QUOTE:
“Happiness is different from pleasure. Happiness has something to do with struggling and enduring and accomplishing.” — George Sheehan
GOAL: Improve your relationship with yourself to experience a higher quality of life
ACTION: Journal
TIPS for how to improve your relationships through journaling
How is your self awareness coming along? Do you know who you are, what you want, why you take the actions you do everyday and why you seem to have the same reactions to similar situations over and over again? Many of us have become so busy with life we have not taken the time to stop and reflect on the questions above. Through many experiences, positive, but probably more negative, I began to wonder why I do (act) the way I do. I simply became fasciated with what makes me tick!In an effort to know myself better, I began to think back to how I grew up, the experiences I had and the feelings I had when situations occurred in my young life. I found when I experience a negative reaction to a situation today, I can often trace my feelings, usually fear, back to a childhood incident. I call these incidents from childhood my triggers. If for instance, my feelings are hurt by what another person did or did not do in a certain situation, I can often, through reflection on my earlier years, realize why the action or lack of action by another bothers me today. Try it. It has assisted me greatly in coming to accept others the way they are versus trying to change the way others are. One thing I realized is that I can only change myself. I have found it helpful to keep the focus on what I am doing for myself versus what others are not doing for me. I find it helpful to write everything in a journal. For me, journaling releases emotions that are better not shared because I do not want to make anyone feel responsible for the challenges I am having in my own emotional life. This does not mean I do not share with others some of what is happening inside me, but it does give me an opportunity to grow stronger from the inside out. Remember what they say, Happiness is an Inside job…..SO…
Take Care of yourself first. This sounds basic but how many of us actually put our own needs first, especially without feeling we are being selfish. What are some ways you already put yourself first? List three. If you cannot come up with 3, here are some examples from my life. 1. Journal each day. This is best accomplished in the morning for me because I am a morning person. Do whatever works for you, but do take time to take care of yourself by creating a rich relationship with yourself. This one action will do more to improve your overall mood and interactions with others than any other one action you could take. 2. Treat yourself to a creature comfort each day. A few of my creature comforts are dark chocolate, a long bath with 2 white long-stemmed candles burning, the bath full of bubbles, Jazz music playing softly in the background. I have found that the more often I take time for myself, the more I am able to accept myself the way I am. What do I mean by this? Well, one example is that I am not a group social person? What do I mean? This for me means I would rather be with people I know quite well, a few at a time. When I am with large groups of people, I feel uncomfortable. I have finally figured out through reflection and journaling, this is because I grew up like an only child with a
LOT of attention given to me. In large groups, one does not get a lot of attention. Knowing this about myself does not mean that I avoid large groups, but rather I understand why I feel insecure (sometimes) in large groups of people…….so the key point is self-awareness…in addition to journaling….finding some alone time is another way to accomplish self-awareness..thereby promoting improved emotional well-being. It may be challenging in the beginning to change the way you normally relate to yourself. But when you take the time for reflection every day, you promote not only your overall wellness but the wellness of the people you love as well. In this way, you are actually putting your loved ones first…please share your thoughts with me on this fascinating subject!
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