Welcome back my friend.
This is one of my favorite journaling prompts:
What do you want less of in your life? What brings you feelings of stress and overwhelm? What makes you feel frustrated? What's in your life that no longer serves you?
How do you know when something no longer serves you? It creates stress, anxiety, guilt, overwhelm, frustration when you use it, see it, listen to it, watch it, make excuses for it, avoid it, do it. It's the thing that doesn't bring you joy, the thing you try to hide, and ignore.
What habits, beliefs and stories no longer fit into your idea of the best version of your life? What doesn't align with your core values and the beliefs that define your life?
It's time to dig it out! The digging is what hurts. The growing part has its pain too, but the digging...the breaking up of fallow ground solidified by years of compact stories, thought patterns, behaviors and beliefs is HARD.
It's hard to uproot what's been planted for years but in order to grow and move forward it has to be done.
For years, I've held on to the story that i was too sensitive yet too strong and overbearing and forthcoming. For years I've held myself in check not wanting to shake things up or come across too strongly. For years, I shrunk myself, my opinions, and my voice trying to be overlooked just in case someone took offense.
But I realized that I was doing myself an injustice by closing up within myself and treading lightly never wanting to "rock the boat." I was losing the power of my voice and the ability to bring my perspective to the table.
So I decided to change that story of fear and to claim myself in the fullness of who I was created to be...and the digging began.
Breaking ground is painful. It's becoming aware of the old stories and challenging them. It's being honest enough to notice the feelings that show up and being brave enough to sit with them through the fear of vulnerability.
It's the space between what is comfortable and what's possible. It's digging up the roots of the stories and events that shape your life and define your personal narrative. It's painful, but oh so freeing. It's the human growth experience.
once you've dug up all of the stories ... and recognize the beliefs, choices and stories that no longer serve you, you become more aware and intentional about the life you want to live and cultivate. Breaking ground is all about creating space for something new. It's about making room for something better and of more use and value. It's about preparing ground for deep cultivation of beautiful things that will sprout and grow and flourish into something that will serve for years to come. It's about preparing for a legacy to be created and left behind. The fear and the pain will be there but it won't last forever. Yes, we will mourn for the comfort and familiarity of what used to be, but even that will be overshadowed by our new found freedom and liberty to choose something new and beautiful and necessary. Greater hope and expectation will override the fear and be the segue into new dreams and possibilities.
So now I challenge you to face the fear of pain. You are strong enough to feel. You were created to feel and you can bear the capacity of your emotions. What you're searching for is on the other side but it takes some digging and rooting up. It takes courage and tenacity, determination and grit. And if you're willing to do the work, you'll reap the reward. On the other side is self-compassion, and love, and gratitude, and healing. Confidence, and trust, clarity, and peace. Breaking ground is the first step to building something new. Come write with me at www.writetoflourish.com.
