journaling

What do you do when you get off track? When you stumble or fumble? When your feet of clay seem to take over and the reptilian brain comes to the forefront and you find yourself doing dumb things, mired in a negative emotionally reactive state? Giving away your personal power to other people or to outside events?

When I find myself off track, I do two things:

1) I read some of my favorite inspirational literature, words that have inspired and guided me in the past. 

2) I JOURNAL, trying to tame and understand my emotions by forcing them down on to paper, teasing out triggers and linkages so as to better avoid this failure path in the future. 

Once I feel I’ve gotten the best handle I can on the swirling storm within, I frequently will write out some of my favorite affirmations; a familiar ritual that focuses my energy on who I want to be and where I want to go.

“I am calm and centered; I practice this feeling every day.”

“Being calm and relaxed energizes my whole being.”

“Calmness washes over me with every deep breath I take.”

“Every breath I take fills me with harmony and peace.

I frequently conclude by asking myself “what would my Best Self, my healthiest, happiest, most energized, on purpose self do?” and then follow that guidance. None of this is an instant panacea but in combination, I find it powerfully refocuses my energy and restores my forward momentum.