2 weeks ago I did this journal exercise with my team and wowwwiiieeeeee.
I’ve done lots of journaling exercises in my life. But let me tell you…
This one hit DIFFERENT.
I cried. My team cried.
And we all felt SO MUCH lighter afterward.
So if you want to change your life in 10 minutes… try this.
Hey Posse, what’s up? It’s Alex.
Coming at ya this week with a video that’s a little different from my usual copywriting, marketing, and branding videos.
But believe me, this lesson will be just as useful (if not more useful) for helping you level up your business in more ways than you can imagine.
Depending on how long you’ve been around these parts…
You might not know that I’m a BIG fan of personal development.
I was actually a copywriter in the personal development space for over a decade before I started my business and this channel.
And I’m a big believer that your business can only grow as much as YOU do.
Which is why I’m always working on myself as much as my business.
Over the years, I’ve adopted, picked up, totally abandoned, and come back to a lot of different tools that have helped me grow – both professionally and personally…
From woo-woo stuff like astrology, visualization, breathwork and meditation…
To more practical stuff like goal-setting strategies and productivity tools…
But one of the practices I come back to again and again is, you guessed it, writing.
No surprise there… but I’m not talking about writing copy…
I’m talking about sitting down with a pen and a piece of paper and letting my inner chatter go absolutely wild.
I always end up learning something new about myself…
Or discovering something I didn’t realize had been bubbling under the surface for months – or even years…
After journaling, I always walk away with a sense of relief and clarity about what to focus on… what to do next, or what energies I need to clear.
You know as well as I do that, in the life of an entrepreneur, we can easily get caught up in what we “should” be doing…
And it can be pretty hard to focus on what we NEED to be doing for ourselves.
Sooooo… with that said…
A couple of weeks ago, my whole team and I came together in Whistler, Canada for our annual team retreat.
Our retreats are always very strategy-focused.
We spend 2 full working days going over upcoming priorities, promotions, meetings, SOPs and KPIs…
But it’s not all work and no play…
We also schedule in time for connection exercises – connection with each other as a team AND connection with ourselves.
And this year, we did a 10-minute journaling exercise that was seriously SO GOOD.
It was so good, that when I finished, I immediately knew I was going to make my hubby do the exercise with me once I got home (sorry, babe! haha).
And I want to share this exercise with you today.
So get out a pen and paper, and jot these prompts down so you can come back to them later when you have a cuppa tea in hand and 10 minutes to yourself.
In total, there are just 4 simple prompts…
Prompt #1
“What are the agreements I’ve left unkept?”
What are the things you have said you would do but haven’t done?
Promises you made to yourself or with others.
Prompt #2
“What are the truths have I left unsaid?”
What are the conversations you’ve been avoiding…
Maybe you’re scared to bring it up because you don’t want to get into a fight…
Or you’re worried they might think less of you…
What things have you been withholding – or keeping to yourself – that are weighing on you?
Okay, next prompt…
Prompt #3
“What are the feelings I’ve left unfelt?”
What are the emotions, big or small, you’ve been sweeping under the rug?
Brushing aside…
Telling yourself to just “get over” already…
Or just not acknowledging them at all.
We do this almost subconsciously…
We think, “If I don’t feel it, it can’t hold me back” but the opposite is true.
If you don’t feel it, it will weigh you down and you won’t even realize it.
So what are the feelings left unfelt?
And the final prompt…
Prompt #4
“What are the situations I’ve left unowned?”
What are the things you haven’t owned up to?
What are the situations you’re still playing the victim in?
The goal is to take 100% responsibility for every situation in your life—no more, no less.
Which means, you also need to ask yourself…
What are the situations I’m taking MORE responsibility for than I should?
Are you taking on the responsibility for other people’s feelings, emotions, or reactions?
We want to own OUR part in everything – but avoid being a people pleaser and owning others’ parts too.
So what are the situations left unowned?
When you’re ready, set a timer for 10 minutes and allow yourself to journal on each of these prompts…
As you’re going through them, let anything and everything that comes to mind flow through your pen.
Don’t limit yourself to JUST business-related stuff…
Or JUST personal stuff…
And most importantly of all…
DON’T HOLD ANYTHING BACK.
Now is not the time to lie or share half-truths.
The only one who will see this is YOU.
If you want your life to improve, you need to start practicing radical honesty with yourself.
Once you finish these prompts, I encourage you to go back and read your answers a couple of times…
Ask yourself how you, your life, and your business would change if you addressed some of these things head-on.
And then make a plan for how you WILL address them.
I hope you guys loved this journaling prompt!
After you try the exercise, come back and let me know how it went in the comments below.
I’d love to hear from you.
And if you want to learn more about the routines I follow to keep my business and personal life moving forward, check out this blog where I share my 7 non-negotiable habits.
Until next time, I’m Alex. Ciao for now.
