Feel free to use these exercises in your own personal journal writing. You may choose to cut and paste them into your own Word document for a computer archive or print out one of these pages and keep them in your journal.

ur self-esteem is often predicted on how we perceive our physical appearance. It defines how we relate to the world, each other, and ourselves. How do you really want to see yourself

Weighty Issues
by Sue Meyn

I dont know how many of you can relate to this, but I have struggled with issues around weight for most of my life. As a child I was tormented by my older, very petite sister and well built brother. Ive always been a little round, short and thank God, cute. Self-deprecating humor has always served me well in overcoming a few pounds here and there. Nonetheless, Ive longed for thinner thighs, an oval face---and longer legs, even though thats out of the question.

As the years have gone by I have managed to avoid the obvious tool of JOURNALING about my daily food intake. Does that mean I have been addicted? Who isnt addicted to food? We all need it to survive. (Now youre getting the tenor of my rationalizations.)

A few months ago I decided to ask for help---pre-menopausal issues had only increased the seriousness of the weight problem. I talked to a naturopath who asked me to write down everything I ate. All of a sudden I had a coach to whom I hader chose, to be accountable. I discovered lots of things and have been led into a new way of eating and living.

I wont bore you with details since everyone finds their own way through major life issues, but what was significant was that I finally used my precious journaling tools AND I asked someone to coach me through the process. (By the way, I’ve lost about 10 pounds and lots of inches but mostly feel as though I’m no longer controlled by food.) There are some issues we simply cant manage all by ourselves---even with the help of our journals.

What do you see as your life issues? Those are the ones that keep showing up no matter how many times you think you have dealt with them. Be honest. Make a list---a short one of course---of those issues that you havent yet shaken. They may be weight or relationships or work or shyness or control or, or, or. We each have our own.

Once identified, consider if this is a time you want to again address one or more of those issues. Ask for some guidance through your own inner wisdom (take a deep breath and write as though you have a direct connection to ALL wisdom), and then look around for the cosmic hints that will direct you to your answers.

More practically, create an affirmation to suggest your success is already on the way. Visualize and write about how your life will look when this recycled issue is finally gone. Listen acutely until you know that it is time to act---take action---and success will follow.

Blooming Where We Are...
by Sue Meyn

Have you ever seen an ugly flower? I imagine that your answer to that is no. I enjoy all flowers, whether they are perfect or not. Makes me wonder some why we are so hard on ourselves. What would it take, I wonder, to see the beautiful flower within each one of us?

So, if you were a flower, what kind would you be? And if you could change from one to another, perhaps with the seasons, what would you change from and to? What can those flowers teach you about life?

Today I am sitting outside of our cabin in Flagstaff, AZ. It is an absolutely gorgeous day made of a moderate temperature, an intensely blue sky, bright sunshine and a pine-scented breeze. Im brushing away curious ants from my laptop as I soak in the beauty of these moments. There is a hammock only 50 feet from me that is calling to me, ever so quietly. Wildflowers are still spreading their cheerful colors thanks to the late season rain here in the woods. There are blue lupines, yellow sunflowers, teeny purple beauties and red trumpets to name a few.

I would definitely be a wildflower, were I to choose a flower to be. I see them as free, honest, unpretentious and oddly exotic. To walk down the road or through the woods and pick from this glorious variety of colors, shapes and textures is a blessing indeed. My little bouquet that sits inside on our table is spilling over with color and joy and personality. They tell me to lighten up, to enjoy the moment, to say thanks for my health and the health of my family. Like harvesting before Thanksgiving, they bunch their rich and varied colors together, reassuring me that all is well and that abundance is there for all of us. Even the dried wildflowers in the other room stand erect and somewhat proud in their altered beauty. Wildflowers can age and transform themselves into another version of beautiful. Ah, such a good lesson for me to learn, as the years add up in my own life. Wildflowers are common to some, but glorious to me.

I suppose, as I sit here philosophizing, that the wildflowers are a bit like journals---all unique and perfect as they are. And we are, too. After you have spent some time enjoying your life as a flower, how about writing yourself a letter honoring the beauty that you carry within you. Remember, you couldnt see the beauty of the flowers if you didnt already have it inside you.

What's Your Personality "Type"?
by Sue Meyn

I don't know how many of you have taken the Myers-Briggs Personality Inventory...or the Strong Interest Inventory, or the World of Work Inventory or, the lesser known but fun, "Kindomality" personality test. Each of these instruments give us the opportunity to give us more information about who we are.

Tests are interesting in that they become a written representation of what's going on within us---just as a journal does, but our journals are much more subjective, of course. What is it we are trying to learn by taking a test? Who we really are? What our gifts are? What we need to work on? Lots of those answers can be found in our journals, too.

I picked up my JournalCards for some hints of where to go and found myself attracted to the card, "authentic". That card asks what would happen if we dropped all pretense? How would your life be different? That's similar to what the tests are after---who are you, really?

I want to suggest that you create your own personality inventory. Begin with a cluster with the word "authentic" in the center. Circle it and allow yourself to brainstorm all those characteristics that you have that represent your authentic self. Be sure to consider your shadow side as well as the sunny one!

Once that is done, take a nice deep breath and then create another cluster, this time focusing on the obstacles that keep you from being more authentic. Write down each thought that pops up, censoring nothing.

Now, just imagine that with your "journal magic" you can disperse those obstacles and move beyond them. Imagine yourself one year from today, free of obstacles and true to your authentic and essential self. What is your life like?

Hey, I hope you enjoy this little series of exercises. It can be very empowering to dig in a little deeper to who you really are and you don't even need a "test"!

Who Am I NOW?
by Sue Meyn

Heres my creative writing idea for today. Its related to my recent birthday and the awareness that I feel a sense of new life, new opportunity and perhaps a freedom from old baggage. So, my idea is to write about ourselves based on who we are NOW. Imagine using "memory eraser" and having no history! You are starting fresh---as though you are new this morning---and have the freedom to create your identity and your future based on how you see and know yourself now.

Consider these questions:

What words describe what you think of as most important in your life?

(love, work, relationships, giving, technology, nature, spirit? Other words?)

What are your gifts? What makes you, you? Make a long list of those attributes.

How does knowing that you have complete freedom help you to move ahead in your life?

With no baggage, no obstacles, what can you now achieve?

As you are free from anger, resentments and losses, how can you use that freed up energy?

What is good about this life? What is less than desirable?

Okay, now pull these thoughts together. You can use this outline if you want or just take off on your own.

Today I woke up, knowing that I am a person who values

____________________________________________________________

I have many gifts that I can use to support those values. My gifts are

____________________________________________________________

With absolute freedom available to me, I can achieve many things that I hold dear to me, such as

____________________________________________________________

The difference that I experience in having no obstacles is that now I can

____________________________________________________________

I am totally free to spend my energy in positive ways and feel no resistance or holding back in regard to people or situations I encounter. This offers me the opportunity to

____________________________________________________________

This personal identity and the awareness of life without resistance gives me new insight into my life and the choices that are open to me. I’m going to institute one of these ideas into my life by:

____________________________________________________________

back to journaling exercises...

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