| Sarah Blair — Positive News For You |
It is time to get to know yourself.
The beginning of every meaningful relationship we invest time into knowing a person. When was the last time you invested in getting to know yourself? Do you recognize who you are anymore? Have the people around you told you that you are not the same person? Are you struggling to see a clear path? You are not alone.
Many of us become misguided by the distractions of life. We are thrown obstacles and challenges everyday. Without challenges how boring would life be? If everything came to us easily. If we never had to work for something another day in our life; how fulfilling would that really be? Sometimes while we are trying to figure out the task at hand we lose sight of who we are. Don’t beat yourself up over this; it happens to everyone. You need to take some time and reconnect with yourself.
Our minds are powerful and need to be challenged. This is how we can determine what we want and who we want to be. The hardest things to obtain are the things we treasure the most. They provide us with the most pleasure. That feeling of accomplishment once we achieve our goals, is a feeling you cannot put into words. Without goals we have no purpose. Without challenges we have no rewards. The best reward is the award of self-accomplishment and love.”You have no need to go anywhere-journey within yourself. Enter a mine of rubies, and bath is the splendor of your own light.” ~Rumi
What are your dreams and desires? Are you aware of what is stopping you from achieving them? Whatever road blocks you have currently, don’t worry there is always a way around. Sometimes we need to take a long detour. Right now, you might be waiting to find out what is blocking you from your destination. Let’s use this moment right now to find out what your next path is. Are you going to sit and wait for that road block to move or are you going to take the detour?
What is stopping you from finding yourself? Is it sickness, physical pain, emotional pain or a life changing event? Whatever the reason is don’t let it stop you any further. How do you prevent yourself from holding yourself back? Start by understanding yourself. Do you know what your habits are? Do know what’s triggering your physical or emotional pain? It is fine if in this moment, you are unsure the root triggers. You can begin to start to understand them once you start getting to know yourself.
I was in agony for three long years before I was diagnosed with endometriosis. I was terrified that I was dying of a disease that no one had heard of yet. I kept going to the doctors. I was in and out of the hospital. I missed many of my high school mile stones because of being ill. I went through a deep depression. I was lonely and had forgotten who I was. I am a spit fire, social butterfly with big dreams, hopes and wishes. At the time I thought I would never amount to anything. I thought I would be dead before I even hit twenty. I had started to give up on myself. I stopped getting out of bed. I stopped getting dressed. I thought what was the point. Who was going to care? I had some doctors that had no faith in me. The kids at school where becoming meaner every day. My Mother never gave up hope on me and said something very valuable to me. I hold it true to this day. “No one, is going to help you if you cannot help yourself.” At the time I thought great… I don’t even know what is happening to me, but I am the one that is supposed to figure it out. I was wrong. It meant that I couldn’t give up on myself. It meant I still needed to love and respect myself. It meant I needed to keep fighting for my happiness. I needed to reconnect with myself. I needed project onto the world who I really was, and not be perceived as a young teenage girl, that didn’t care about school or herself.
I had a doctor tell my mother in front of me that, High school is hard, and some kids just can’t handle it. He told my mother I was pulling one over on her. He was wrong to say this to her. He was wrong about my diagnosis. His test came up negative because he was looking in the wrong places. Do I blame him for his actions? YES. He is responsible for his actions. He was wrong to assume my intentions and who I was as a person. All because his test where wrong. However, I was in the wrong too. I allowed him to see me on the surface for something I wasn’t. I allowed his words to take control of me. Had I gone into that appointment with confidence and self-respect; his words wouldn’t have mattered to me. He may have never even uttered them. This does not justify him. It simply means we cannot allow the hate and negativity in this world control us. We cannot become victims of circumstance.
Once I realized the wisdom of my Mothers words. Things changed for the better for me. I took control in finding myself again. In acting to find myself, I was able to find what was causing me to be sick and in pain. I was able to find my happiness again. How was I able to do this at such a young age? I tracked my habits, emotions and pain in a journal. It doesn’t matter how young or old you are.
Like any relationship we invest in, it takes time to get to know a person. Who better to know than yourself?
I started logging everything I did, three times a day and every day for a few months. I still do this to this day whenever I find I am feeling a disconnection from myself. The journal helped the doctors find what was happening to my body. More importantly the journal helped me find who I am and understand myself. It gave me my courage to find new doctors. It gave me the strength to assert myself. It gave me the control I need over my life. I could see daily little changes in myself. Not just in my physical pain but with everything.
The smallest of task where not getting done before the journal. I wouldn’t even brush my own hair. I thought to myself what was the point I am not going anywhere. Well the first time I brushed my hair was hard. But DAMN it felt good! It gave me a sense of accomplishment. It was rewarding. It was the only goal I had for the day and I did. It was proof that I COULD, and nothing was going to stop me. Every day I added a new small goal till I built up to the big goals.”These pains you feel are messengers listen to them.” ~Rumi
Journals are for you. Only you. Do not look at a journal like you are doing this for someone else. Journals are to help you build a relationship with yourself. Every day you enter in your journal. At the end of the day you reflect on it. Then one day you might find that you are not writing in the journal anymore. That is OK.
Journals are a GPS for your mind, body and soul. Once you get to your destination you no longer need the GPS.
It is now up to you. Do you want to understand your struggles? Do you want a relationship with yourself? It your time to HEAL and not just deal!
First steps to journalism is to go get yourself a note book. A journal should be something tangible not digital. You can learn so much about yourself just from your penmanship. Were you rushing? Were you calculated? Were you sad, angry or happy when you wrote this. Your penmanship says it all.
You need to determine what type of journal is best for you. Your journal should high light your day. Giving you a reminder of how you were feeling throughout the day. Try to enter in your journal a minimum of once a day, but they are most effective when you enter three times a day. Are you looking for a journal that can track your physical pain or emotional? Maybe you want to do both journal types. There is no right answer here. Only you can decide. Remember you are doing this for yourself and no one else. You are working on a relationship with the most important person in your life. YOU!
I have included some sample journals that I have used in the past. Look at journalism as your story. You do not need to be a writer to benefit from using a journal.
The choice to start is yours. I am simply offering to you one of many options to find your inner peace.
