HELPING YOU VENT: Unique emotional expression can reveal itself in physical movement, conversations with God, self or others and writing about dreams and disappointments. As you let go of your emotions, you will also let go of a lot of energy, which you’ve been carrying around inside of you for a long time. As this happens, you will be creating room for more creativity, laughter and stability in your life. If even the idea of talking about your emotions scares you, then relax. You can start very slowly, so that you won’t scare yourself. For example, pick up any available pen and some paper. Write the first word that comes into your head when I say “feeling.” Did you do that? Now, put your pen down and put that paper in your pocket. I don’t want you to read it until you are ready to write again tomorrow. What did I just have you do? I asked you to write one word down and put your paper away. How did that feel? Was it scary? Alternatively, was it easy? If it was easy then you can repeat the same exercise tomorrow and the day after tomorrow until you start writing a sentence, then a paragraph then, well, you will know what to do after that. Everyone journal person started in the same place. They may have had more words to use than you did, but they all had to choose to write at least one word down, before they could grow any further in their writing skills. It’s your choice to continue writing one word until you are quite comfortable writing more.
CELEBRATING YOUR SUCCESSES: I firmly believe that you should celebrate your successes. We seem to spend so much more time hashing over the negatives, to the point where we forget to look for and acknowledge the positives. What is a success? Any activity that you have done to motivate yourself or others to move in a more positive direction. For example, you might have smiled at someone who was feeling sad this morning. You might have agreed to see an old friend after a long period of silence. Finally, you might have received an amazing work review, one that even exceeded your expectations. It’s very important that you tell yourself the positive truth as well as the negative truth. Our emotional muscles need to be exercised as often as our physical muscles. So go workout!!
PERCOLATING AND DEVELOPING IDEAS: Ideas take time to develop. Your journal is a perfect place to chronicle the whole process of a creative idea, from birth to completion. Some creative people use one journal for each of their projects. It makes it that much easier, for them to focus on different parts of the project, as needed. They also can be sure to saving any extra material or new ideas that occur to them in the shower or wherever. You can use all of the tools I”ve mentioned in this article, plus others. Create enough room in your journal so that it can hold everything that you need to have around you, while you are working on a specific project. If you need more than one journal or a journal of a different size then purchase it. It will be a great place to turn to later on down the line when your project is coming closer to completion.
EXPRESSING YOUR GRATITUDE: Giving thanks for blessings or abundance in your life will restore your energy and balance your perspective. It will also lighten your load and teach you how to focus more on the positive, rather than the negative in life. Many spiritual disciplines, including those in the recovery movement recognize the power of gratitude to heal and restore individuals and communities. One way to practice gratitude is to write one gratitude sentence each day. Just as you described your successes earlier, now focus on one incident, character trait or person that you are grateful for and write about it. This is an especially powerful tool to use when you are experiencing struggles. It is a statement of hope for you. You are saying to the world and to yourself, that you won’t be overcome by your struggles. Instead you will walk through your struggles with deep and abiding hope that change is coming just around the corner, it’s just a matter of time.
DECLUTTERING THE REST OF YOUR SPACE: In reality, decluttering your space(s) will overlap in most areas. It’s hard not to take a trash bag out to the bin, both from the kitchen and the living room, because it’s on your way to do so. I mention these areas separately just to remind you to be aware of where clutter might suddenly appear again. Recently, in my personal writing, I discovered that my procrastination list had grown extremely long. It caught me by surprise. Prior to writing that entry, I was sure, at least for a few moments, that I was finally putting some of my procrastination behind me. Guess what? I have more to learn about this area in the future.
EXPRESSING YOUR CREATIVITY: Your journal is a perfect place to express your creativity. It’s also a great place to keep a record of your progress, by project or in some other order. I’ve mentioned before that some creative people choose one notebook for each project. This really comes in handy when you are working on multiple projects. For example, I have a file in my book folder for extra information. I use this file to store words, phrases, and ideas that I deleted from earlier chapters. I don’t want to throw this information away yet, as it might come in handy in the process later or might spark several new writing ideas for me. A journal is a great place to that store that extra information until you find a use for it later on. While acknowledging and practicing your creative skills, you can also try on different personalities, try new and challenging steps that you might not be ready to present to an audience. You can step out of your comfort zone and look at a situation from several different angles. Your journal is a great place to surprise yourself and enjoy cultivating your creativity…
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HUMOR RESOURCE:

Unordinary Fun—

This is a site for anyone who loves working and playing with paper dolls. I used to love paper dolls years ago, so that’s why this site appeals to me. It’s great fun for your hands and creativity. Anyone can enjoy it! Have fun!

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HUMOR QUOTE:

“Showing up is 80 percent of life.”

Woody Allen

(Continuing to Part 3 on Friday)

Tags: Articles - Creativity Coaching //