Live an Examined Life--Follow in Ralph Waldo Emerson's Footsteps

"Judge of your natural character by what you do in your dreams." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Are You Living the Life You Want?

Did you know all the great minds throughout time have one thing in common? They all kept written notes of their thoughts in a journal. Each had his or her own reasons for doing so, but in the end the result was the same: They lived an examined life.

Take Emerson and Thoreau, for example. According to Wikipedia, Ralph Waldo Emerson befriended Henry David Thoreau in 1837.  And in the fall of that year, Emerson asked Thoreau, "Do you keep a journal?" That simple question went on to have a lifelong inspiration for Thoreau--so why not for us? What inspiration could journaling have for us?

Most of us stumble along in life trying to find our way. We run into obstacles, get frustrated and perhaps get discouraged. Without living an examined life we can easily get stuck trying to figure things out in our head and fail to gain the perspective needed to see clearly and create the life we want.

Emerson said, "As long as a man stands in his own way, everything seems to be in his way." Committing your thoughts, feelings and ideas to paper is just what you need to get out of your own way.

Journaling gives you the perspective you need to see it is you who has the keys to go around obstacles, and it is you--not the world out there--that holds the keys to taking actions that will open your life. Once you can name the wall you've come up against when stuck, you can learn how to go through it. As Emerson noted, "Every wall is a door."

Everyone has roadblocks thrown at them, and everyone gets stuck.  Perhaps you've been been spurned by your love interest or rejected for a job, or you're facing divorce or a layoff-- and it feels like the world is getting in your way. By putting your thoughts on paper you will see clearer how to move forward creating the life you want.

Like Emerson and Thoreau, you have all the wisdom within you. Trust yourself. Start journaling--if you haven't already--to allow yourself to stand back from your thoughts and access your inner wisdom for overcoming obstacles and creating the life you want.

"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment." Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

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For more than 30 years, Susan Meyerott has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes changing easier than ever before.

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