Tips For Working Through Your Daily Journaling Activities:
+ Write the question in your journal at the top of the page and read over it a few times. Sit with the question and take a few deep breaths, and begin to notice what arises in you.
+ As soon as you hear the words forming in your mind, put pen to paper and start writing. I suggest writing as much as you can, without stopping to re-read.
+ If you reach a point where you think you have written all you can, see if you can write some more. Simply pause, take a few deep breaths, re-read the question and see if anything else flows.
+ Allow this to be a creative writing experience, where you are free to express and explore the prompts in any way you want. Try to not overthink it, or aim to get it right or perfect, as that will block your expression.
+ If nothing comes to mind in response to a question, simply start writing and allow the clarity to come as you write. Sometimes when your hand starts moving, it supports the words to flow.
+ If at any stage you feel really stuck, you can leave a prompt and revisit it later.
The 21 Daily Prompts:
Additional notes for your Day One activity:
As you reflect on this prompt you may find that your theme comes to mind very clearly. This may be something you have already been reflecting on through the year.
However, if you are finding it difficult to pinpoint, reflect on the feelings or emotions you have experienced a lot through the year. Also, think about the common thread that has run through many of your experiences, learnings or lessons.
Some examples of themes might be: Transition, Letting Go, Upleveling, Surrender, Expansion, Completion, Transformation, Awakening, Connection, Freedom, Expression, Creativity, Self-Care, Balance, Courage or Love.
If you feel that your year has had several themes, you can choose more than one, and explore how they all tie together.
Additional notes for your Day Two activity:
As part of completing this year, it is important to heal and release any lingering negative feelings about what has unfolded. When you look for the hidden blessing, opportunity or learning in every experience, it helps you see it in a more positive and grateful light.
I know it is not always easy to find the blessing in an experience that hurt you, challenged you, or which left you feeling disappointed. This is not about discounting how you feel, but rather choosing to set yourself free.
The purpose of today's prompt is to help you remember that there is a divine plan unfolding in your life, and that everything is here to help you. Nothing ever goes wrong, even if it unfolds differently to what you expected. When you look at each situation through this perspective, you will see that life is always trying to help you grow and learn. Every experience is preparing you for what is truly right for you, and if something doesn't work out, it is because it was simply not meant to.
Additional notes for your Day Three activity:
As you witness these thoughts, or patterns of self-talk, try to be gentle and compassionate with yourself. Be mindful of any self-judgment that arises about what you notice, and instead choose to feel proud that you are finding the courage to look at these patterns and face them.
Most of our negative thinking and self-talk hovers below the surface, and runs through our mind automatically without us even realising. When you witness and write out these thoughts, you are creating powerful new levels of self-awareness. You are taking these thoughts out of the subconscious and up into the conscious mind where you can change them.
So, see this as an empowering exercise! It is like weeding the garden of your mind, by pulling out the old negative thinking, and consciously choosing to plant beautiful, new seeds.
Additional notes for your Day Four activity:
Notice how you are feeling as you approach the end of this year. Have you in any way been feeling disappointed or frustrated that you didn't achieve what you had intended, or make the changes you were wanting to make?
If so, what is needed is a shift in perspective. It is time to shift your focus off what you haven't done, and instead, start celebrating and acknowledging all that you have done and achieved. Acknowledging yourself builds greater confidence and self-belief. It proves to yourself that you can change and that you are a success.
As you go through this exercise, also think about what really helped you make these changes, take these steps or achieve these goals. How did you do it? Once you uncover what worked for you, you can re-apply this approach in the future.
Additional notes for your Day Five activity:
All of our behaviour serves us in some way. Everything we do either meets a need, helps us feel a certain feeling, or allows us to avoid what we don't want to experience.
For example: We may procrastinate, as a way to avoid doing something where we might fail or be judged. We may eat emotionally, to meet our need for comfort and pleasure. We may avoid exercise, as we don't want to feel pain or discomfort. We may stay in a certain relationship, because it makes us feel that we are loved and wanted. We may not apply for our dream job, to avoid potentially being rejected. We may use social media, to meet our need for connection and validation. We may sabotage our goals, to stay inside our comfort zone. We may people please, to avoid the feeling of disappointing others. The list goes on!
Today's exercise will require you to dig a little deeper and get honest with yourself. However, it will be worth it. If you can uncover why it is that you are running these patterns, then you can finally start changing them. Work through this exercise with patience and self-compassion, and journal out any new realisations.
Additional notes for your Day Six activity:
Today's activity is part of your preparation for the Completion Ritual. I would like you to refer to this letter as you watch this session, as we will be using it as part of the activity.
There is no right or wrong way to write this letter. You may choose to start it with "Dear 2018", and then just trust what flows onto the page. You may also find it helpful to draw on your journal entries from the previous daily prompts, or from the notes you took in the workshop.
The purpose of this letter is to simply declare what you are ready to release, leave behind, close off and complete. You may like to start with some gratitude and thanks for all the year brought you, along with your key lessons and learnings. Then, you can list out and describe anything from 2018 that you do not want to carry forward, and what you want to let go of before the year ends. You may also like to include what parts of your '2018 self', you are choosing to release and/or upgrade.
