Getting Unstuck Is A Journey
Remember how I said I was going to do more journaling? And when I said it, I did mean it – but now here I am, months later and I’ve still got a bunch of blank journal pages staring at me and I feel STUCK.
Part of the issue for me with journaling, I think, is that it seems too me-centric. I’m so used to focusing on milestones and goals and getting to the next level of achievement. Going inside of myself, where it feels like there are no real goals to achieve (other than getting more in touch with what’s going on inside), the intangibility of it all is off-putting. I look at the journal pages and I don’t know what to write.
Getting past the blank page
Maybe the key isn’t to worry so much about WHAT I write and simply to focus on the writing. I can start off making a list. A list of things that I’ve accomplished, a list of things I want to do and then I can write about those things. I can write about why I want to do them or how it felt to accomplish a certain thing. Try to think more about how I feel about those things outside of “I did that”. Did the accomplishment inspire me to go on and do something else or was reaching the goal enough?
I’m trying some different approaches to getting unstuck. I have a guided meditation to do and I ordered a couple of books (which I then forgot I ordered…) so the books showed up and it again felt as if The Universe was nudging me to get to the journaling. One of the books I got is Re-Think Happy, which talks about joy versus happiness and is written in a novel format, which I think makes it a really enjoyable read.
Committing to the work
Sometimes just talking to another person can spark some ideas. I’ve found myself talking with a friend about something and she’ll say “you should journal about that” or note that she had written about the topic and I again feel The Universe giving me that gentle nudge.
And it gets frustrating, knowing that I committed to journaling and I’m not doing it. I feel as though I am failing, which makes me feel bad and that makes the journaling even less attractive.
It reminds me that this isn’t something that I am naturally good at. There are so many things that I AM good at and they’re things that help other people (which is what I love to do). All of this introspection just seems like WORK. But, if I step back for a moment I can realize that the journaling I do will eventually help me to help other people. And even the journey to getting myself journaling is something that I will be able to turn into something helpful for someone else who is stuck at some point.
“Re-framing” the goal
Maybe if I look at every written-upon journal page as a goal reached, it will make the process easier. Every word is another step on the journey to being able to be my most authentic self and being able to send that energy out into the world, live my best life and attract the people who need me.
Anyone else feeling stuck? What works for you to get past it?
