5 Ways To Be Honest With Yourself

Let’s talk about being honest with ourselves. I've thrown together a 5 different points on how important it is that we are honest with how we are really doing and how to go about handling the reality. Enjoy!

1. Check In

"Check in" with yourself every now and then. By this I mean, regularly share with yourself how you really are. Sometimes we tend to go through the days on autopilot completely forgetting to stop and evaluate our own hearts.

Today, I woke up feeling pretty off. A little sad, and maybe a little unmotivated. I didn't feel like doing much of anything. It was my day off and nothing was holding me accountable.

But then I decided to be honest with myself. I decided to stop and take care of myself for a second. I got out my journal and I wrote stream of consciousness.

Whatever I was feeling, it appeared on paper. Eventually, I was in tears over how rough of shape I was in. I took a deep breath, and thought of a few things to do during my day. I would have wasted away the morning if not for checking in on my heart and finding it's true location amidst my emotional radar.

2. Write Down Your Goals

Next, I want to encourage you to do a visual exercise. Take out your journal and pen, or just a piece of paper you could put up on your wall.

Write down 5 goals in your life right now. Anything at all. Be honest. It could be "read everyday." Or it could be "take a walk 3 times a week." Whatever on earth it needs to be for you, write it down so you're required to stare at them.

You're being honest with yourself here. You are telling yourself what you long for; what you desire.

Look at this list everyday. Work toward these goals inch by inch. If it would help, tell your best friend or spouse about these goals Ask them to hold you accountable. Set a reminder on your phone to look at your list everyday. Stay inspired.

3. Journal Stream of Consciousness

I mentioned this above, but stream of conscience is really special to me.

Stream of consciousness is a form of writing, and it is defined as; "a literary style in which a character's thoughts, feelings, and reactions are depicted in a continuous flow uninterrupted by objective description or conventional dialogue."

Letting the words flow.

My challenge to you is to grab your journal and maybe set a timer. Date the top of your page. Start the timer. Write whatever comes to your mind. Write at least 2 full pages in the time that you have. If it helps, pick one word and write it at the top of your page. Dwell on this word and see what happens. A few examples could be: "hope, life, breathing, goal, vision, or alive."

Now read it over. What did you just find out about yourself?

4. Look At Your Schedule

In the spirit of being honest with ourselves, let's look at how we are spending our time.

This form of being honest with ourselves in particular will require a course of action.

So go ahead and take out your phone calendar, or take out your planner if you're really put together like that.

Now, this post is meant to be an encouragement; a wake up call to what you really need.

When you look at your calendar, I want you to ask yourself...is this healthy? Do you have any room for alone time? Any room for your significant other? Are you a crazy working person? Whatever your life situation is and your schedule looks like, I want to encourage you to add one or two notes on your calendar as a reminder to stop and take time to yourself. If you're a mom, I would highly suggest this to you. I'm not a mom yet but I have a feeling I will have to pencil time for myself in, and I encourage you to talk to your spouse and figure out how to do that. Any place of life that you are in, take a moment to pencil in something very important for you to do on a regular basis. Something that keeps you feeling alive. Or better yet, something that keeps you alive.

Our schedules say a lot about what we prioritize in our lives.

5. Take Action.

Now that we are toward the end of this post, you probably have more of an idea of what you need to do to make your life a little healthier. I think that being honest with ourselves is actually a very kind thing to do. I didn't suggest doing these steps so that you can feel bad about what you are not yet doing for yourself, but to encourage you to take action on any changes in yourself that might need to take place. Or, maybe you read this post and realized your'e doing pretty good. Congrats, my friend. Keep going!

Here are a few ways you could take action:

Read often. I feel like when we are willing to open our minds to new perspective and new ideas we are more likely in a place of honesty and more willing to be present with our own minds and with the people around us. Two of my favorite books similar to this topic are Scary Close by Donald Miller and Daring Greatly by Brene Brown. Make sure you check them out.

Share your thoughts with those close to you. If you need to take action on goals that you just wrote down, make sure you tell others.

Don't forget to journal. You will see me talking about journaling very often on this blog. This is because I think it's one of the most important things a human being can do in their lives. Documenting the reality of life in a form that we can look back and remember. I think it really holds us accountable to being honest with ourselves and what better way to make change in your life than looking at the words that reveal your heart?

I hope you walk away from this post feeling encouraged to make change. I believe that you were made for incredible things.

If you have any thoughts on this post, I would love to hear in the comments below.

Kayla