself to be creative?

In what ways would you like to be more creative?

What does creativity bring to your life? Why is it worth making time to be creative?

What are the obstacles to creativity in your life? They might be time, the opinions of others, resistance, fear, money, etc. What could you do to overcome these obstacles?

Note: this post was originally part of a series of 30 life lessons and journal prompts for my 30th birthday. You can access the rest of the lessons and prompts here.

Creativity, Self Empowerment

Journal prompts: Dealing with dieting

Jen Morris

This is a bit of a controversial topic, and I’m talking about it with the understanding that some people will disagree and possibly even get angry.

I’ve touched on this before, and I can’t possibly cover the entire topic in one post, but it is definitely one of my most important lessons.

dietingIn my personal experience over 20 years, dieting has never, ever worked. Oh sure, it gets the weight off, and usually pretty quickly. But it never stays off. Even when I’ve attempted so-called ‘lifestyle changes’ – for example with something like Weight Watchers, which seems pretty healthy and reasonable.

But over the course of my 20 years of dieting and hating my body (yes, it was around age 10 that I realised I was bigger than others and it wasn’t a good thing) I’ve learnt that it’s pointless.

It’s the same old cliche – lose some weight, gain back more. Steadily, over this time, I have gotten bigger and bigger.

You may be thinking, and indeed my thinking was similar for a long time – that it is my own fault, obviously, because if I’d just stuck with it, then the weight would’ve stayed off.

Maybe.

But given how much I have loathed being bigger, I can’t help but think that if it was just that simple, then I would’ve kept it off. I mean, it’s not a matter of being ill-informed; I know how many calories I should be eating, how many steps I should be doing, what foods to avoid, what foods to increase, what exercise is best, etc. I think most of us do.

The issue is not with a lack of education (although there are many conflicting and often confusing dietary guidelines out there, such as less carbs or less fat, 3 big meals or 6 smaller meals, etc).

You could argue it’s a lack of willpower. But honestly, having to force myself to eat less than my body seems to need forever, well… that’s doomed to fail.

Anyway, I’m not writing this to justify why I am overweight.

From my journal:

We are taught that we must try to be smaller to be good enough – we are not taught to question this. I had to find the idea and the permission to question it on my own. I had to dare to consider that I am not flawed – the whole system is.

You see, I simply decided to stop dieting. I decided to stop looking around the corner for the next diet, the one that would finally work. We are taught that if diets aren’t working, then it’s a problem with us – we just need to try a little harder, want it a little bit more.

I call bullshit. image

Dieting itself is the problem. Instead, I’ve chosen to love my body and stop punishing it for being imperfect. Does that mean I eat junk food? Sometimes, although after learning about intuitive eating, I’m eating less of it. Does that mean I’m fatter than I ‘should’ be? Yes. Is my health at risk? Well, I’ve had blood tests and they all seem to be fine. Not to mention I usually exercise several times a week.

And exercise is another thing – I now actually just do exercise I actually love, which is usually walks in nature, yoga or sometimes cycling. Gone is the guilt for not pushing myself to the point of almost throwing up – instead is the pleasure of moving my body in ways that really feel good.

I would like like to lose weight, I’m not going to deny that. But I just plan to do it gently, from a place of love, and if I don’t lose much weight when doing things I consider to be reasonable and sustainable, then that’s that. I won’t be pushing myself further.

I choose to love myself as I am, even if it’s bigger than I’d like. I believe I can love and accept who I am, but still work towards positive changes in a (mentally and emotionally) healthy way.

I once did lose a lot of weight and got down to a size smaller than I had ever previously thought possible. But I was so miserable, questioning and regretting every bite, and so insecure. I felt fatter then that I do now. Even though I am bigger now, I have more love and acceptance for myself than I did at my smallest size.

I have nothing against those of you that choose to diet, or to exercise for weight-loss reasons. Please don’t be offended by what I have said, this is simply a lesson I have had to learn for myself, about my own life.

To quote one of my favourite health at every size bloggers:

You are the expert on you.  You do not need to pay someone to tell you how to live your life.  You do not need to follow a blogger or weight loss success story to know what to eat or how to exercise.  There is no point in any of it unless it is something you personally are willing to continue for life.  What that is is necessarily different for each person.

I’ll leave you with that.

>>> Prompt:

What does the word ‘diet’ mean to you? Have you ever dieted? Did you manage to keep the weight off? If so, how? If not, why not?

If you were to reject the idea of dieting and perfecting your body, what else could you spend that energy on? How might your life look different if you chose to accept your body as it is, and focus on other things?

In what ways do you treat your body poorly? How could you do this less?

In what ways do you show your body that you love it? How could you do this more?

If you’re interested in learning more about some of the things I’ve discussed, I recommend the following resources:

Online:

Books:

Note: this post was originally part of a series of 30 life lessons and journal prompts for my 30th birthday. You can access the rest of the lessons and prompts here.

Creativity, Self Empowerment

Journal prompts: Take action on your dreams

Jen Morris

This probably seems insanely obvious. Dreams don’t just come into fruition out of nowhere.

But it wasn’t until I started journaling every day that it became clear to me there was a disconnect between my big dreams and my daily life. The act of connecting with myself each day made this absurdly obvious.

dreamsThe funny thing is, if you don’t make an effort in some way to check in with yourself, to generate awareness around your dreams and the way you are living your life, it’s easy to go months or years without realising this.

I’ve never had trouble with the dreaming side of things – that has always come naturally to me. I’m a romantic, a day dreamer, an optimist, and an ever-hopeful creative with a big heart. I’m forever dreaming up projects, plans, changes; ideal homes, days, lives.

I dream of travelling to distant lands, I dream of creating abundantly and helping others to do the same, I dream of living a sustainable life where I can live off the land and support myself. I dream of having books published, touring and inspiring thousands, leaving a mark on the world and making it a little better.

And the thing about journaling each day is that I found myself clarifying exactly what I wanted and when I wanted it. I drilled down to the bedrock of my deepest values and hopes. Suddenly, going about my ‘normal’ daily life, right after writing about the life I really longed to live, seemed absurd. Getting up to go to the same job each day to pay bills for a life I didn’t love almost became comical.

And that’s when I began to realise that unless I made conscious choices, each and every day, to take action, to step past my current life and into the life I wanted, nothing would change.

So what did I do? I started blogging and sharing my creative journey in order to connect with other creatives and develop a base from which to build an online business. I went from full-time to part-time work in order to have less stress and more mental, emotional and creative breathing room. I began the crazy process of building a tiny house with my partner. We purchased some land and moved a little further out of town so we could start to live a lifestyle more in alignment with our values.

In other words, I actually took steps to change my life. As long as I keep journaling I will maintain the awareness required to make sure my life is in alignment with my dreams.

>>> Prompt:take action

Set aside a little time when you won’t be bothered or disturbed. On an empty spread in your journal, make a giantbrainstorm (or list, or whatever method you prefer) of all the things you want. It doesn’t matter how big or small they are. You may want to visit every country in the world, or you may want to get a new piece of furniture for your home. You may want to be in better shape, or you may want to meet new people. Whatever it is, get it all out. Write until you fully run out of ideas.

Now, on another page, answer the following questions:

  • What are you doing each day to make one/some of/all of these dreams a reality?
  • What are you not doing to make them happen?
  • What is one small thing you could do today to take you one step closer to one of these dreams?

Write out this quote from Picasso and put it somewhere prominent:

Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.

Try this: remember Venn diagrams from school? On a new spread in your journal, draw two big overlapping circles that take up most of the pages (see image in the link above). In one circle, write all the things you dream of for your life and yourself. In the other circle, write about the way your life actually looks/is. In the overlap between the two circles, identify areas where you are already taking steps towards, or actually living the life you want.

Note: this post was originally part of a series of 30 life lessons and journal prompts for my 30th birthday. You can access the rest of the lessons and prompts here.

Creativity, Self Empowerment

Journal prompts: Nobody expects me to be perfect but me

Jen Morris

I think this should be the mantra of every perfectionist.

How did I get it into my head that I have to be perfect? Because when I stop to think about it, this lesson is so very true – no one else expects perfection from me, just as I don’t expect perfection from anyone else.

But when it comes to myself – my own work, my own appearance, my own life – I want it to look and be perfect. Of course, no one else looks at me with such high standards.

Unconsciously trying to be perfect is one of the things that stops me from even starting things.

When I look back now, I done somethingrealise there are so many things I’ve not done simply because I feared I couldn’t do them perfectly, even if that fear was unconscious at the time (as I think it often is). I’ve started novels, paintings, classes, careers, hobbies of all kinds, only to give up when it became clear that I wasn’t doing it perfectly.

Like my novel – I gave up because it didn’t seem good enough so it sort of felt like, what’s the point? But imagine if I’d finished it! I would have a complete novel by now if I’d kept going. It wouldn’t be perfect but it would be done.

Perfectionism is very limiting in my creativity but also in other areas of my life – how I look, speak, behave etc. I find I am often judging myself against some self-created, unreasonably high standards.

So I try to remind myself – the only person who expects perfection from me, is me. And if that’s the case, maybe I can change my expectations of myself?

>>> Prompt:

What does perfectionism mean to you? What would it mean to you if you were perfect? In what ways do you expect perfection of yourself? How attainable is this, really?

What have you put off, quit or not even attempted because of a fear of not doing it perfectly?

If you were to embrace the beauty of mess and mistakes, what could you do?

Note: this post was originally part of a series of 30 life lessons and journal prompts for my 30th birthday. You can access the rest of the lessons and prompts here.

Creativity, Self Empowerment

Journal prompts: I am enough

Jen Morris

It took me a long time to learn this, but when I sat down to think about what I’ve learned in my 30 years on this planet, this was the first that came to mind.

lesson 1

We are repeatedly told by our culture that we are not enough – not thin enough, rich enough, beautiful enough, smart enough, funny enough, flawless enough, sophisticated enough, and so on. We are told we don’t do enough, we don’t achieve enough, we don’t help enough, have enough, etc. I could write so many many more examples.

But I realised something, which I noted in my journal:

It doesn’t matter how much I am overweight, how bad my skin is, how many dimples are on my thighs. It doesn’t matter that I’m ‘overly sensitive’ or ‘cry too easily’, that I’m terrible at geography, that I make mistakes, that I get irrationally angry at other drivers and am not doing enough to save the planet. I AM STILL ENOUGH.

You are too. Just as you are, right now. You don’t need to do more, change, improve, acquire more, shrink down or expand. You are enough as you are now.

Accepting yourself as you are now doesn’t mean you aren’t able to change. It doesn’t mean you must stay the way you are. But it means that you can see your inherent value right now, and any changes you do make will come from a place of love.

>>> Prompt:

I found it incredibly liberating to list all the things I tend to judge myself for and then write in bold letters, I AM STILL ENOUGH. Try this in your journal. In what ways do you sometimes thing you aren’t enough? Write them all out, then declare, I AM STILL ENOUGH!

If you realised you were enough, as you are, right now, how would your life be different? What would you do differently?

What are some things you could do each day, to show yourself that you love and accept yourself just as you are, right now?

Note: this post was originally part of a series of 30 life lessons and journal prompts for my 30th birthday. You can access the rest of the lessons and prompts here.

Creativity, Self Empowerment

Join me for 30 life lessons and journal prompts in June

Jen Morris

 

I am turning 30 this year. I’ve spent years dreading it, feeling like I’ve not achieved enough, not seen enough, not acquired enough.

But strangely, this past year, I’ve felt nothing but peace towards approaching this new milestone. Well, peace, and actually a little excitement!

Why? The reason is that about a year ago I started my regular journaling practice, and a whole world of creativity, self awareness, self love, faith and courage opened up to me.

Instead of feeling like I hadn’t done enough, I began to see and appreciate all the wonderful things I had done. Not only that, but things in my life began to change in positive ways, too. Dreams that had long sat dormant suddenly manifested themselves in my life – I began building a tiny house, got engaged, bought some land and started my venture into blogging. I can’t help but think that regularly connecting with myself (and, I believe, something much bigger) on the page each day has had a hand in bringing these things into my life.

Now I face 30 with a sense of eager anticipation. If I can manifest these wonderful things in my life in the space of a year, imagine how I can use my journaling to create a wonderful future in the years to come!

And through regular journaling and self awareness, I’ve come to realise that in my 30 years on this planet, I’ve learnt a lot.

So, as I approach my 30th birthday this June, I want to do two things:

I want to share the lessons I have learnt (and I am sure there will be many more to come!) and I want to guide you in your journaling with prompts and insights around each lesson.

So for the month of June, I will be posting a life lesson and a journal prompt to the blog each day.

I hope you will follow along and find something of value in there!

I want to clarify that these are my life lessons – things I’ve learnt from my own experience. They may not all resonate with you and that’s totally fine. If I say something that you have no interest in, please feel free to ignore it! If I share a lesson you strongly disagree with then the comments are there for you to share your views; I just ask that you be respectful. You may want to also journal around the lesson and why you feel so strongly about it.

This is my way of marking my 30th birthday. It gives me a chance to see how far I’ve come so far, and sharing these things with you.

Please join me!

Self Empowerment

The Highly Sensitive Person’s guide to staying sane

Jen Morris

 

For years I was told I was ‘too sensitive’.

I thought there was something wrong with me because I cried easily, felt the emotional states of others around me, got upset at watching the news, felt the cold, needed extra sleep, felt easily stressed at work, or got irritated at the sound of radio adverts or noisy music playing while I was trying to have a conversation.

I thought that I was just weak or flawed for getting so easily overwhelmed by the world.

And then I heard the term highly sensitive person, and my world changed.

Apparently, approximately 15-20% of the population are highly sensitive. This sensitivity can be emotional but also physical – I tend to notice the cold and the heat more than others, feel more physically tired than others, notice sounds and other physical sensations more than others.

And then, of course, there’s the emotional side: I can cry very easily for a range of reasons. Generally when I’m feeling stressed, overwhelmed, angry, upset, joyous, relieved, frustrated… crying is often my natural response. As a teacher of teenagers, it has taken some practice to hold it together in the classroom at times!

Since learning about the term and discovering it is supported by scientific research, I have come to accept and even celebrate what I was often told was a flaw when younger. I have come to see that my sensitivity is part of who I am and that it can also be a gift.

That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t come with challenges, though. I’ve come to learn that there are things I need to do to take care of myself to ensure I don’t get too easily overwhelmed by life. I want to share the things that help me to stay happy and living my best life as a highly sensitive person.

1. Rest

This is a tough one, because I find our culture is all about productivity, growth and striving. It has taken a real conscious effort to be ok with the fact that I need more rest than a lot of others. This doesn’t make me lazy, it’s just the way my body is. My partner and family have also come to accept this about me, which makes it a lot easier. I need more sleep than others and can only manage so much in a day before needing a nap. I allow myself to rest because I know the consequences of not resting tend to be some sort of emotional breakdown, which is much worse!

2. Check in with yourself, often

For me, journaling is the best tool for this. It is a place to spill my thoughts and fears onto the page and acknowledge how I’m feeling. It is a way to remain aware of what’s going on for me, and notice if there are areas in my life that need attention. By checking in often, I can be aware of when I’m feeling overwhelmed and come up with solutions. This way it doesn’t build up until it becomes too much – it stays manageable. Journaling is an essential tool for the highly sensitive person.

3. Say no

Again, this is a tough one (who said this would be easy?!). When people you care about want things from you, you naturally want to help. And I’m certainly not suggesting you shouldn’t help if you can. But sometimes, you will have to put yourself first. Journaling can be a great way of checking in to see if you should be saying no to commitments – check in with your body and how you are physically feeling, and also your emotional state. At the end of the day, you can’t please everyone and you will die trying. I’ve found that those who really love and care about me will always understand if I need to say no. Brene Brown (her work is life-changing, if you haven’t read anything from her, get reading immediately!) has this wonderful saying that I use to remind myself: choose discomfort over resentment. That is, choose the discomfort of saying no at the time, over the resentment of committing to something you don’t really want to do.

4. If necessary, cancel

Again, a tough one – possibly tougher than the others. If you have committed to something that you just can’t fathom going through with, you have the option to cancel. It is, after all, your life, and you make your own decisions. Of course, you may have to deal with some serious disappointment from others, and it’s up to you to weigh the consequences of cancelling. But, often when I find myself overwhelmed from a tough day and dreading something I’ve committed to, I remind myself that I have the option to cancel – the choice is mine, if I want it. Sometimes even just reminding ourselves that we have the choice can be enough to make us feel better.

5. Nurture close relationships

After all this talk about saying no, resting and cancelling it can sound like HSPs lead very quiet lives, but this isn’t true at all. As much as I tend to need quiet down time alone, I also need to feel closely connected to those that are important to me, and I’m guessing this is the same for all HSPs. The people closest to me support me when I’m feeling overwhelmed, and of course bring love, joy, humour, connection and other wonderful things. One thing I have really noticed is that I struggle to maintain relationships with lots of extensive groups of people, because I also need a lot of time alone. Instead, I focus on nurturing and maintaining the relationships I have with those closest to me. Focusing my energy on these relationships is much more rewarding for me, than scattering that energy between many people.

6.  Take walks in nature

This is one of the most nurturing things you can do for yourself. Nature has so much healing power, and the calming energy from a walk amongst the trees or along the shoreline can do wonders for a frazzled soul. If you find yourself overwhelmed with life, stressed with work or even just tired, getting out into nature can remind us that everything happens in its own perfect timing, that everything is perfect as it is. Being in nature is the best therapy.

7. Allow time to just play

I think one of the things that makes me feel most overwhelmed is that I feel like there isn’t enough time to do the things I want to do. By scheduling time in to just play, or being flexible and allowing for spontaneous play, we remind ourselves that there is enough time. It takes a bit of practice to step away from whatever is stressing us out but it can be very rewarding. Not to mention, the fun from just playing in and of itself can be enough to help us feel good. For me, play includes: painting and journaling, watching TV shows and movies I love, hanging out with my partner, family or friends, playing with my puppy, going for a random drive somewhere, anything that includes laughter or being silly or goofy, dancing and singing. Your play can look any way you want it to, as long as it feels light, playful and enjoyable.

*  *  *

You can learn more about being HSP and take a self-test here. If you have any further tips or thoughts about being HSP please comment below.

Creativity, Self Empowerment

Why I took a break from blogging

Jen Morris

 

It’s time for me to get super honest.

I have no idea what I’m doing. Perhaps that has been obvious to you the whole time, or perhaps I’ve managed to fool you.

Either way, in the interests of being authentic and vulnerable, I’d rather just come forward and say that this whole blogging, newsletter-writing, internet sharing thing is a huge experiment for me.

I started my blog because I love journaling and anything to do with creativity. I wanted to share that love and the things I learn with everyone else. But the more I read other people’s blogs, the more I wanted to be like them: Running courses! Writing e-books! Blogging full-time!

Except that I neglected to realise that most of these people have been blogging for years.

So I set about making my blog just as awesome as theirs. Posting several times a week, creating a newsletter, making freebies, designing courses, looking for guest-blogging opportunities, making plans for videos…

And I stopped wanting to blog at all. I found that the more pressure I placed on myself to grow my blog and get readers and become ‘successful’, the less I felt like blogging at all.

Suddenly my blog wasn’t a place for me to share journaling goodness, to develop my writing voice and connect with others. Suddenly my blog was supposed to be a business. I even stopped wanting to journal, because every time I picked up my journal I just wrote about how I had no motivation to blog, and that made me feel so disappointed in myself.

It took some wise words of advice from a dear friend to make me step back and reassess the whole thing: take some time off.

I panicked. I can’t take time off, I have a blog to grow. But she pointed out that clearly what I was doing wasn’t working, so it was time to change tack. Take some time off and just detach from the situation for a little bit.

So I did. Several weeks, in fact. At the time I felt like the whole blog would come crashing down around me, like readers would be unsubscribing by the busload, like everything I had created so far would fade into oblivion.

But that did not happen. Instead, what happened was I found time to enjoy journaling again. I took a step back and thought about what I really want for the blog, why I want to blog, and what I want this process to feel like.

After watching this video I had an epiphany – what if I just blog when I want to?

What if I just share something because it inspires me, not because it will draw readers? What if I just let the blog evolve at its own pace, naturally, without pushing it forward?

And my passion and enthusiasm for my blog returned. Of course – it’s my blog, I can do what I like!

So I’m taking the pressure off myself. I’m showing myself a little compassion and remembering why I started: blogging for the sheer pleasure of it.

Creativity, Self Empowerment

Journal prompt: Don’t censor your dreams

Jen Morris

The good thing about journaling over a long period of time is that you can look back and see how much you have changed and grown.

Today I was reading some journals I wrote around the time I was finishing high school. I had just been overseas to the USA and France for the first time and I was inspired about the possibilities for the future. I mentioned how much I would love to study film at the Tisch School of Arts.

And then, a line or so later I declared I couldn’t afforddont-censor-your-dreams it, and would have to stay and study in New Zealand, even though that wasn’t what I wanted.

In truth, I probably couldn’t afford it. But what if I had found a way? What if I had wanted it enough and dreamed so big that I made it happen? I could have borrowed money, worked for a year to save – done any number of things to make it happen.

But I just didn’t believe it was possible.

I can’t help but wonder what my life would look like right now if I had done it. Don’t get me wrong – I’m ok with where I am in my life, but I am acutely aware that the dissatisfaction I do feel is the result of short-changing myself – of censoring my dreams to make them more ‘acceptable’ and ‘realistic’.

When I look back on past journals I see big dreams – of becoming a scriptwriter and director, an author and a singer. I wrote about how much I wanted to move to New York to pursue my dreams.

Sure, I was a teenager, full of optimism and hope. It was ok to dream big back then because ‘the future’ was still far-off and existed only in my head.

The reality is that I didn’t have the courage to pursue these things. I didn’t believe, at my core, that I could really have them – so I settled.

I’ve mentioned before that I am currently planning a business with a friend. As part of the Right Brain Business Plan, we had to imagine our business as wildly successful, and describe what that would look like. We were both hesitant to say anything too ‘unrealistic’ – so we stated ‘realistic’ salaries, working hours, locations, etc.

dream-bigWhy did we do that? We are starting from scratch. We can have anything, build anything. Surely if we dream small we will only make something small?

Perhaps it is to do with disappointment – if we dream small then we can’t be disappointed. And if others hear of our plans, they won’t scoff or laugh or warn us that we aren’t being ‘realistic’. Nelson Mandela famously said:

There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.

Once I realised we were holding ourselves back, I said to my friend: let’s dream big. This is our business, our passion, our one chance to leave our mark on the world. Who cares what people will say, or if we end up disappointed. We have to risk it to achieve big. I am sick of playing small, of censoring my dreams. She agreed.

A part of me wishes I could go back to the young me and say: Be bold! Dream big!

But I needed to go down the path I have to learn what I know now. The only thing I can do now is to move forward boldly. To dream big.

>>> Prompts:

What were your biggest dreams as a child/teenager? You may like to look back through old journals/yearbooks etc to remind yourself.

Have you achieved those dreams, or are you in the process of doing that? If not, why not?

Can you think of what may have stopped you from moving towards them – perhaps a parent’s wishes, the words of a teacher, worrying about what your friends were doing, etc?

What is it that you really really really want now? Get really quiet and listen. Try free writing about this for a few minutes and see what comes up.

Do you feel any sort of resistance or words of warning about dreaming too big from your inner critic? If so, you could try writing a letter to your inner critic in your journal – thank them for their concern about you, but declare that you don’t need them to worry and state boldly and clearly what it is you want.

How can you start to move towards what it is that you really want?

Creativity

Don’t have time to journal? Think again

Jen Morris

Sometimes we don’t have the time and space we need to be alone and journal. We may have the best of intentions but the universe puts obstacles in our way.

I like to think that these are little tests to see how committed we really are.

For a while I was getting up super early… but it wasn’t really working. I naturally need a reasonable amount of sleep, and I was struggling to get myself to bed by 9pm in order to get my 8 hours. I feel like my evenings are my time to be creative, play in my art journal, or spend time with loved ones.

I’ve been really reluctant to give my body the extra rest it needs by sleeping a bit later. Last week I started to get headaches and when I found myself contemplating a fifth cup of coffee one day I decided I just had to go with it.

But my journaling! I tried just working for a couple of days without journaling first – I thought, maybe I could journal in the evening? But it didn’t feel right. I didn’t start the day with the usual positivity and intention. I felt a little… directionless (if that’s a word).

I can’t exactly journal at my desk when I get to work because I have colleagues sitting next to me. Not exactly an environment conducive to pouring my deepest fears and desires onto the page. Plus, work is associated with, well, work. Not creativity.

As I mentioned I don’t actually have to be at work until close to 9am, so I found an unusual solution:

I journal in my car.

This way I can miss the bad traffic, but find a nice quiet place to pull over where I can write for a while before I get to work. Sure, it’s not ideal. But it’s better than not journaling at all! Given that my job is only short-term, this will work in the mean time.

At first I felt a little ridiculous pulling out my giant pencil-case in the front seat (it needs to be giant to fit my selection of pens and some washi tape).

But then I thought, who cares?

I reclined the seat, tucked my feet under me and just wrote. It was fine. I even brought coffee from home in a travel mug (bonus points to those who recognise the company logo on my coffee mug!).

The other thing I noticed is that a change in view is good. I can choose a different spot if I want a different view. I feel close to nature with trees and the rain just outside, but my car is warm. It’s still a personal space, and while I miss having my pup at my feet and burning my essential oil, it still gives me the time I need.

I’m talking about all this because I want to point out something:

Journaling can be done in many places.

I know I have talked about making a ritual out of your journaling but really if need be, it can be done when and wherever. If you’re stuck for space to be alone, why not try journaling in a cafe? You could always find a table in the corner or somewhere that you can get a little privacy. Or if you’re running between appointments and find you have a spare 30 minutes, you could journal in your car. Or in a park. Or a library. I’ve even heard of people journaling on the subway ride to work!

Find what will work for you. And if you need to, do something a little different. Don’t let life get in the way of your journaling.

How have you made more time to journal? Share in the comments.