One of the things that has been most helpful to me in my development of self-awareness and, ultimately, self-acceptance is journaling. For years, I journaled long hand and still have all the notebooks in boxes both in my office and in my attic (I’m not sure why I’ve kept them– I don’t really go back to read them but getting rid of them doesn’t feel right so they stay). Journaling, for me, is a way to get quiet and discover what I already know but hadn’t yet allowed to bubble to the surface. It’s clarifying, and, for my personality, it creates new norms. It’s very hard for me to go against something I know to be true for myself so if I journal, for example, that I need to start saying no more often to create more creative space in my days, it’s hard for me to then say yes to the next ten invitations without some introspection. Now, I sometimes journal long-hand (for example, I teach journaling workshops and always do every exercise I ask my students to do and I also have a journal that I keep for Happy) but, in many way, this blog has taken over as my journal.
Even if you don’t journal at all, it can be really helpful to periodically engage in some deliberate reflection exercises. Because capturing your own voice is so essential in self-awareness in self-acceptance, there’s a fair amount of journaling, reflection work in Beautiful You.
Today, I’m inviting you to do an exercise for yourself that I started using in my workshops in 2009. I wasn’t sure how it would go over and whether or not it would be effective, but, over time, I found that it always led to really profound guiding statements for my students and myself. This exercise is actually featured in Beautiful You on Day 34. Describe yourself in 25 words or less without using any physical descriptors or naming any of your roles. Don’t overthink it. Just write your sentence in a minute or less. I love this exercise because it allows the writer to see herself beyond her physical appearance or the roles she playes in life. In fact, it allows us to simply understand and, hence, embrace our essence.
Please share your 25 words (or less) statement here and, if you’d like, on Facebook (I’d love for you to post them on my wall, too) and Twitter (on Twitter, copy me @rosiemolinary so I can share them or use the hashtag #BeautifulYou).
Here’s my go at it from two different times that I’ve done the exercise:
I am a woman who is proud of her history, aspires to use her creativity positively, and looks forward to her future.
I am a woman who is suddenly aware that I can control my destiny by creating the day that I most wish to have.
I am a woman who no longer wants to be controlled by food and fear. To no longer just merely survive but to truly live.
This is so powerful, PJ. You are indeed a woman who is truly living- already- even if it feels like you are just now learning how. It is in the learning that we actually do. Thanks for sharing!
I am a woman who has taken control out of the equation: I am not controlled and I have no need to control.
What a great statement, Karen. Love the duality of it- not controlled nor controlling. Well said! Thank you for sharing!