We all start the New Year with goals, resolutions, whatever you want to call it. I am so passionate about self-discovery, documenting your life, and new adventures. So what better time of year to create a fun journal challenge involving all three? Who needs resolutions?! Create a revolution!

Join me in the…

New Year, New Journal, New You Challenge!

This challenge has just 2 steps.

Step 1:

What are you grateful for that has happen over the past year? I truly believe that before we can move forward, we have to see the beauty in where we have been. Did you know that there is a crucial component of happiness that is often overlooked? In Robert Emmon’s book, “Thanks: How the new science of gratitude can make you happier,” he draws on the first major study of the subject of gratitude, of “wanting what we have,” and shows that being grateful can measurably change people’s lives. The book goes on to share how people who regularly practice grateful thinking can increase their “set-point” for happiness by as much as 25 percent.

If you find journaling difficult to do, here are some tips to get you started and keep you going long after the glow of the holiday celebrations have passed.

1. Keep it simple
   Journaling by its nature is very simple. Open up your journal, set a timer for 20 minutes, and go. There’s no right or wrong.
2. Do it daily
   Daily habits are easiest to maintain. It’s much easier to make the time to journal if you ask yourself, “When am I going to journal today?” instead of “Should I journal today?” When you journal daily, it becomes part of your routine, like brushing your teeth.
3. Try it for 30 days
   It takes a few weeks for a new habit to sink in. Like starting a new exercise regimen, starting to journal can be challenging. But if you commit to just doing it for a month before making any decisions about whether or not it’s good for you, you’ll have a much better perspective.
4. Find the right time
   Should you journal in the morning or at night? That’s up to you. The best time to journal is when you’ll actually get it done. Experiment with different times of day and see which works best for you.
5. Find the right place
   It’s important that you minimize distractions when journaling. Interruptions from co-workers, family members and roommates can get you off track easily. So find a spot with plenty of privacy.

The point is to take a moment to write down your gratefuls. Trust me, when you take this step, you will discover things about yourself. A journal can reflect back to you how your motivation waxes and wanes, or how many projects you let fizzle out after a brief burst of excitement. Your journal is actually a gift to your future self! Keeping a journal today means you can look back in five years, ten years or in old age at what you were thinking and dreaming about. Here is where you secretly keep the past version of yourself.

Step 2:

Now – here’s the fun part: no doubt a new journal will be involved somewhere in this journey. I mean it is a new year why not a new journal to commemorate this new year.

So, the second part of the challenge is this:

Customize your own journal to symbolize this journey you are going to take with yourself. Every time you look at it, be reminded of the journey that lies ahead!

Your gratitudes can be small or large. It doesn’t matter. Just do it. And take it from me, when you use a journal as the symbol for your journey, it’s nothing but fun!

To help you get started, I’m offering you 20% off your next journal creation through January 31st. Just use the code “GRATITUDE” at checkout. Click here to begin designing your journal today.

I hope you’ll choose a Sheic Journal to be the symbol of your success, but even if you don’t, I want to be a part of your journey.

Please email me and tell me what you are doing for your New Year, New Journal, New You Challenge! With permission, I’ll post some of the responses to encourage other women to take that first step in becoming their best self.

Send an email to angee@sheicjournals.com with the following information:
- Your name and hometown (first name is fine if you want to remain anonymous).
- One thing you are grateful for.
- A photo of the journal you chose to be the catalyst for your journey

Wishing you a wonderful New Year and a fabulous New You,

How cool would it be to take your iPhone, your Sheic Journal and go to Starbucks or your favorite spot and take out your phone and review the prompt for the day so you can write away?!

This perpetual calendar was created to give you a topic each day for journaling, blogging or anything you’d like to use them for. Some are fun and some are serious, and all of them will get you thinking. Just select a month and day to get started and see where these topics take you.

Now mind you when we got lost, we were not only lost direction wise but I lost my religion and had a complete meltdown. Amy was a little scared at my ranting and I felt out of control and embarrassed. Looking back I know that I had that meltdown because I had such a negative outlook on life and I was playing the victim. I played the tune in my head, “who am I to think I deserve to go to a play like this.” “Dreams don’t happen for people like me.” These were stories I was telling myself and still to this day struggle with from time-to-time but I am better able to manage those stories now and re-write them.

Jump ahead to this past weekend and Beauty & The Beast was coming to my town so I thought it would be amazing to call my friend Amy and we go see the play again. We made it a girls night out and she was even going to stay the night. We left the house in a reasonable amount of time to get to the convention center. Not only that, I have driven to the convention center plenty of times to know I wouldn’t get lost.

However, most of the time when I drove to the convention center it was during the day and things look a lot different at night. For whatever reason, I took and exit too soon and we were lost!!! I couldn’t believe it. Was this seriously happening again? The difference between this time and last time is that Amy and I had a good laugh and we thought it was all too perfect. We both believed that it happened as it should. I mean how would we ever top the memory of the last trip if we didn’t get lost.

I follow a blog called Owning Pink written by Lissa Rankin and when I read her latest blog post it was a confirmation that I have grown as a person. Lissa shares her own challenge and how she too has changed her reaction to the small thing. Of course her experience I have to say was much worse than us getting lost. You can check out the post by clicking here.

It is nice to know that I have a chance to re-write the story of my meltdown. I look back at my journal entry and how painful it was to go through that experience and now when I write in my journal about this new experience, I can see how much I have grown as a person. It only took 15 years!

What story can you re-write today in your journal?

There are times when I can’t get out of the office or maybe I need a little more intimate setting so I can write in my journal. During those times, I like to fire up my Keurig coffee maker and make my own Starbucks at home. There is nothing like grabbing something inspirational, my coffee and my journal. I get in a cozy spot and have a few moments to myself.

What do you like to do to create a little oasis in your home to be with yourself?

When I learn something new, if I can see a visual, it will commit to memory better. This is just how I’m made up. When I came to learn about Pinterest, I thought I had found heaven! Maybe I’m the last person to find out about this site but I hope that this post is enlightening to someone out there.

Pinterest is a website that lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.

Here is a shot of my profile. It is pretty naked since I just created my account but I have already started using it to collect images for redesigning my dining room, living room and just general home decor.

What is really cool is that this weekend I went shopping at World Market. I found several items I fell in love with. I took some photos of them and then went to their website to find them and pinned them in my Pinterest account. Now when I’m ready to go shopping, I not only have the image but the link to the web page where I found the image so I can easily order it online.

Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests. I found several images that I actually pinned to my boards.

Here is one image I found on someone else’s board that I just fell in love with:

I am sure you are wondering how Pinterest can apply to journaling. Easy! You can use Pinterest to capture images and print those images to paste in your journal or use them as inspiration for your next journal entry.

WARNING: Pinterest is addictive! I find I look at the web with new eyes now and I am constantly looking at images. Before you know it, you have spent hours pinning images to your account.

It is lots of fun! In order to create an account, you have to have someone invite you to Pinterest. If you are interested in joining, send me an email to admin at sheicjournals.com and I will send you an invitation via email. If you already have a Pinterest account, let me know as I would love to check out your boards. You can post below so others who have an account as well can learn about you.

We all have a story to tell. I would have to say my theme song for this business is a song by David and the Giants from their 1989 album R U Gonna Stand Up (yes I’m dating myself and most likely you haven’t ever heard of this group) titled, “Everybody Got A Story to Tell.” I just love the title of the song and the song tells stories and how we all have something to contribute and our life does count on this earth.

When I came across the magazine, Where Women Create, I was thrilled to see a magazine that tells stories of entrepreneurial women. It not only does it through the text but also visually as each article shares the creative spaces of the women they feature. I don’t know about you but I am part visual learner so to not only read inspiring stories of how these women came to discover their passions but to also see the spaces where they create this passion is a feast for my eyes.

If you need a little inspiration, be sure to pick up the latest issue and read some of the great stories of some amazing women. More importantly, take out your journal and begin to document some of your amazing life!

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I grew up with a normal loving family. I had a mother, father and two brothers. We seemed like the perfect middle class family until one day that was all thrown out the window and my parents divorced. My brothers went to live with my dad and I stayed with my mom. Being raised by a single mother wasn’t easy. My mom worked so hard to put food on the table and a roof over our heads that there was barely any time or money for anything else.

I wasn’t able to participate in any school activities such as band, cheer-leading, etc. because my mom couldn’t leave work to pick me up after practice nor could we afford the cost of being involved in extracurricular programs. This meant that I really didn’t have many friends in school. I had other kids in the neighborhood to play with but when they were participating in other activities, it left me pretty lonely.

During these lonely times, I would write in my journal. I would write stories and dreams. For such a young person, I would really get in touch with my feelings. It was my escape as well as my best friend. I believe that had I not had a place to go to express myself, I would have found other avenues that might not have been so safe.

I recently attended a tradeshow where I had a booth to display Sheic Journals. I was reminded of how journaling impacted my life as a young girl as girls from ages 8-15 stopped by my booth and fell in love with the journals. Several mothers purchase a journal as a gift for their daughter.

How interesting to jump ahead to today that I have this company centered around journals.  I am so passionate and such an advocate for journaling. I’m excited for these girls to have the experience of journaling and for their mothers to recognize it. Who knows another life might be saved.

It is something about seeing those big homes that reminds me if that person can do it, so can I. In this blog, I want to share with you a great video from founder Angela Jia Kim of Savor the Success and how she uses her journal to capture her dreams as she walks around New York. This is a great and easy way to journal that anyone with a time starved schedule can do.

Enjoy the video and be sure to post below what inspires you.

Let me back up and give you a little history on this cat. We named him Renny because my husband says he looks like the horse, Renegade, which  Florida State University’s mascot, Chief Osceola, rids out on at the beginning of a home game. When Renny first started showing up at our house, we would try to coax him to us and of course feed him. Long story short, it took us 1 solid year before he would even let us pet him without him swatting at us. He has since joined our family and been with us for a total of 2 years now.

Jump ahead to today and it has only been in the last 3 months that he has let my husband pick him up without completely freaking out. We were trying to get him used to being held so we could take him to the vet to get neutered. Since we had gained so much trust and he was running a fever, we decided this was the perfect opportunity to take him to the vet. We also decided that since he was there, we would see if we could get him neutered after the vet got his fever down and the infection cleared.

I have to say I was hesitant and that should have been my first clue. We took him in and the doctor gave him antibiotic and his fever went down and the leg was no longer swollen so the next day the doctor decided to neuter him. All went fine and we picked him up that afternoon after his surgery. He was really, really out of it but we thought it was normal.

A day progressed and he wouldn’t drink and was acting very strange. Day 2 of being home didn’t get any better and he was acting even more strange and still not drinking. Day 3 came and we took him back to the vet and he felt he was dehydrated so he gave him an IV. He seemed to perk up so we took him home. Day 4 he still wouldn’t drink and was still not any better. I started force feeding him water and it seemed to help some but he still wasn’t the same Renny.

Day 5 we took him back to the vet to find out if he had Feline Leukemia and if he did, it meant we were going to have to put him down. By this time I was a complete basket case. I was bawling my eyes out. I didn’t want to share with anyone because they would think I was being stupid for loving a pet so much but my cats are my children. Call me crazy or think what you may but I truly care for them as much as a human.

Not to mention the thought of putting him down reminded me of when I had to put my beloved baby dog, Snoopy, to sleep and how even after 12 years I still miss her. I just couldn’t cope with the thought of going through that again. I mean I know it will happen one day with all our pets but Renny was still so new to our family.

I couldn’t take him to the vet as I just couldn’t bring myself so my husband took him and I said my good-byes just in case I would never see him again. After he left, I sobbed and began praying, “God I know there are people out there suffering and this is a cat and it may seem ridiculous to ask but if you could cause a miracle and save Renny.” I pleaded like I have never pleaded before.

I decided to take a shower to try and calm myself down and took my phone with me for when my husband called. The phone rang and my heart sank down the drain. I answered and the first thing my husband said was, “Wanna hear some good news?” I started sobbing and whaling in the phone and praising God. He went on to say that he did have FIV, which is feline aids but he was fine. His recovery was taking longer because his immune system is down and also he was still dehydrated.

Cats can live with FIV all their lives. Hooray we get to take him home!!! We actually decided to let the vet keep him overnight to hydrate him and keep watch on him. This is where the story gets even more interesting. Tonight my husband gets a call from the vet. Apparently the hair salon next to them caught fire this afternoon and they had to evacuate. Are you kidding me! Renny is fine and went home with the vet but can you believe it.

We still have a road ahead of us but I am forever grateful to God for giving me a miracle. Lately I have been feeling disconnected with my spiritual side and wondered if God was still hearing me. It is nice to know that no matter how far away I am from him, he is still listening.

One thing I like about the water is it is constantly changing between the tides and the weather. It can look so peaceful one moment and so violent the next. I have found such peace in the ocean and also such tragedy when a friend of mine was lost at sea.

When we arrived at the beach house, the ocean was very strong and stirred up. The water was murky and dark. It seemed to be a reflection of how I was feeling on the inside when I arrived. If you are a business owner, you understand how trying to get out of town for a vacation can be tricky. By the time I left I was a bit frazzled. This is a picture of the third day when it started to calm down.

By the 4th day, the ocean was beautiful and calm and I too felt the same way inside. I was finally starting to relax and live in the moment. It was amazing to me how my surroundings were reflecting my inside. On the last day of the trip, I took the photo below of a beautiful sunrise and the very calm and relaxed waters.

It was a huge difference from when we arrived. I have to admit though that returning back home after our vacation did bring with it some anxiety and trying to re-enter the day-to-day routine of the business but at least I savored every moment while I was away. I’m excited to be embarking on this new decade of my life. What a way to start out my 40s!