I am having a hard time keeping up with my journaling. I don't know if it is because I am just lazy or if I don't want to face what I am writing about. Has anyone else had this problem and have any advice?

I've had that problem, too. I wouldn't exactly call it laziness, I call it having a hundred other things that need to get done!

For those who watch Oprah, about twice a week I pull out my journal when Dr. Phil, Cheryl Richardson, or the like are on and take notes.

When I hear a "lightbulb moment" I write it out and then the journaling flows.

One thing that really hepled me one day was to write my name in the middle of a page and start writing words to describe me. Of course we start off carefully and then we get to the nitty-gritty.

We with panic hide so much by trying to appear normal that I also beleive we have hidden from ourselves. This was a good exercise to see again who we are.

There is no good or bad, right from wrong. It was an exercise to get real and honest and in touch with who we really are. Bossy, Kind, Loving, Picky, Mean, Good-girl, Bad-girl, Lazy, Strong-willed, Lonely, Independent, etc. I think I had at least a hundred words.

Give it a try!

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Always Hopeful, Betsy H.
Marietta, GA (East Cobb)

[This message has been edited by EastCobbGABetsyH (edited 03-15-2001).]

When I write, I just write about when I was anxious, what happened, what I did to help myself. That nothing happened (cause usually it doesn't b/c it's in my mind). I feel like I write over and over that the pain in my shoulder is where I store my tension up and it hurts because I consciously think about that area when I get anxious. Well, I've been writing that for a few weeks and its working. Today I had the least tension in that area in a long time. Another thing I write is to make myself a goal for the following day. Even if it's "drive by myself", it doesn't matter how far I go, but to get into the car and drive is my goal for the following day...and if I don't make it, there's always the next day. Another thing I write, is five things that I am grateful for that day. Sometimes it's hard to come up with five, but I can usually find five things. I got this idea from Oprah! Anyway, those are some ideas for you. I think that they have helped me. It gives me something to shoot for the following day and tells me the positives of that day. I hope those helped you out. Good luck!

Cindy