Changing our lives can feel like a huge and daunting task. Confronted with highlight reels, we often see only the end result and success seems to happen for others overnight. It’s easy to forget about the journey it takes to get there. I used to place so much value on the end goal, and not enough on the baby steps and rituals that would lead me there.
My old self would feel overwhelmed by the huge transformation I had promised, resulting in doing nothing and staying in the same place. Our power is found in the small habits and rituals we commit to daily. So, I simplified my to-do lists and decided to focus on one simple practice to change my relationship with myself.
This one self-care ritual allowed me to be consistent in the way I trained my mind and created lasting change in how I thought, viewed myself, and cultivated self-confidence.
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You have more than you think.
Focus on abundance.
Without realizing it, I was constantly focused on what I didn’t have and how far behind I was. What we focus on expands. The more I focused on lack, the more I felt worthless, and my actions reflected that. My experience of the world mirrored my inner world, lacking.
The Mindset Journal taught me to focus on what I did have. Each morning, I filled the pages with all the blessings surrounding me, both small and big. I was reminded of the abundance in my life and immediately felt thankful. As my focus changed, so did the way I felt. My inner world turned from lack to abundance. I began to move with confidence, bringing uplifting energy wherever I went, and started to see my life in a whole new way.
"Gratitude can transform any situation. It alters your vibration, moving you from negative energy to positive. It's the quickest, easiest, most powerful way to effect change in your life—this I know for sure." - Oprah
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The only thing in your way is you.
Overcoming self-doubt.
Visualize walking into a classroom of 5-year-old girls. If you tell a little girl she’s not pretty, smart enough to get good grades, or funny enough to have friends, how would she feel about herself? Would she shy away and doubt herself?
Now, take the same scenario but tell her how amazing she is, how intelligent and capable she is, and how kind and approachable she is. How would she feel about herself? Would she smile and play confidently?
That same little girl is within you. If you speak to yourself with criticism and judgment, it affects the person you are becoming and the life you are living. The journal helped me become more aware of my inner critic. Each day, it allowed me to practice overcoming self-doubt by acknowledging my strengths. The more I encouraged my thoughts in that direction, the more confident and loved I felt.
“Remember, you have been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” – Louise Hay
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Is the pressure you put on yourself productive?
Managing internal pressure.
To know that you are here reading this passage is to know that you are a driven person. Often, what comes with drive and ambition is internal pressure. In wanting to be the best I could be, I unintentionally put tremendous amounts of pressure on myself. A little stress in the right direction can be powerful, but more often, we bombard ourselves with expectations and lose perspective.
We think we need to be a certain way and do certain things, but as we search outside of ourselves, we fall further away from who we truly are and what is important to us.
The journal brought me back. It reminded me to shine my light, decide how I want to show up each day, and let go of whatever was getting in my way. It put pressures into perspective and let limiting thoughts fall away. As I primed my mind each morning, I connected back to myself and changed my life in the process.
“We can always choose to perceive things differently. We can focus on what's wrong in our life, or we can focus on what's right.”
― Marianne Williamson
Self-love and success don’t happen overnight. They are cultivated through small, daily practices that compound gradually, leading to what feels like effortless results. Starting my day with a 5-minute journaling ritual trained my mind for confidence and gratitude. As I primed my mindset each day, it became second nature to seek the good and, most importantly, feel good.
Your life is a mirror of what is going on in your mind. Your ability to change your mind begins with tiny practices. My practice was the Mindset Journal, and this is how it changed my life.
