Life is short. Life is precious. And in our lives we need to be able to fit into a limited amount of time the things that will satisfy us, grow us, and make us happy.
So many people that I know have this terrible sense of never having enough time, and never getting around to the things that are important to them. Those dreams and desires keep getting relegated to ‘tomorrow’, and as we all know, tomorrow never comes.
If you’re in a place of overwhelm and exhaustion, you might find this post helpful to get you started: Simplicity is a Choice You can also read about how I got my own personal priority act together here: The gift of impermanence OR live like you’re dying
So how do we work out what’s important to us? Journalling is one of the best ways I have found for clearing out the clutter in our minds and tidying our thoughts onto a page. Today’s post will help you start that process of clarifying what matters to you, and how you want your life to look.
Journal Activity:
It’s important to re-orient yourself back to your own internal priorities for this exercise, rather than the pressures of your life the way it is right now.
If possible, take yourself somewhere away from work or home – maybe a library, a coffee shop or a park, even the back yard or a veranda could work. Having surroundings that are not associated with chores, duties or your to-do-list will be very helpful for this process. Allocate at least ten minutes for this journal task, but note that if you haven’t been giving yourself much time lately you may need considerably longer. The investment in yourself will be worth it!
Start by writing this passage into your journal or diary. Feel free to use coloured inks, stickers, doodles or anything else that makes your heart sing.
My life is precious to me, and I recognise that it’s a gift. Before I was even born I was dreaming of the things I could do, experience and discover in this lifetime.
Inside me is a strong wisdom about what matters to me. My heart, my soul, my gut – they all have messages for my mind to hear and understand – and I’m really ready to listen.
More than that, I’m ready for change. I‘m ready to act upon my priorities. My life matters to me. My time is now!
Choose any of the following journal starters and then begin writing:
- This idea in the back of my mind is
- I feel unbelievably pressured because
- All I really want to be doing is
- If I had more time I would
- The thing that lights me up inside is
- I know I need to
- If I won a million dollars, suddenly I would be able to
- My biggest regret is that
- If I could find a way to support myself I would
- Ever since I was little I have dreamed of
- The secret hope inside me is
- I get a huge surge of relief every time I think about
- My whole world would change if
- It makes me outrageously happy to think about
- People have always said that I
- When I look back on my life, I’d like to be able to say that
- The things on my personal bucket list are
We never know what life has in store for us. You’ll never please everyone, but the one person we often forget to please is ourselves. You are worthy, valuable and you came to this life to live your dreams. Maybe it’s time to honour that in some small way. Live without regrets! Live each day not so that you can cross it off and breathe a sigh of weary relief, but so that it counts for you, so that it matters to you and to your dreams. ♥
PS – Nickelback says it so well… ↓
Reblogged this on istopforsuffering.
Thanks for the re-blog love xx
Such nice thoughts to pen down…..makes one feel important.You are correct, because we try to please others before pleasing ourselves.I feel we don’t prioritize things, because we want to do everything you know like a macho,unfortunately everything is not possible in limited time.So we stress ourselves more and more.Is there some treatment for perfectionism???We seek perfect harmony in life, which is not possible for nothing is perfect.If we accept life with it’s imperfections it will be closer to perfection.I love your posts, so relevant to our lives…
If we don’t live our lives for ourselves, who are we living for? Life is such a precious gift, and we matter – our opinions, choices, likes and preferences – they all matter. Much love to you xx
Thank you C&C… a lovely post and encouraging reminder of what matters! And….I’m a total Bert fan 🙂
Bert has quite the fan club…
Thank you. Much love to you ♥ xx
More excellent and thought provoking ideas and practical suggestions to making a better life for ourselves. Thank you!
You’re welcome Mel. Much love to you xx
Thank you! I am going to try the journaling for a week and see how it goes! 😀 Sounds like a great plan!
I’m sure the journalling will work magic – and I hope you encouraged to keep writing after your week is up. Love and Light, Nicole xx
Yes, yes – thank you!
My pleasure! xoxo
Lovely! I knew the Moon would bring gifts and she did not disappoint!
What a great post and I love the video. Great song. Beautiful and Powerful sentiment, Perfect way to Live.
Blessed Be,
Jen
Thanks for your kind words, Jen. I love the sentiment in this video too – and such great images to accompany the lyrics. Bless xx
I live in my own prison so to speak, because of an cystic acne condition: I am praying for deliverance. My only goal in 2012 is to find the right dr and treatments to help me heal. I do not socialize thus building an online community of friends, like yourself is my only relief. Thanks Jackie
{{{HUGS}}} to you, Jackie. When I was bed-ridden for a year or more that is what I did too. Thank goodness for the internet and its power to bring us together across the miles. Am including you in my daily healing meditations. Much love to you xx (PS zinc – you need more zinc in your diet)
Journaling has always been my road back to myself. Excellent prompts here.
And that video from Nickelback–Wow!
It’s a cool video, isn’t it! I’m another journal lover, as you can tell. It has been my salvation at dark times in my life. Much love to you xoxo
Hmm. Not quite sure I’m there yet. But my intent is strong and I’m confident this year will bring great things! I am still trying to find a balance between planning for my future financially and “living like there’s no tomorrow”. but I do understand I’m not using my time as well as I could. Another lovely post miss Nicole, thanks for keeping us on task!!
This is so empowering, just a pen and a notebook :)) one cat above me purring so loud, when I finished writing he hopped down. He approved I think! The other cat was repeatedly chewing and attacking the end of the pen sitting on the side of my book. Loving your blogs so completely. xx
The only important moments for me now are those I spend online connecting with my new family, my online friends. I spent all my life isolated so being now in contact with loving people is the Best gift Life has given me!
The online family still counts, and is a blessing when we are isolated for whatever reason. Keep sharing, beautiful Soul. Much love to you xx