Art journaling=A commitment I readily make to myself.
Happy early-May Sunday to you! Today, I wanted to share a great exercise I recently completed in the course of the creative coaching group that I've joined.
One area I was asked to reflect upon and respond to dealt with self-commitment. Here's the question posed to me: What are your commitments to yourself for each of the four quarters of this year? I love the fact that the word "commitment" is not defined categorically; it's left up to the respondent to decide within what realm(s) the commitments will take place. My responses were:
January-March: Of course, this quarter has already passed; however, I had actually made the commitment to indulge in one massage a month--and, I did. My full-time day job requires a lot of time sitting at a desk or in meetings. Despite the fact that I do yoga in my time off, stretch throughout the day and make every effort to get at least 30 minutes of physical activity daily, I still get sore, tense muscles on occasion. Massage helps alleviate that. It's also great for reducing stress, high blood pressure, and it increases circulation. This measure has been so beneficial, I've actually continued the practice of enjoying monthly massages into the second quarter of this year!
April-June: What I've vowed to do is read no less than one non-fiction book a month. Normally, I strive to read two a month. Given scads of 9-5 deadlines, a planned vacation (along with several weekend getaways), teaching two weekend workshops, the finalization of my book proposal and participation in a creative coaching endeavor, it may be unrealistic to think I could comfortably knock off two non-fiction books per month this quarter. Thus, I've ratcheted it down to one (smile).
July-September: I am going to take myself out on weekly artist dates. Right now, my personal dream is to engage in one a month. Those, however, are generally three to four hours in duration, apiece. During the third quarter of 2013, I plan on giving myself at least an hour's worth of an artist's dates weekly: bookstore browsing, walks in the park, writing from a cafe, etc. All will be savored mindfully, of course...
October-December: I am going to gift myself with no less than one weekday moi day a month. This means I'll schedule the time off, each month, from work. The idea is to do whatever I feel like doing on those days: read from bed, have a guilty pleasures day, explore nearby antique shops, etc.
How about you? What are you committing to do for yourself within each of the remaining quarters of this year? I would adore hearing about it!
Joy + peace, T.
