Your most important relationship

Which relationships in your life are the most important to you?

Really.

Stop reading for a minute or two and think about it.

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Do you have your list?
Who’s on it?

Did you list your parents?
Your spouse or partner?
Your children?
Other family members?
Your friends?
Your pets?
Your colleagues?
Your neighbors?

Did you put yourself on that list of most important relationships?

I did this exercise in a journaling mini-retreat a few months back
And it was fascinating to see that most of our attendees did not think of themselves.

As we talked about it, a look of surprise and recognition came over their faces -
”I didn’t think about it, but it makes so much sense!”

No matter who we have in our lives, we always have ourselves.
Are we valuing that relationship?

What would it look like if we did?
How can we make that happen?

Take a step back and think about someone that you put on your list.
How did you build your relationship?

You’d probably agree that it took time, shared experiences, getting to know the person.

Have you done that with yourself?

Do you know who you are?
What you like?
What soothes you when you’re upset?

Do you know what you want for yourself?
Your dreams?
Your values?

Nine years ago, I realized I didn’t know myself at all.

I had been living my life on autopilot,
And was forced by circumstances to get back in charge of my life.

I started by reaching for my journal.

I used it to rediscover who I was, what I wanted, how I was going to get there.
I used it to understand what I was feeling and why, and that I could make a choice to change how I felt.

I wrote my way to a relationship with myself.

And if I can do it, you can too!
If that’s what you want.

It can start as simply as picking up your pen
And introducing yourself to your journal.

Imagine the amazing person you’ll get to discover!

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Use these prompts as written or as inspiration to uncover what you need in your life this week. And know that I’m always here to support you and answer questions you have along the way!

• Write an introduction to yourself in your journal.

• Who are you? (You can stay surface with the facts here or you can dive deep.)

• What do you like?

• What do you want?

• What do you value?

• What are your gifts and talents and skills and strengths?

• What is most important to you?

• What brings you joy?

• What is true about you?

• How do you feel when you look at what you’ve written?

• Did you find any surprises?

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One Journaling Idea I Love:

Joy Journaling

You can use your journal to celebrate joy! It can be as simple as asking yourself, “What is bringing me joy today?” You can do this as part of your regular journaling practice, or you can create a dedicated joy journaling habit.

Imagine filling an entire journal with all the things that brought you joy. Imagine going to bed each night having written down the joyful moments of the day. How much more wonderful would life be if we focused on seeing and feeling joy?

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More Good Stuff

• Good Things Come to Those Who Journal: The Livestream - Tuesday at 8pm Eastern. This week I’ll be answering the big question I hear in nearly every journaling conversation: What if someone reads my journal?!? Tune in to LinkedIn, YouTube, or Facebook.

• Our monthly Journaling Mini-Retreat is Wednesday, April 19 at 7:30 pm Eastern. Register for this free interactive session HERE.

• Did you know I work with clients both individually and in groups to leverage the power of journaling so they can find success on their own terms and live a life they don’t want a vacation from? If you’re curious on what this could look like for you, let’s have a conversation!

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Happy Journaling!