In the hustle and bustle of modern life, it's easy to lose track of our growth journey. We often find ourselves caught up in the demands of work, relationships, and various responsibilities, leaving little time for self-reflection and introspection. However, one powerful tool that has stood the test of time in fostering personal growth is journaling. The simple act of putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) can have profound effects on our mental, emotional, and even physical well-being. So if you have ever been curious about journaling and have been putting it on the long finger, consider the following five points. Then think about how these things could benefit you. And maybe then give yourself some time and space to lean into your journaling routine. Listen and consider these five key aspects of powerful personal growth that can be facilitated through the process of journaling.

Embrace your personal growth as a playful curious process.

What do we do in those moments and those times when we feel lost, when we feel we are still looking for that thing that will make the difference for us. How do we manage that thought or feeling. And the first realisation from my perspective was this. You find what you are looking for, get unstuck or feel less lost by getting to know yourself better! By taking time to be more present for you, taking pause and considering how you are feeling, reflecting on what you are doing, you can give yourself a really good starting point to work from

Explore and learn how you can begin to more fully tap into your inner Zen. Feel less stressed, more empowered and energised in your daily life.

Take the time to nurture your levels of selfcare. Nurturing your mental, emotional and physical wellbeing builds resilience and empowered states of wellbeing. Interested in my free Personal Growth Journal. Check out this blog post on my website: www.mldevitt.co.uk

Explore how building stronger levels of self-acceptance can help you nurture deep personal growth.

Find your empowered state of wellbeing with these 3 key principles to nurture your empowered wellbeing mindset.

In the rush of daily life, we can begin to lose sight of how important it is to slow down and allow ourselves to be still, mentally, physical and on a soul level. The outside world is full of noises and distractions that keep us in doing mode. When actually what is just as important for us as human beings is to be fully comfortable with allowing ourselves to adopt a state of “being” instead. More specifically what I mean by “being” is proactively deciding to get out of that doing state, following to-do lists, need to or should’s and instead learning to ask ourselves the important question “what do I need for myself today” What if you made a choice to let go that to-do list for a day or two and gave yourself permission to fully embrace that state of allowing yourself to be still. Allow yourself to get off the treadmill of daily life and take a pause. Press that pause button. Take a moment and start asking yourself the following question: How can I slow things down for myself, how can I take even 30 mins and allow myself to sit and absorb and reflect on how I am feeling right now, what is going well for me right now, what do I want to work on about myself right now

Why journaling you might ask? Its only writing stuff down. And yet from my own journaling experience and from supporting my clients with theirs I have grown to understand and appreciate that it is so much more than that. If you can settle into a routine of journaling it truly does lighten your mental load, enable you to gain deeper clarity of your own processes and helps you to relieve stress and find forward movement in your life like nothing else. Have a listen to this weeks episode and think how you could begin your own journaling routine. To get the list of journaling questions that I mentioned during this podcast follow the link to the blog post for this episode here. Until next time Marie Louise Wellbeing Life Coach & Personal Growth Specialist

Through my own personal growth and while supporting my therapy and life coaching clients, I have become deeply aware of the concept and practice of self-acceptance. I have also become aware of the impact the level of our self-acceptance has on our journeys to being in a better place mentally, emotionally, and physically. The quality and depth of our own degree of self-acceptance permeates into nearly everything we do. It is a low gentle whisper that plays in the background of our daily lives. We can be almost unaware of the impact it has on us. As it is subtle and exists low to the ground in our awareness. And yet with my own self-reflective practice, and through exploring the concept of self-acceptance with my clients, what I have come to understand is that the more proactively we are willing to engage in reflecting inwards and exploring more closely how fully we are able to accept ourselves, then the better and more freely we are able to grow and expand personally and professionally. Firstly, take a breath. Take a step back from your day, take a step back for your to-do list, and let go of any negative inner critical thoughts that might be swimming around in your head. Pause and reflect on what your current inner self-talk is? Now take a few slow deep breaths, allow yourself to breathe out that old inner self-talk (if it's not self-supporting) and try using the below mantra to start that process of embodying “full and unconditional acceptance of yourself.” I fully and unconditionally accept all aspects of myself and who I am right now. I acknowledge and accept my strengths and weaknesses. I accept that I am a work in progress. I am ready, open and willing to learn and grow. Secondly, Journal your process. Take even 5-10 minutes daily to journal your thoughts around how you are being actively present in your own self-acceptance process. Use some of the following journaling prompts to support your process. -          I am choosing to accept myself fully and unconditionally because... -          Aspects of myself I would like to improve are… -          Aspects of fully and unconditionally accepting myself I find hard include… -          When I give myself full and unconditional self-acceptance, I feel... -          What daily actions will I take to embody and embrace full acceptance of myself? So, what I have experienced and grown to understand is that this active process of self-acceptance is one of the bedrocks of our personal foundations that will enable us to stretch and grow more easily into the person we are meant to be. If you are interested in journaling, I have a range of journals and e-journals that you can explore. Including “Your Daily Self-Love Journal. If you are interested in being part of a community that helps nurture stronger personal foundations, and helps you get out of overwhelm and build resilience, why not join my email list here and get regular updates, blog posts, podcast episodes and tips and techniques that will support you in this process?

So how would you like to dream big? Be brave take that first step and begin to pull some thoughts together on what your big authentic dream life would look like. Start to put down some thoughts on where you are now and where you would like to get to. Be intentional and present with the dream daily. Remember that it is fluid and ever-changing, the learning is in the experience you have along the way and your commitment to the process and the journey. Have a listen to my podcast as I talk through some initial steps you can take to dare to dream big for yourself. If you wish, for advice or support about your next best steps – email me directly at ml@mldevitt.com. If you would prefer to listen to my podcast you can get the latest episodes here.

Stillness and Soul Soothing Stillness and soul-soothing to build personal empowerment. Use this simple 5 step process to begin to embrace stillness and deeper soul connection. Slow Down! In the rush of daily life, we can begin to lose sight of how important it is to slow down and allow ourselves to be still, mentally, physically and on a soul level. The outside world is full of a range of noises and distractions that keep us in doing mode. When actually what is just as important for us as human beings is to be fully comfortable with allowing ourselves to adopt a state of “being” instead. More specifically what I mean by “being” is proactively deciding to get out of that doing state, following to-do lists, need to or should’s and instead learning to ask ourselves the important question “What do I need for myself today” So think about how you might be able to do this simple exercise for yourself over the next few days. What if you made this a regular routine for yourself, what if you showed up for yourself in this way every day? Imagine what a difference that would make for you. There is never any time but the present to get started with nurturing and supporting yourself. So can you make that choice for you? Allow yourself to be curious, be open, lean in and enjoy the process. Don’t judge it experience it and allow yourself to enjoy the process. And be grateful for the time you have and what you do for yourself in that time.   Take those first steps into self-acceptance. If you wish, for advice or support about your next best steps – email me directly at ml@mldevitt.com or check my personal growth and transformation Membership Community here. Or you can check out my blog here

There is a great Carl Jung quote and it's this. “Who looks outside dreams, who looks inside awakens” Have you ever wondered how to work out what is going on for you? How to work out what’s important for you or do you feel like there’s something you need to be doing but can’t make sense of what that needs to be? These feelings can sometimes be a good indicator that you need some time to pause, rest and reflect, to give yourself some downtime to consider how you can support yourself, to consider what your needs are and then to work out what you can do to meet those internal needs. So, finding a routine or rituals that support you is key to creating that space that will enable you to support yourself. Key elements that support this process are Stillness, Silence, and Self-reflection. Make a choice to look inwards at your thoughts and feelings, at your energy states and then work out what needs to be tended to.

In today’s podcast, I'm going to explore how we hold space for ourselves. I know that the world that we live in it can be crazy and busy with lots going on around us. It can get in the way of us recognising when we need downtime or when we need to give ourselves time, attention, and care. Giving ourselves time, attention and space is essential because by grounding ourselves in time and space for ourselves we can recognise what's going on for us and what we need to do to support ourselves and take care of ourselves daily. It offers us a holding space where we can begin to give ourselves the love, care and attention we need to learn how to navigate being in the world and how to cope with what's going on in our lives daily.

Did you ever take a moment to look around you and take in what your space is like, how does it feel in the spaces you are in most of the time, do your spaces inspire and ignite you, or do they drag you down? Do they drain your energy when you see what surrounds you? Decluttering for Wellbeing I believe the benefit of space in all its forms strongly supports our levels of wellbeing and our capacity for self-expression. If our spaces are cluttered and filled with “stuff” it inhibits and constricts what is possible for each of us. Also being mindful of what you bring into your space and what you choose to fill your space is key to how the energy of your space develops and vibrates around you. If you are one of those people who looks around your environment and keeps saying to yourself, I must give this place a tidy, or I must get rid of some of this old stuff. Pause for a moment and think how you could make time to enable yourself to do that. If you are having that thought around doing some decluttering, step in and embrace it. Then once you have done your decluttering choose one or two things to keep in your space that create a sense of calm and feeling grounded. It could be a calming image on your wall, a lovely, scented candle, a comfy armchair, and a throw. Keep it simple and choose one thing that represents that calmness for you and add it to your new space.

It’s all a go-go. Do you find it hard to slow down? Do you find it hard to be still? Do you know what it is that keeps you moving and pushing forward? Do you feel like sometimes you can’t see the woods for the trees? What would it feel like to truly slow down, to truly pause and consider exactly where you are right now, how you are feeling right now and what you need right now? Believe it or not, that is an essential aspect of what is going to support you in striving and achieving those states and things that you truly and authentically want to aspire to. In this modern world environment, it can be very easy to get carried along with all the need-to and must-have thinking. And it’s that thinking that drives that need to always be on the go and to strive for those things that we feel will be the answer for each of us, and then once that has been achieved it might be ok to slow down for a bit. But the trouble with that thinking is that most times once we get that thing, we have been striving for we then find something else we need to strive for and it becomes a vicious cycle of striving, pushing, seeking, chasing without any room to pause and sit with where we are emotionally, physically, and spiritually rather than materially. Interested in how to get grounded and more connected to yourself, access y Grounded and Connected download here.

I have been getting a lot of messages from the universe over the last week. Specifically saying to follow my bliss. To be led by my heart and to do what I love. I am in the process of a transition in the way I work right now and have been doing my best not to steamroll ahead and do what my head tells me I should be doing. But instead, give me some time and space to think about how I would truly love to work, what does my heart draw me to? Interestingly I wrote about this in last week's blog post “Building Personal Empowerment” So, I have consciously freed up a lot of time over the last few months with the specific intention of not doing anything. Just waiting and allowing myself to be still and see what ideas float into my mind. I have to say it has been a challenge to let go of all the logical mind thinking, thoughts telling me of all the things I could be doing, and instead take time to really learn to sit in my energy state and listen to what my heart and soul is telling me to do. On top of this process, it’s also been a challenge to allow me to let the ideas come without instantly giving myself lots of reasons why a particular idea and preference wouldn’t work. Letting go of that critical thinking and creating a more curious outlook has taken time and mindfulness. And yet here is what I have learned as I have set the intention to be more present and mindful around the choices, I am making for myself and set the intention to open myself up more to the idea of following my bliss and doing more of what I love from a work perspective.  Here are a few things I am more open to and aware off because of this process. And if this is something you are curious about implementing yourself have a listen to the points I cover in this podcast.  Where to from here? So maybe take some time over the next few weeks and allow yourself some reflection time, and ask yourself the questions what do I love to do, and how can I make more time to do that thing? Keep an open mind about how you can make space and time to follow your bliss, remember it doesn’t have to be all or nothing, find a balance that works for you, feeling joy is a pre-requisite of being human, and finally, there is no time like the present, you’ve got this.  Access my Grounded and Connected Free Download here.

Building personal empowerment Have you ever got to a point of thinking, why am I doing what I am doing, I have lost my sense of purpose, what is life all about? Maybe you are asking yourself where is the meaning in my life? There are things going on around you in the external world, and you are noticing that you are “feeling a bit lost” maybe even “overwhelmed.” Finding ways to get more grounded and connect to the internal you will strongly improve your levels of personal empowerment and sense of direction. It can also help you get back to a place of having more focus, of feeling clearer, motivated, and energized to move forward with life. So where do you start so you can begin to build a stronger sense of personal empowerment as well as feel more grounded and connected to your internal self. Life itself is an ongoing learning and expansion process. It is your right to live a fully heartfelt and authentic life. I do feel strongly that we are all on this human journey to learn how to live a fully heartfelt, joyful authentic life. So where do you want to start? What is your heart calling you to do? What block of time are you going to mark off in your calendar to build your state of personal empowerment. If you would find it helpful access my free workbook download: Getting Grounded and building Deeper Connection.  It will be a good starting point for you if you are a bit stuck on where to start. Until next time ML

Letting go and Embracing Stillness Have you struggled to get to a place where you are at ease with doing those things that you get real enjoyment out of or just simply taking time to literally do nothing? Our minds and their thoughts can really put pressure on us sometimes. Making it more difficult for us to make those choices that are truly self-supporting and self-nurturing. Our inner critic can leave us in a space of thinking that we must keep working, be doing something productive, or helping or doing something for others. So when a thought pops into our head of “I wouldn’t mind just chilling for a bit”, or maybe it’s “taking time to read a book”, or the idea of doing something that really feeds your soul that nagging inner chatter can talk you out of it. From my own experience and those of my clients, making space and time for periods of stillness or creativity offers a beautiful opportunity to get recentered, let go of overthinking, and start to explore a different state of being, that is way more peaceful and calming. Which is much more supportive in building a deeper sense of inner calm over the longer term. So, if you are one of those people who struggles to firstly allow yourself to have moments of stillness or make time to do those things that you get real value out of. Here are just a few responses you can offer back to the inner chatter that could be telling you it’s not ok to rest, slow down and make time for yourself. Check out my products for tools to support you in creating a space for stillness and introspection at www.mldevitt.co.uk Until next time ML x

In thinking about what to focus on for this podcast the following question came to me. How do we manage our overthinking and get to a place of living calmer and more grounded? The goings-on of our internal thinking patterns, internal narratives and conditioned perspectives can really impact how we engage with our daily experiences. So how do we manage and address a racing mind, a nagging internal narrative and limiting perspectives? How do we actually switch these off and create more empowering inner chatter? Some people would say “that’s just how I’m made” or “well I’ve always been like that” or “that’s not something I can change.” Well, the good news is that you absolutely can begin to change these things. You can start to rephrase the thoughts you let into your head, and you can begin to create a filtering system, to sift through and decide what thoughts you will allow yourself to have in your head. As well as becoming more selective about what thoughts you can choose to let go of particularly if they don't feel supportive. Yes, it will take time and practice, but the good news is it's certainly possible. Our brain is an amazing part of our anatomy and is flexible and capable of adapting and changing when provided with new information, on a consistent and long-term basis. So, practice, practice and more practice will help embed a new way of thinking that can be more supportive for you. In this podcast, I will mention a few key steps that could be a big support for you. And then I would encourage you to pause for a moment or two and start to consider how you would like to support yourself over the next few weeks to help reduce your overthinking patterns and get to a calmer state of mind. Where are you going to start? A book worth reading: Hidden Messages in Water Paperback – 5 Dec. 2005 by Masaru Emoto  (Author). Emoto believes that since people are 70 per cent water, and the Earth is 70 per cent water, we can heal our planet and ourselves by consciously expressing love and goodwill. So do a little reading around this and use this as a reminder, when filtering out your thoughts, and deciding what thoughts you hold onto and what thoughts you can let go of. Check out my range of e-Journals and hardcopy journals or why not join my recently launched “Soul and Empowerment” Hub and join in on the Soul and Empowerment conversation by clicking here. Enjoy my podcast and until next week folks Love and light ML