Sunday, December 25, 2011

Why I love to Journal

I was remembering a past career I once had as a journaling workshop coordinator.  My goal was to teach people in groups on how to journal and in my intro, I would always start of with 'Gratitude' as the group's first activity.  In debriefing the activity, the group would agree that they felt amazing after completing this simple exercise of writing everything they had to be grateful for, and doing so in ten minutes.   This is when I would enthusiastically say 'And guess what, everybody!?  YOU made yourself feel great!!!"  A simple journaling activity that can instantly change the way we feel- AWESOME!

The feeling of being drawn into the present moment and having the weight of burden lifted from your shoulders is what I experience regularly when I journal with my heart.   As mentioned in earlier posts, being completely honest with yourself is a requirement for effective journaling....and really being free in general.  However, we may not always have a venue/ear to vent or spill our problems to.  A journal provides a safe way for you to dump your troubles and if you are not comfortable having this out in the open, all you have to do is simply destroy the page you wrote on.  Leading to my other reason for enjoying journaling- it is a relatively inexpensive way to relieve stress.

I came across a fantastic blog post that is quite timely for the new year.  In reading this, I started asking myself questions such as 'What do I enjoy doing that makes me happy?', 'Who in my life can I spend my time with to help me grow and love?', 'What can I do to be in the present moment? ' and so on.  I highly recommend this read and would encourage you to converse with your thoughts in a journal on how you are going to make 2012 a successful and happy new year!

http://www.marcandangel.com/2011/12/18/30-things-to-start-doing-for-yourself/

And for any questions on journaling, please send an email to gautam4life@gmail.com .  And remember, be honest with yourself and speak from your heart.  :)


Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Take a breath and pat yourself on the back.....:-)

Too often, we work ourselves into a frenzy always focussing on the next step and we lose track of all that we have accomplished.  This is a journaling prompt that I used yesterday, which provided me with incredible energy and validation.  

The prompt: "I am proud of what I achieved today!  Among the many things, I am really proud of..."
and this is where you can create a list in point form or by sentence.  The magic of journaling reveals itself when the user is completely honest with themselves and does not edit their thoughts.   After doing this activity, I felt that I had provided some value to my family, my career, and my.....life!

Saturday, June 18, 2011

A quote that changes your world....

Every now and then, we come across a quote that truly changes our perception and takes our thought process to a whole new level.  These quotes seem to pop up at the most perfect times when we actually need to see them.
Yesterday, the quote that spoke to me was while I was in my doctor's office waiting for my first appointment to begin.

"Experience is one thing you can't get for nothing." - Oscar Wilde

This quote took me back to my days after university where I had dreams of coming out and getting a six figure salary job and starting my life.  The truth of the matter was, as it is for a lot of students, it wasn't that easy.  I went through many jobs, many I didn't like, to find one that I truly love.  Reading this quote yesterday reminded me that life is a journey and that all my experience has just made me a stronger individual than I was after graduating university.

Journaling activity:
Find a quote that resonates with you and spend some time journaling about why it speaks to you, your life, and your ongoing journey.





Saturday, January 8, 2011

My Wants, Vision and Mission!

Happy New Year!  I hope all is going well with your resolutions!

It is quite normal to hear about resolutions that have already failed and it has me thinking whether we really choose resolutions that align with society’s beliefs rather than our own deepest desires.  Some people even choose to not come up with new years resolutions as they feel it just sets them up for failure.  This is disappointing to hear as goals can truly help us maximize our true potential and a new year is a great excuse to start goal setting.

So, to discover those meaningful goals that you can achieve with all your heart, here is a journaling activity that might just help:  My Wants, Vision and Mission.

MY WANTS, VISION & MISSION
Note: This technique is meant to give clarity to one who is facing uncertainty.  This technique can apply to any situation big or small where the outcome may not be decided. 

a) Sometimes to discover what we truly want in our lives, it is helpful to start with all the things we do not want. 

Don’t Wants:  Write down your “don’t wants” of all the things that are less desirable and make a note of how you feel, just focusing on them.  Example: “I don’t want to spend less time with my family.”

Wants:  Now, write down all the opposite of your ‘don’t wants’ and try to be specific.  Example: “I want to spend 2 full hours with my family, 6 days a week.”

b)  Vision:  Summarize your ‘Wants’ as if it is in the present- as if you have already achieved or have your wants.  This can be a paragraph or a page, it is entirely up to you.  Example: “I am spending quality time with my family, 2 hours a day, 6 days a week and I am cherishing every minute of it.”

A second part of this activity includes challenging yourself even more and getting to specifics.  Using your wants to drive you, where do you see yourself in 3 months/6 months/one year?  What are the steps you are going to take towards getting to your vision? 

c) Mission:  What is the MISSION STATEMENT for your new attitude in life?  Write out a mantra, positive affirmation, poem, song, drawing etc. that describes how you are going to deal with conflict and fear in your life.  Or finish off the statement: “Whenever I encounter a challenge, I will…”


I would love to hear your thoughts on this activity and how you felt before and after doing it.  I know it’s magical power has brought some great abundance to my life.

Gautam Khanna

"Growth itself contains the germ of happiness."- Pearl S. Buck