Guest Post by Mari L. McCarthy
Mari is the first person I teamed up with when I “came public” about my desire to help people develop journal-writing skills in a meaningful way. She has become a good friend and mentor, and I’m pleased to share with you a guest post from her describing what she’s been up to lately. I have taken this course, and fully endorse it. Mari’s brilliant style of journal coaching is top-notch.
The Habit of Journaling
How good are you at starting something new? Is it easy to begin a diet, an exercise regimen, a meditation routine? For most of us, starting any kind of new practice that promises to improve our health and happiness is extremely challenging. We want to improve, but we’re reluctant to change.
You decide, for example, that you’ll no longer waste your evenings in front of the television. You’re going to start reading books instead. You spend one or two quiet nights with a great book; but then you remember that your favorite show is on and decide to catch it one more time.
The next evening there’s a special you want to see and the next you waste on mindless sitcoms because you’re mad at your boyfriend and before you know it, you haven’t made a change at all.
It’s one thing to do an activity now and then and it’s something totally different to make it a part of your everyday life. Often we carefully follow a new routine for several days, only to blow it and go back to square one. Unless we make the new habit as common as getting dressed in the morning, as every day as eating lunch, we are not likely to reap the full benefits.
At CreateWriteNow, we are dedicated to the everyday practice of journal writing, as a lifestyle that fosters personal improvement on nearly every level. While we discuss and use many different kinds of journaling, the Morning Pages, originally introduced by Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way, is one of the easiest ways to get started with a solid journal writing habit.
It’s easy, but it’s still challenging because you do have to take the initiative and begin. So we’ve developed a new course from CreateWriteNow called 12 Days of Morning Pages. You can access the course via email or in ebook format. Its tips and exercises are designed to be an easy and fun way to slide into your daily Morning Pages routine. With the help of the materials, you’ll find you have developed a powerfully healthy habit almost without trying!
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Mari L. McCarthy (also known as the Oprah of Journaling) is The Journaling Therapy Specialist, founder of Create Write Now, the Personal Growth Journaling Place. Mari offers counseling and encouragement to journal writers through her many online journaling resources, as well as private consultations. Mari’s teachings and workbooks center around journaling for self-discovery, self-growth, and self-healing. She has published nearly 20 journaling guides, exploring such topics as money, jobs, health, bereavement, personal organization, and more. Look for her 27 Days of Journaling to Health and Happiness, a course that begins this September 1st.