Chapter 3: Message of Self-to-Self

Chapter 3 - Message of Self-to-Self. Do you sometimes lose motivation in a work project or a life project, feel like you no longer know why you are doing what you are doing? In ongoing states of distraction, it’s easy for our attention to be in escape mode. In this state, it’s easy to forget why you ever wanted to invest energy into something in the first place.

The final transformational writing process is called ‘Message of Self-to-Self.’ It will help redirect your attention to a specific project and unlock your inner wisdom in making progress on it. In the classroom, I designed a series of practices called ‘Writing for Writing.’ These guided exercises helped to explore deeper into our thinking and feeling modalities in a specific issue area in International Relations.

Students could reflect on their assumptions and biases but could also connect with questions and sources of inspiration that kept them curious and excited. In a similar way, Message of Self-to-Self will help you reconnect with the spark that drove your initial efforts to make something happen.

Throughout this session, I would like you to concentrate on a specific work project or life project that you may be struggling with. After a brief grounding process, I will guide you through a set of four questions and two prompts to explore how you relate to this project in this moment. By looking into both what blocks us and inspires us, we gain a deeper understanding of our creative processes. This ‘inner wisdom’ will unlock new and exciting paths forward.

In fact, you could think of this practice as ‘an interview with your inner self.’ Your inner self will not only show you why something may not be progressing, but as you will find out, it will also guide you. In the end, you will receive a message of self-to-self: a realization, some food for thought, or a signpost for the next steps ahead.

Now let’s get ready for some writing! Take a moment to find a comfortable position. Do you need to stretch? Do you need more water? More light? Make sure that you have pen and paper or a computer or tablet in front of you. Let’s take a deep breath in [INHALES] and release [EXHALES].

Don’t forget, you can pause the recording after each question and aim for 3 or 4 minutes to write out what comes to you intuitively without having to think too much. If you need longer, take the time you need. Remember: it is about your creative process so you can get creative with this chapter too! When you are ready for the next prompt, please start the recording.

In the next 30 seconds, write down the work project or life project which you may be struggling with. It’s something in your life that you’d like to regain your motivation and passion for. Be as specific as you can be. It can be anything small or big, something you’ve been working on for some time now or something that you really want to start but haven’t had the energy to begin until now. Pause the recording to write, and restart when you’re ready.

For the first question: in the next 3 minutes, focus only on the benefits of staying with this project. What is the best outcome that you could imagine coming out of this project for your self professionally and personally, for others, and maybe even the whole world? Pause the recording, and write out what comes to you.

For the second question: in the next 3 minutes, focus on what slows you down or holds you back. What are your greatest fears, obstacles, or challenges that have come up while trying to make this project happen? Pause the recording to write out what comes to you.

For the third question: write down how you currently feel about this project in the next 2 minutes. This could be about your emotions or about the specific stage your project is in. Pause the recording, and write out what comes to you.

For the fourth question: in the next 4 minutes, reflect on your learning within and through this project. What are three things that you have learnt so far? What are three things that you are still figuring out at this stage in your project? Pause the recording, and write down what comes to you.

Now take a moment to appreciate all the words that you have written in these four questions. There are two more prompts to this sequence so that you can harvest your personal message of self-to-self.

For the first prompt: read through your answers in the next 2 minutes. Mark any words and phrases that jump out to you by circling or underlining them, anything that resonates with you. Pause the recording, and then restart when you’re ready.

Second prompt: from those you have marked, select four words that you think are the most important or resonate with you the most. In the next minute, write a single sentence incorporating all four words. Do not judge what is coming. Try to let the sentence write itself. The sentence can be as long or short as you want. Pause the recording, and then restart it when you’re ready.

Whatever the sentence says, relate it back to the work project or life project that you have committed to earlier in this session. Remember: it’s a message to yourself, not a solution. Ask yourself: ‘What do I get from this message?’ What does it mean to you? Maybe new realizations or more questions! Continue writing in your own time so that you can capture these precious insights.

And don’t forget to save your writing. In the closing process, we will come back to all the work you’ve done up to this point. I suggest you repeat this chapter and the writing processes at any stage of your project because your message of self-to-self will probably be different every time!

Before returning to your day, pause for a few seconds, turn your attention within, and appreciate the shift that your inner work made possible. Thank you for the journey together. See you in the concluding session!