What's Your Power Word of the Day?

Last week I talked about leaving behind the rigidity of goal setting to allow for the relaxed beauty of ‘flow setting’.  You can read that post here.

Today I want to introduce you to a new motivational past time that I stumbled upon whilst writing up last week’s post. 

 

It’s no secret that I adore journaling.  My home and office are full to the rafters with pretty notebooks, matching pens and folders.  ‘My name is Shelley and I am addicted to Stationery!’

So, as I spent a luxurious hour on Pinterest, my ‘super-stationery-senses’ were activated when I found a link to the seaweedkisses blog.  Michelle’s beautiful page is dedicated to her passion for journaling.  As well as sharing her tips, she invites us to take a sneak peek into the notebooks, journals and organisers from people all over the world.

Before I go on, I want to set the scene of just how excited I was to find this site.  First of all, let me ask you a question.  Who has watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)?  That’s the one with Sean Connery in it.

Now my dad happens to be the spitting image of Sean Connery so this is my favourite of all the Indiana Jones films (honestly he does!).  The other reason, I love this film, is the crusade diary.  Remember?  Everyone is trying to get hold of the diary so they can find the cup of Christ.  That diary mesmerised me.  I would pause the film just to catch a glimpse of the pages.

Leather bound notebooks filled with intricate diagrams, sketches and personal findings are every journaling fanatics dream. 

Let’s return to reality and back to my Pinterest discovery.  One of the guests on seaweedkisses was Jose from Spain.  His journal resembled the crusade diary in every way (well, apart from being in Spanish!).  It was then I realised that I had the ability to create a crusade diary worthy of any Hollywood movie.

Picture seaweedkisses.blogspot.co.uk

When I visited the Christmas German Market held in Birmingham, I bought myself a beautiful leather bound notebook with a Tiger’s eye crystal in the centre, wrapped by cord.  I had no idea what I was going to write in it, but I knew I had to own it.  Told you – Addicted! 

When I found the photo of Jose’s journal I knew that I’d found a reason to use my beautiful notebook, but what on earth could I write?  It had to be motivational so I could share my findings with my readers, and it had to be beneficial for my personal development and well-being.

Pinterest to the rescue again.  My continued search for inspiration uncovered sites’ for journal prompts and inventive lists for creativity (one of my New Year Flow Settings!)  I grabbed a piece of paper and began to scribble down ideas.  When I’d finished I realised I had a list of Power Words.

 
Using a double page spread (my notebook is 17cm x 12cm) I assigned one Power Word a day and doodled pictures, thoughts, feelings and quotes to do with that particular word. 
 

 

It was very similar to meditating.  I found a comfy spot and surrounded myself with my coloured pens and just wrote what came into my head. 

As I have a slightly hectic life, I found that keeping up with my Power Word doodles on a daily basis was not always possible.  I didn’t stress about it, when time allowed I added two or more words, in the evening before bed worked best for me. 

The pages are steadily filling up, and it’s amazing how calming it is to flip through the little book and find a nugget of inspiration to set me up for the day.

If you fancy giving it a go this is what you’ll need:

·         Pretty notebook (or make your own out of scrap papers)

·         Pen, coloured pens/pencils, stickers, or other embellishments you like

·         Favourite affirmations or quotes

 

You don’t need to be an artist – this is clearly obvious when you look at my journal compared to Jose’s!  I don’t care, it’s personal, quirky, and motivational and all mine.

Wondering what Power Words to use?  Try these:

·         Angel

·         Beauty

·         Childhood

·         Dreams

·         Experience

·         Focus

·         Grateful

·         Happiness

·         Imagination

·         Joy

·         Kindness

·         Laughter

·         Motivation

·         Neighbourhood

·         Open

·         Power

·         Quiet

·         Reach

·         Silly

·         Thankful

·         Universe

·         Vision

·         Wandering

·         Xmas

·         You

·         Zeal

My twelve-year-old daughter found me scribbling in my journal yesterday, she watched me for a while then disappeared, only to reappear with a tatty notepad from her desk and her pencil case.  I didn’t say a word, I just moved my book so she could share the table and felt the pride bubble up as she started her Power Word of the day doodle-fest.  Priceless!

 

I would love to hear your thoughts on this.  Do you already have a daily ritual that is similar?  Please share it in the comments section.  I love to read about your motivational techniques. 

Power Word of the Day = Delicious