Journaling Challenge 16: Molding Yourself
Hi Everyone! Laura here again today for today’s Friday Journaling Challenge! 
Today we’re going to examine the idea of “the perfect version of yourself” to kick-start your journaling.
Have you ever stepped back and taken a look at yourself, and realized that — even if just for an instant — you’ve become the worst version of yourself? Take, for instance, the moment when my 2-year-old spilled his milk all over the kitchen table and floor… and in an instant of stress and exhaustion I raised my voice and snapped at him, “Oh come on, you know better than to tip your cup upside down when you’re drinking from a straw! Why did you do this?!” Um, he’s two. He actually doesn’t know better, silly lady. Or examine the realization I had recently — that I was rolling my eyes and grumping at my husband for tracking dirt and grass clippings all over our clean kitchen floor, instead of thanking him for taking care of the yard (and simply appreciating that I have someone to share the everyday tasks around our household with me!). And besides… he’s 40, he actually doesn’t know better, silly lady.
Every once in a while, I step back and compare the “ideal me” to the “me I’ve actually become” …and am momentarily horrified… and then resolve to bridge the gap between the two. But how? Sometimes the task seems so daunting, I want to just sign-up for my mid-life crisis right then and there.
This Week’s Challenge
This week’s challenge is to compare — on paper — your vision of the “ideal you” with the “you that you’ve actually become,” and use it as a springboard to write about your goals.
Your focus can be completely up to you. You can look at your interpersonal interactions with others… you can look at your temperament… you can look at how you prioritize things in your life… your focus can even be physical — comparing your “ideal” vs your “reality” in terms of your body, your energy level, your stress, your physique. It’s completely up to you. The key is to make comparisons — between what you believe to be your current reality, and what you dream of “in a perfect world.”
Once you make some comparisons, it’s easy to find small ways to start bridging the gap between the two. For instance, if you find that you yell at your kids more than you’d care to admit… you can write down small ways that you can implement changes into your life on a daily basis, to slowly move closer to the “ideal” you. So… the next time my 2-year-old spills his milk? I can substitute humor in for the yelling: “If you wanted a shower, all you had to do was ask nicely, silly boy!” …and then maybe I will be able to go to bed that night without that one tiny shred of guilt I was carrying around previously when I snapped at him in the past. It’s just one tiny change, but it’s like the old saying goes: “To move a mountain, you must begin by carrying away small stones.”
No matter what you choose to write about, come back and let us know what you’ve done! If you’ve blogged, you can link us up. If you’ve journaled on paper, take a quick picture. Whatever you decide to do, we’d love to have you come and share it with us!
~Laura
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