Recalibrate to your truth
Journal prompts to reassess and reconnect
Your journal prompts this week:
Where in my life could I benefit from a reassessment of my needs and values?
What feels off, odd, or no longer true? Or, what could benefit from a boost?
What would these areas look like if they were aligned with my truth?
In my first 6-8 weeks postpartum, my dreams were pretty vivid, and one in particular really stuck with me. At the end of this strange dream in which I was thrown into various situations where I felt like I had no control, I overheard a couple talking who I realized had gone to college with me. I heard them drop names of people I knew, who are today all working for major news publications or outlets. They mentioned a name I didn't know and asked, "Whatever happened to them?" I interjected and told them I also went to college with them, then I said, "You know that person you're wondering about? I can tell you what happened to them because I'm pretty sure a lot of people ask the same thing about me. The answer is: a whole lot of nothin'."
Ouch.
After I woke up, I wondered, "Wow, is that really what I think of myself?"
I was sad and disappointed because I knew I once had those fears, but I thought I was long past them. I thought I'd confronted what my old idea of "success" was—what I was conditioned to believe success looked like—and had moved well beyond it.
Of course I analyzed the heck out of this dream, and I asked myself: "Do you really want that fancy job? Do you really want to be like so-and-so from college? Do you really think you missed out on your calling (to become a journalist)?"
The instant answer I received from within was a firm "NO."
So why did I have this dream? Why were these feelings still lingering?
Likely because I'm in a phase of life where my identity feels like it's shifting. Becoming a mother is a HUGE change, and I've found myself reassessing my priorities. I'm currently floating between the person I was before motherhood and the person I am becoming.
I recently had the pleasure of doing a deep dive into my human design with Rocky Heron, and he was the one who described this phase I am in as recalibration. The way I see it, I'm not changing into an entirely different person, but rather I'm recalibrating to myself, to my truth. I truly believe motherhood is shining a bright, glaring light on everything that's working for me and everything that's not. I would have gotten here eventually, but motherhood expedited my need to build a life I truly love, right now.
I've spent a lot of my life and career doing things for other people, being the ultimate taskmaster. This isn’t necessarily wrong or bad. I WANT to be of service, I want to help people. But it recently occurred to me that how I've been helping people up until this point might not be aligned with my truth, and I have more value to offer than just the tasks I can complete. My need to be of service, up until this point, has kept me safely hidden behind others and their work.
Now that the amount of time I have to work on projects has been more than cut in half, it is more important than ever to spend the time I do have actively building the life I want, one that doesn’t keep me hidden or in the comfortable zone I’m used to. I am being called to give that time to going "all in," and not on my business (again, something I can hide behind), but on ME.
So this is why I have been quiet for a few weeks. As I've been recalibrating, there have been a lot of painful moments of self-doubt and fear, and I've questioned everything . . . but at the end, a clear path forward has presented itself. This is the clearest path I've ever had, and it feels more aligned than anything that came before it.
Many changes are coming, and I can tell you about some of them now:
This newsletter will be moving to Substack, so the next one you see will look a little different because it's a different platform. The full archive of the newsletters I sent through Mailchimp is already on there, in case you want to go back and revisit past prompts.
This newsletter will now be called "Soul Journaling Sessions." The focus will be on stories and journal prompts that encourage self-study and spiritual reflection. (And don't worry, meditations will find their way into this, too!)
The goal of this newsletter will definitely not be brevity. I'm a writer, and I like writing personal essays, if you can't tell. So I'm unapologetically embracing the truth of who I am, and you'll see more essay-style writing from me, along with the journal prompts.
A NEW newsletter and podcast will also be released that will support content creators specifically, so if you create content for your business, brand, or to share your creative work, this one will be for you. More news coming on this soon (this will also be on Substack).
Thank you for being on this journey with me thus far, and I hope you are excited to continue on it! And if not, that's okay too. I do realize this newsletter originally started with a focus on yoga & journaling. And while I will eventually teach again, it will be within the context of this new work I am embarking on.
Have you found yourself in a season of recalibration? Feel like you could use one? Send me a note and let me know what you've been working on, and what you learn from these journal prompts.
With much love and gratitude,
Marcy