I hope you find the journal prompts in this blog post helpful as you – if you dare – shine a light into the scariest most cobweb filled corners of your life

I live so far out of my comfort zone so much of the time, I’m used to scaring myself.

Sometimes, I go a bit too far and end up, like this morning, feeling travel sick in my own living room.

Obviously it WASN’T car sickness (what with being nowhere near a car) but, when I sat with it (outside in the fresh air), I was able to recognise all the things I’ve been doing that have pushed me that little bit TOO far out of my comfort zone these past few days.

Grab your journal and decide on a good level of scariness

I hope you’ll find this exercise helpful, as you journal or simply reflect.

Give yourself credit for facing your fears as well as potentially transforming them.

Journal prompts

Pick the questions that resonate most for you right now or answer all of them. They can be addressed at any time of year but Hallowe’en adds a playful vibe.

What are you most scared of being asked to reflect on? What truth are you fearful about facing?
When you think about your life as a whole, which areas see the most sunlight? Which get enough air? Which are dangerously dark and creepily cobwebby?
How do you feel about your relationship/s? What have you been ignoring? What are you ready to face?
How about your finances? Any scary shocks lurking beneath the surface?
What would Teenage You think of 2021 You? Are things better than you’d ever dared hope? Maybe she / he / they wouldn’t recognise who you’ve become?
Are you avoiding any important (or maybe simply reassuring) health checks?
Are you doing your best or have you given up on yourself? When you think about your long held goals and dreams, are you at least TRYING or are you so scared of failure that you’re destined to fail by not giving yourself even a shot at success?
What conversation/s have you been putting off?
How’s your home? (At time of drafting this, I still literally have at least one bat in the attic). What do you need to address?
How’s your love life? What are you scared of addressing there? What would your bravest self do?
How are you feeling about work? Are you scared to ask for a raise or to go for a promotion or new job? If you’re working for yourself, how can you put as many supports in place for yourself as you keep on keeping on?
Anything else springing to mind for you?

Congratulations!

I hope you’re taking inspiration from the skeleton pumpkin and doing a little Happy Dance to honour your courage in facing some potentially fear inducing questions.

Knowledge is power.

In NLP terms, there’s no such thing as failure only feedback and the mere fact that you began to look (whether you did some deep journalling or simply quickly shone a metaphorical flashlight in the direction of some cobwebs) is brave. By recognising where you are right now, warts and all, you can make better decisions around moving forward.