Happy on the Inside (HOTI): Week 2: I Invite You To RISE

God hasn't invited us into a disorderly,

unkempt life but into something holy and beautiful--

as beautiful on the inside as the outside.

1 Thessalonians 4:7 MSG

Sometimes with everything we have to do in our day to day lives, we get lost.

We lose sight of what's a priority: Ourselves.

How good are we to others if we can't even be good to ourselves? We run around doing everything for everyone else at full throttle. By the end of the day, we are too exhausted to enjoy this gift of life. We are only here for a short time, but none of it matters if you can't enjoy yourself!

In January, we will RISE above the hustle and bustle of carpooling, daycare, housekeeping, cooking, working, teenagers with attitudes, your husband's dirty socks, or your demanding bosses at work. We will RISE above all the noise, quiet our thoughts and focus on what WE want for ourselves. Not what others want from us.

RISE with me!

The key to enjoying yourself is knowing what you want! It's that easy! What do you want in your day to day life? Maybe it's a less cluttered work space? Some time for yourself for a pedicure or a massage? A cruise to anywhere but here? A new boyfriend? Husband? Promotion? Weight Loss?Inner Peace? Whatever it is....get ready to discover exercises that will help you get these things!

Your Task for this week is to figure out who you are and what you want. Sound complicated and impossible? It's not, unless you make it so. Whatever you think will happen, usually does.

There are tons of resources on the internet for this week's task. Search for JOURNAL PROMPTS on Pinterest or Google and you will get tons of prompts and questions to choose from.

PROMPTS TO GET YOU STARTED

What are my Top 3 goals for 2017? (You can increase to 5 or more if you'd like)

Don't just list them though!! Jot down some action steps to achieve those goals! If one of your goals is to lose some of that weight you gained over the holidays, don't just list "lose weight". Be specific, and write the action steps needed to achieve that goal.

EXAMPLE:

Goal--

Lose 10 pounds:

Throw away all the left over junk food (or donate to friend who doesn't have a sweet tooth/weight problem)
go to the gym 3 times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes per day
improve diet (only have starches with breakfast, salad and protein for lunch (no croutons!), and protein with veggies for dinner, no more ice cream!)
make a progress chart in journal
set up reward system at 5 lb increments (new earrings, new scarf)
reintroduce ice cream treat after goal is met!! (YESSSS!)

My wishes for 2017.

These can be a bit more "lofty" and not so goal oriented. Maybe a vacation? A new wardrobe? A new house? Win the lottery maybe?? An expensive designer handbag perhaps? A walk in closet? 5 minutes of peace and quiet? Maybe just a little private time in the bathroom for once???!?!?

Whatever you want...no specific steps needed. This will be a place you can visit from time to time to see what your heart is desiring. Maybe one day in the future, you can pick one and journal about it in further detail. Or maybe you can make the decision to turn a wish or two into a reality and create an action plan to make your wishes come true!! How great would that be?!?

Another great thing about having this list, is that in January 2018 (2019, 2020, 2021), you can look back and see if your heart is still wishing for the same things or if your wishes have changed. Maybe your future self will realize some of your wishes have already come true?? How can that NOT make you happier??? But, you might forget what your heart was wishing for if you don't write it down, so write it down! Take up to as many pages as you'd like! Write big, write small, doodle some pictures, whatever you want...it's YOUR journal.

Additional Resources:

This is a great resource for this week's task with questions to journal about. You don't have to answer all of them, pick and choose the ones you'd like to write about.

26 Questions to Get to Know Yourself Better - Pysch Central

A full month's worth of journal prompts: (again pick and choose the questions you like)

January Journal Prompts - Life of Lovely

So many prompts!!! Don't get overwhelmed with this one, RISE above those fears and bookmark or Pin for future reference! It's really an amazing resource! Look at all my exclamation points!!! Do as little or as many as you wish. This is your Happiness Journal, so do what makes you happy!

Daring To Live Fully

Further Reading, not mandatory, but highly recommended!

Start Creating Your Life! -Tiny Buddha

Back to your journal:

Now that you have some information about you, your goals and wishes, we're going to move on to our weekly set up. I hope you've been checking out some layouts (spreads), watching some of those videos I posted in our Facebook Group, practicing some maybe? If not, feel free to copy my set up until you can figure out your own. Link to my post: Bullet Journal Fun

NOTE: Before you start, leave 3 blank pages at the beginning of your book for your Index (or Table of Contents) and go ahead and start numbering the pages in your journal.

Essentially, you will need spaces to write in the following information:

What would you like to focus on this week?
How do I want to challenge myself?
What do I need to practice more?
What new thing can I try?
Quote of the Week (a quote you'd like to read and read again all week long like a Mantra)
Picture of the Week (leave a space on your page to add a favorite photo at the end of the week)
Bible Verse of the Week (if you are religious, you can add a verse to study, memorize or research)

You can also add or replace with things like:

Favorite Song (for the current week)
Currently Reading
Must Watch TV
Movie of the Week
Kids Say The Darndest Things (funny quote from one of your kids this week)
I'm Grateful For...

If you are having fun with the weekly stuff and want to do something extra on a daily basis you can keep track of:

Daily Moods
Daily Weather
Food you eat (not the food you wish you ate)
Household Chores
Work Schedule
Tasks that need to be completed
Habits (Habit Tracker)

How much you do is up to you. You may like keeping track of all these different things, or it may feel like a chore. You may need to ease into this if you've never done it before. Also, if you find it doesn't work for you this month. Try it again at a later date, it might stick at a different season of your life. (I have found this to be true for myself).

The most important task for you to do this week is to get in touch with yourself and to create a place in your journal for your WEEKLY rest stop. Meet here with yourself, maybe a little soothing music, and re-connect yourself with the things YOU want to do for YOU! Write down the things YOU like. The song lyrics that made you happy, the sweet nothings your husband whispered, the extra squeeze your son gave you when he hugged you goodbye, the please and thank you's of your day. Write them down, you'll be grateful you did. You can even have your children draw in your journal once a week. Or glue in a coloring page for some Mommy Time.

Side Note: Try not to make this a journal of gripes. You can keep a separate journal for that (and that's actually a whole other assignment!!!). Try to keep this a place of positive thoughts and happy dreams. Only rainbows and unicorns allowed.

Scroll Down for Inspiration:

Mood Tracker Doodles: