Your life partner whom you can never run away from is not your spouse, your child, your parent, or your friend. It’s yourself. If this is a reality – which you and I both know is the reality – then why not have a better relationship with yourself?
Why? Because as you deepen your relationship with yourself, your self-love grows. And accordingly, the quality of your life improves. As simple as that.
Disliking yourself and feeling shame, guilt, and blame toward yourself, is not different from harboring the same feelings for someone else. The difference is this: you can walk away from someone you don’t like, but you cannot walk away from yourself. Therefore, reaching out to your inner child and addressing the diminishing feelings it is surrounded by might be the right path to a happier life.
Three life-changing habits that you can practice now – for free –
You know which ones I have in mind as you have been bombarded by many about them: meditation, journaling, and physical activity. Yes, yes, yes, blah, blah, blah, you heard it a million times, and you practice them all from time to time here and there, but could you say that they are at a habit level? If not, it means that you have been receiving the message every time without hearing it, and I hope this time it gets further than your eyes and ears.
These three activities, when practiced regularly, target every element of your system:
- Meditation; the spiritual side of you, your consciousness, letting go of the ego and the physical reality.
- Journaling: emotional check-in with yourself.
- Physical activity: alignment of your body, health, and immune system.
The ones who know me well also know how big an advocate of meditation I am and how I aspire to make it as effortless as possible so that it becomes attractive and doable for everybody. I even wrote a short and sweet book: Live Your Life in a Meditative State: Easy and Fun Ways of Meditation and Mindfulness for Everyone. And when it comes to physical activity, obviously there is no need to remind anyone how important it is to keep a fit and healthy body. But what about journaling? Why is it also on this shortlist?
Here is why
- Journaling strengthens the connection between you and your inner child (your subconscious) so that you get to understand yourself better.
- Writing about your emotions, experiences, and thoughts allows you to express them freely and lowers your stress level.
- Regular journaling – at least three times a week – helps you effectively organize your thoughts and improves your creativity and problem-solving abilities.
- Communicating with yourself by journaling also helps to better your communication with others.
- Journaling positively affects your sleep quality, mental clarity, and feelings of anxiety and depression.
- It improves your mood, shapes your thoughts, and strengthens your willpower in developing a habit and sticking to it.
- And most importantly, it helps you to realize the abundance of wonderful things you have in your life that are worthy of your gratitude.
If you are intrigued and want to give it a try,
- take a look at Stephanie A. Sarkis Ph.D.’s Discover 8 Journaling Techniques for Better Mental Health article from Psychology Today, and find out about your options,
- get a good quality notebook and a special pen – one that you love writing with, that you only use for journaling,
- set aside 10 minutes, and
- write away.
You might realize that the paper and pen are the best listeners you have ever met.
