In order to be successful in your personal and professional life, you have to have time to reflect on what drives you; what makes you YOU; why the hell you do anything, anyway.

We are bombarded with so much information on any given day and so many ways to “connect,” that we’ve lost any real connection with ourselves and by extension, with others. Instead, we are drowning in a sea of confusion, wondering what our next move should/could/would be (if only…). And we’re talking both personally and professionally, mind you.

I have a simple solution and it’s rooted in writing. But you don’t have to be a writer to do it, although writers welcome! I repeat: you don’t have to be a writer to do it. You just have to be human. Sorry, Beastie the cat, you don’t qualify.

So, I dare you (and I hope you dare yourself) to do
MORNING PAGES.

I read about them in THE ARTIST’S WAY by Julia Cameron, although I adjusted the process a bit to fit my lifestyle (and because I’m a rebel by nature, woohaa!)

Just think of one normal day in your life.
Can you even count the thoughts that go through your head?
Do you even remember half of the stuff that you were thinking?
Are you focused enough to tell yourself what you want that day, let alone the coming days? Imagine your thoughts as a heaping basket of laundry. With morning pages, you can take each item of clothing, iron it, fold it and put it away, until you need it again.

People who have made morning pages a habit, swear by them, and continue to do them for years and years.

I’m daring you to do them for 2 weeks only. Let’s start there and see what happens.

Here’s how it works:
• Morning pages are 10 minutes every day in the morning. Wake up, make your coffee and open a notebook. Yes, actual paper. And, you’ll be using an actual pen, too.

• Morning pages should not be for anything, meaning, you shouldn’t be actively writing them for any reason, although that project you’re working on might creep up into the pages, it shouldn’t be your main objective.

• Your only objective is to keep the pen moving on the page with whatever comes to your mind that day. They can be about your groceries, something you’re thinking about, something you dreamed, what you have in store in the day ahead… or all of the above.

• If you have nothing to write, just write down “I have nothing to write today…” and keep going with random thoughts as they come to you.

• As always, don’t scratch out, just keep the pen moving – doesn’t have to be fast paced, just moving.

• Morning pages should NOT be reread by you and do not have to be used for anything. No one will ever see them.

MY SUGGESTIONS
Set your phone alarm to 10 minutes.
Put your phone on airplane mode for that time. It’ll be OK.

This is to be done everyday in the morning and for the purposes of this challenge, for 2 weeks only. But hey, feel free to keep going. Remember, it’s not for anything – so relax while you do it. Be patient, you’ll see results.

We would love your updates on how it goes or is going.
Write here: info@fadeinbeirut.com