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Posts Tagged ‘yourself’

Journaling Prompt – Write About Your Beauty

Wednesday, April 15th, 2009

BeautyIt is extremely rare that I feel beautiful. A couple days ago it happened. I was preparing for Passover eve’s service and something in the anticipation and the preparation, doing my hair, applying make-up, dressing up, wearing jewelry and high heels, everything together had made me feel momentarily beautiful.

You may think it’s vain. Maybe it is. But I believe that feeling beautiful is important. I envy those who feel beautiful more frequently. I aspire to do so myself.

Sometimes the beauty comes from within. An aura of love and happiness is flooding you and you feel beautiful. Sometimes beauty is obtained by external accessories. I don’t think it matters. What matters is that you FEEL beautiful.

Whether the looks I spy are looks of admiration or of mockery, so be it – as long as I feel beautiful.

I used to think that as a feminist women I should always emphasize my wits rather than my beauty, but I have discovered that man love to strut just as much. “Big-shot” male lawyers are wearing suits and ties and diamond cuffs to help them feel more confident (or more dominant, more successful) – why should us women be denied of that feeling of accessorized confident?

Confucius had once said:

Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.

For this week’s journaling prompt I want you to not only see your beauty, but also to write about it. Grab a pen and your journal and write: “Today I looked at the mirror and felt BEAUTIFUL, because…”

Writing your feelings helps you validate them, and I want you to validate your sense of personal beauty. What makes you feel pretty? Is it a new hair do? Is it exercising and eating sensibly? Is it a glow of happiness? Are you shining because you are loved? What is it? Write it down.

To sum up this journaling prompt I want to share a quote by Peter Nivio Zarlenga:

Beauty is being in harmony with what you are.

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What makes you feel beautiful? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

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Journaling Prompt – Taking Flight

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

Taking Flight - Safe Haven There are times in life when we feel the need to take flight. We wish we could grow wings and fly away to our a safe haven.

There are numerous reasons to take flight. A difficult phase in life. An impossible struggle. A hurtful situation – either physically (i.e. facing a bully…) or psychologically. An unsuccessful business move or a general feeling of discomfort with the present situation.

Safe havens can be perceived in two different ways:

  1. An actual place you go to, when you want to get detached. A book. The park. The beach. A mountain trail. Etc.
  2. A fantastic place where you’d rather be, if only you could teleport yourself there…

For this week’s journaling prompt you can take the notion of taking flight either way.

  • Where do you go to when you feel the need to hide?
  • From which situations would you like to take flight?
  • Have you ever wanted to disappear? When? What happened?
  • If you were able to grow wings and fly, where would you go to?

When I feel overwhelmed I either start painting or read a book I feel connected to. I wish I could teleport myself to a place where only pure goodness exists (I’m not sure they’ll let me in…) Being next to my nephew is close enough…

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Where (and when) would you take flight to? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

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Journaling Prompt – Write YOURSELF A Love Letter

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009
Valentine Day's Card
[Photo by: Howie Luvzus]

This weekend, many lovers across the globe are going to celebrate Valentine’s Day. You exchange love notes, maybe some chocolate and flowers with your loved ones – be it your significant other or be it a good friend, a child or an appreciated teacher. But what about being your own Valentine? Have you ever considered it?

Truth be told, the people you love do not need a special day to be loved and appreciated. You’ve got anniversaries, meet-ups, joint celebrations and the everyday life to send cards and small tokens of love and appreciation. With you, however, the situation may be different.

Mostly people do not take the time to love themselves and to indulge in a day of self love, why not make Valentine’s day your day?

For this week’s journaling prompt I suggest you make yourself a nice card and in it you are going to write some loving words to yourself.

By scaling down your journaling to a standard 4¼” by 5½” card, it is going to be less intimidating to find the kind and loving words to fill up your card.

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Will you consider being your own valentine?
What kind and loving words can you tell yourself?

Leave a comment and share your thoughts!

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Journaling Prompt #26 – Give Thanks To Yourself

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

30 Days of Gratitude- Day 8 [30 Days of Gratitude- Day 8 by aussiegall, on Flickr]

Showing your gratitude is an important habit to incorporate in our day-to-day lives, rather than once per annum. Having said that, it is also very important to have a yearly reminder to stop our daily race and be thankful for everything that we have, taking nothing in our life for granted.

However, this year I suggest to go about it a bit differently. Use this year’s reminder to give thanks to yourself. You are often forgotten in the process of expressing your gratitude, let us fix that this year.

Have no doubt, I am not underestimating any higher-power you believe in or any of your friends and family or any of your heroes, that have helped you come thus far. On the contrary, you should never stop appreciating and being grateful to them. I am a great supporter of showing your gratitude, perhaps with a handwritten letter of appreciation or any other way that suits you.

Still, showing gratitude to the ones you believe in is easy and mainstream. Giving thanks to yourself – is not.

Therefore for this week’s journaling prompt I urge you to take a few moments and jot down everything in yourself that you are thankful for.

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What do you have to be thankful for? leave a comment and share your self-gratitude feelings.

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Journaling Prompt #23 – The One And Only, YOU

Wednesday, October 29th, 2008

The one and only, YOU! I have noticed lately, that I say: “X, the one and only” very often. (The ‘x’ naturally stands for a different person each time.) This figure of speech has made me ponder…

Aren’t we all unique individuals? Isn’t each of us “the one and only”?

Every person is born and keep on growing and forming into a unique person. Everyone has a special set of skills, traits, thoughts, aspirations and looks. No one is the same (and thanks god for that 🙂 .) Everyone is one of a kind. Everyone has something he/she is particularly good at. Everyone can contribute a different outlook or a distinctive set of mind to a conversation. Everyone is unique.

A while back I have written a post on the importance of being authentic. Being authentic means to stay true to yourself and to believe in your own way. While authenticity is something you need to nurture, uniqueness is something you inherently have.

For this week’s journaling prompt I ask you to embrace your uniqueness.

Grab your journal and start writing:

  • What are your strongest traits?
  • What are your best skills?
  • What would the following people answer, when asked to describe you in a sentence:
    • Your colleague.
    • Your friend.
    • Your kids.
    • Your husband.
    • Your parents.
    • Your sibling.
  • What differentiate you from others? What makes you special?
  • What makes you, ‘YOU’?

Be nice to yourself! Write a long list or a short list, it doesn’t matter – as long as you are taking the time to observe and embrace your uniqueness.

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Leave a comment and share your uniqueness with us.

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Journaling Prompt #17 – Regrets

Wednesday, September 17th, 2008
two paths.  choose one.Image by Ryan B. Schultz via Flickr

There are infinite forks in life’s road. You are constantly obliged to make decisions and in today’s fast pace living you need to make your choices quickly. Each decision you make is also a path you choose to go through and a path you choose to abandon…

All these paths you have not chosen to take can lead you to the notorious, yet inevitable question: “What if…”

Sometimes the “what ifs” in our lives are wrapped in a misty veil of daydreaming about parallel lives. Sometimes the “what ifs” are smothered with the ugly bitterness of regret.

Crying over spilled milk is useless. We have established that, haven’t we?! But somehow we do not manage to actually apply that rule… The temptation of regret is too great (I have failed to understand why. It might have something to do with the part of brain who’s in-charge of Pringles related thoughts 😉 ).

Regrets can show up in our lives over minor things (like spilled milk…, a photo not taken, a missed train) and sometimes we can regret an entire journey we have taken or not taken in life.

This week’s journaling prompt is to write about your regrets.

Today, for instance, I regret opening up the door to a total stranger and letting him fiddle around with the intercom… (It might be well worth regretting… I hope a follow up post won’t be necessary 😐 ).

I have also other, more profound, “what ifs” on my mind at almost any given moment. It isn’t healthy and it is totally futile, but if the regrets are occupying my thoughts anyway, why not to spill them over on a piece of paper and get over with them?

So, what are your “what ifs”? What revolving doors are you daydreaming about? What are your regrets in life? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment on this post.

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Journaling Prompt #16 – Impossible Achievements

Wednesday, September 10th, 2008

You can do anything you set your mind into doing. I know you can.

There are many times when you (and I) are questioning our abilities and not realizing how powerful we really are. In these days stories of heroes like Dick & Rick Hoyt, a father and son also known as “Team Hoyt”, can motivate us and remind us that we can!

I was about to write a different prompt, but the Hoyt story had inspired me so much that I decided to change my original journaling prompt for today. I wanted you to be as inspired as I have been.

Tremendous achievements like this one of the Hoyt Team are keeping us in awe, but we must not forget our achievements – small ones and big ones alike. Our own achievements throughout the years can not only inspire us on bad days and respark our motivation, but can also inspire our posterity. Both objectives are important enough for us to take the time and write down our accomplishments.

This week’s journaling prompt is to make a note of our achievements.

5 Ways To Keep Track Of Your Achievements:

  1. Make a list. Jot down a simple list of all your accomplishments. List everything that comes in your mind. Do not belittle any of the things. Do not criticize them and do not consider whether anything is worthy of being listed. If you have done something that pops into your mind when you are thinking about you life’s accomplishments, than it belongs there.
  2. Use a time line. Different stages in life call for different challenges and also bring along different achievements. Make a simple thematic, as well as chronological, time-line. From childhood/through your teens/college/university/career/family and so on. Let the time line guide you through memory lane and write what where your achievements on each step. This process can provide an interesting outlook on life and on your personal development.
  3. Concentrate on 3 main achievements. Personally, I prefer to remember both small and big achievements. Many times things which are considered small now can take a turn later on and become much more appreciated. However, if writing down your entire history of achievements sounds too tiring and time consuming, than concentrating on the major ones is better than nothing. Think about 3 things that you are most proud of and write everything you can remember about them. Choosing just 3 accomplishments enables you to take your time and thoroughly document all the relevant details as well as the emotions which were involved – before/during and after the deed. Don’t forget to also mention how did that personal success contribute to you on the long run.
  4. Write a letter. Try a different take on commemorating your greatest accomplishments. You do not have to actually send those letters, but the different format might yield different set of emotions and a new perspective that you may appreciate afterward.

    • Write a letter to yourself. That method works well with recent accomplishments that you might forget in the future. Write down one major thing that you are proud of or a list of your recent accomplishments and mail it to yourself or tack it in a place you don’t frequently go to. You will be happy with the boost of confidence you will get once you reopen that letter.
    • Write a letter to your child or to your future child. In the letter include some of your main accomplishments. Describe the struggle you had experienced in achieving them and how the process itself, as well as the end result, had helped you to evolve.
    • Write a letter to the people on your journey. Write a letter to the supportive husband, friend or colleague who had helped you to achieve what you have achieved. Write how much you appreciate their help and support. Write a letter to someone who stood in your way. Write to your boss or to a former boss who did not believe in you and brag.
  5. Start a habit of awareness. One of the first posts on Creativity Prompt called for paying attention to “the little things” in life. If you haven’t done it already, adopt a new habit of awareness today. Start or finish each day with journaling about all the things you have achieved that day (or the day before). Write everything down and amaze yourself with how well you have actually done. Writing down everything from the day you were born may be overwhelming, but don’t let this staggering feeling stop you from starting a new habit from now on. After all – you deserve it.

What are your greatest accomplishments? Is it the little things in life or the huge successes that you are mostly proud of? Please share your thoughts with me and leave a comment.

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