Journal writing prompt: Who’s in charge?
“If you don’t run your own life, somebody else will.”
~John Atkinson
In your journal, consider today’s quote. Who do you give up control of your own life to? Your boss? Your spouse? Your children? Your pets? Your business? Your circumstances? Are you aware of when you give up the duty of running your own life? If you are the one in the driver seat, have you always been? Or did you experience an “a-ha” moment where you chose to run your own life again?
Daily journal writing prompt bonus: This quote effected me on many levels when I first read it. I thought about my business, my passions, my family….While I own my own business, sometimes, I have found that I allow it to run my life for me. I’ve found that, with our family schedule, my children sometimes are running my life. I was sort of shocked and dismayed when I came to this realization as I was allowing other people, circumstances, and things to take over without even realizing it. I have found that some of my friends feel the same way - and also have found themselves giving up the “running of their lives” to societal pressures - the pursuit of things. I believe when we do this, it often leads to unhealthy stress levels, and, in time, serious health issues.
However, the good news in all this is that I’ve also found that we seem to have “warning signs” that tell us when someone or something else is running our lives. These warning signs are different for different people, but, as a general rule, they are there. In your journal, think about times when you’ve given up the task of running your own life to someone or something else. What “symptoms” did you experience? How did you feel emotionally, physically, and spiritually? Take some time to write about this in your journal, and mark this page for future reference. Make a mental note to be aware of your own personal warning signs, and, as needed revisit this prompt to add to or subtract from your original ideas of your own warning signs.
Happy Journaling!
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