What's Right With You - Journal Prompt

We spend a lot of time and attention on what's wrong with our lives, on what we want to change--improve, fix, let go of. We often approach self-improvement with the intention of finding what's broken, so that we can fix it. Unfortunately, this keeps us focused on looking for what's broken. And since what we focus on expands...

An alternative approach is to look for what's good, what's working, what's right with us. And since what we focus on expands...

Make a list of 100 wonderful things about you. What do you like about you? What are your strengths? Your accomplishments? Your gifts? What do other people complement you on? What are you great at? What's good about you? Also list the attributes of your sacredness, of your true self, of your unlimited beingness. Let this list capture what's best and most true about you.

Then read your list every morning and night for a week.
    And then another week.
        And then another...

The first time I made this list, it was a revelation. After about 20 or 30 good things, I found myself at a loss. But I kept at it, and finally the flow of good began again--until I hit the next dead end. This happened several times. Each time I thought I couldn't come up with one more good thing, then some new wonderful aspect of me would break through and I'd be on a roll again. I actually ended up with more than 100 good things on my list.

The next day, when I went to read my list, every item on that list, even the ones I struggled with, seemed so obvious. Of course that's true about me. I was amazed that coming up with a list that seemed so obvious, had been so hard. I find it sad to admit that until I read that list, I doubt I'd ever had that many consecutive good thoughts about myself.

This is a powerful practice.

Variations On a Theme:

• Write a new list every week.

• In your gratitude journal, along with writing about what you're grateful for, make it a daily practice to acknowledge what's right with you.

• Spend 5 minutes every morning and evening looking at yourself in the mirror, and, in both "I am" and "you are" statements, list all that's wonderful about you. Be sure to include what you like about your face and body, even if you have to start small.

Julie Isaac