The Sweet and The Salty

I LOVE writing. It has probably been the single most therapeutic thing I do.  Excercise is up there also (when I actually do it) but it doesn’t hold a candle to the clean feeling I have after writing.

It’s hard to describe, this feeling I have when the words have run out and the pressure to get them out is relieved.

I feel light, free, and purposeful. And it happens every time.

Every time I sit down to write I feel better after.

I do two kinds of writing. I write publicly here on this blog and I also write privately in a very private journal that I hope no one ever reads.

Both have totally different purposes, but I have found both are very necessary for me.

However, since I have been blogging, I’ve slacked off on my journaling.

I’m glad in a way that happened as it has helped me to see how important and how absolutely necessary journaling is for me.

When I write for blogging, I write for the purpose of sharing what I have written.

I write with an audience in mind. I write knowing that someone will hopefully read it and that it will hopefully resonate with them and touch their life in some way.

I write publicly for the purpose of connection with other people and the benefits that come from those connections.

I have been blessed tremendously by the connections I have made through blog writing.

There is nothing like putting my thoughts, feelings, and experiences down in written form and having another life touched by it or have another reach out and provide me with comfort and encouragement based on what I have written and shared.

I truly enjoy blog writing!

But there is a part of me that NEEDS private writing and the freedom it brings.

There are thoughts, feelings, fears, hopes, and dreams that I am either to ashamed to share with others, to bashful to admit I have, or they are to close to my heart to let them go very far.

Private writing for me consists of opening my journal, writing the date and the time followed by Dear Heavenly Father.

I then proceed to take God at His Word when He says to cast all my cares on Him.

Whatever comes to my mind, whatever needs to get out, gets out, no matter how ugly, shameful, or petty it is.

It took me a LONG time till I could write honestly this way.

But this type of writing, this get it all out, hold nothing back writing has brought me peace of mind like nothing else. There have been times when I have been plagued by a thought or a fear so overwhelming I felt like it was crushing me, only to have it all but disappear when I’ve spent some time journaling HONESTLY about it.

Private writing is a serious tool for me to have healthy emotions and a healthy sense of well-being. Private writing is so therapeutic. It is freeing, it is faith building, it is an absolute must for me.

I think the excitement and thrill of blog writing made me forget for a little while my need for private writing.

But after a while the feelings and emotions have once again begun to well up and seek a place to be spilled in a messy, unstructured, ultra safe place.

I know that I must heed them and allow them to have their place to dwell and be sorted out.

If I don’t I know they will find their way out, somehow, someway, and dealing with them then won’t be nearly as therapeutic and they will definitely require a lot more clean up than simply closing my journal and putting my pen down.

I am glad that I took a little break from private writing. It has helped me to really see the value in it and also helped me to see that while I truly enjoy public writing, I MUST make time to do my private writing also.

Both are important to me in this season of life. Both are necessary in their own way. Both have really helped me in this journey I’m on with Champion. Both contribute to my life in a healthy way and, with the time I do have available for writing, I now know that I NEED to strike a healthy balance between the two.

Let’s Talk! Are you writer? Do you journal? What benefits have you experienced from writing? If not, what are some other activities you find therapeutic?

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Dream, Decide, and Discipline. These three words are behind every accomplished goal, behind every dream come true.

Dreaming is fun, euphoric, and all-consuming.

Deciding to pursue a dream is scary, satisfying, and defining.

And the last one, Discipline, well that one is just plain necessary.  Nothing will come of the first two without this last one.

The first thing I wanted to do when I was younger was be a writer. To put words on paper and create a story, move people to action, provide a comforting word in a time of need, to be a part of the beauty that results from the written word.

That dream to be a writer was put on the shelf while I pursued other passions that seemed more practical. To be honest at some point I just stopped giving it much thought at all.

Yet life has a way of putting you on the path you were designed to be on. So here I sit, dreaming, deciding, and well um about that discipline thing? Yeah working on that one.

The dreaming part was easy. The deciding part, that was me starting this blog. But the discipline part, that’s the part I’m struggling with.

I find it amazing that I can be disciplined in certain areas, such as I rarely go a day without checking my Facebook. I rarely go a day without reading my favorite blogs. I rarely go a day without ending up on some rabbit trail search on the internet about some thing that I must know right then, such as how to make my own hairspray.  And yet those things in a way have their place, but they are not my dream.

And my dream is what I should rarely go a day without working on. And yet that’s not what my life is reflecting.

So in steps discipline.

Discipline is the necessary ingredient for my dream and my decision to pursue my dream to be worth anything. Without discipline I will be in the same place in a year.

I will still be thinking about how much I would love to blog, to write, to connect with others through the written word. I will still be watching others pursue their dreams, tracking status updates and adding to my arsenal of well researched topics I just had to know, for that moment.

Whatever is keeping me from fully, uninhibitedly pursing this dream of mine, I believe it can be conquered by discipline.

• Is it fear holding me back? Doesn’t matter, discipline is doing it even though I am fearful how it will be received. 

• Is it lack of time holding me back? Doesn’t matter, examining my discipline in other areas shows me I have the time but am spending it in the wrong places.

• Is it that I’m not in the mood holding me back? Doesn’t matter, discipline is doing it regardless of if I feel like it or not.

**Discipline is what keeps me from giving up what I really want in my life, what I’m dreaming about, for what I want just for that fleeting moment.

No matter what it is that is holding me back, discipline is the answer.

Discipline is what I need to make my dream a dream come true.

Discipline is the key ingredient.

Here’s a couple of resources I’ve found very helpful on becoming more disciplined:

*If you’re looking for a great book to help you be more disciplined I HIGHLY recommend ““The Do What You Can Plan” by Holly Gerth.  I read it a few months ago and was blessed tremendously by it.  It was just what this time strapped mamma needed to get going on some things. Love love loved it!  You can purchase it here. (Planning on re-reading this one again soon!)

**I love the blog Money Saving Mom!  Very encouraging blog with great tips on saving money, living life intentionally, and you guessed it:  Discipline.  The author of the blog, Crystal Paine, also has a great ebook out about discipline called 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life. Definitely recommend her ebook, it is a very good, motivating read! You can purchase it here or here.

Both these books are ebooks.  Don’t have an e-reader?  You can download the kindle reading app for any computer or mobile device here.

Considering an e-reader?  I L-O-V-E my Kindle Paperwhite!  It has revolutionized my reading life!  

Photo Credit: Grotuk

Let’s chat! What do you find gets in the way of you being disciplined about pursuing a dream?  If you are disciplined please share tips that have helped you!!!

(This post contains my referral links.  Read Disclosure here.)

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