Note to self: take notes. You may need this.

Every once in a while, I wander back through my notes and journal. When I go back and read where I have been — mentally, physically, emotionally — I cannot help but be thankful for allowing the pen and paper to hold all of the parts of my life that I chose and those that happened to me.

As I page back through my journal, I find so many versions of myself. There is an optimistic self, a hurt self, an apathetic self, and many other versions — but they are all such unerring versions of myself. Radically authentic versions. Some things I say in there, I would never share in the world.

I don’t hold back when journaling — I allow embarrassment, self-accusation, anger, hurt, hope, grandiosity, and everything in between to move their way from the deepest parts of my brain, body, and soul through the pen and to the paper.

Okay, so I love journaling — but keep reading. The point of this message is to share something that may be useful to you.

Someone nudged me to keep a notebook of all the advice I received. I now keep notes of advice, poems, ideas, quotes, and thoughts that I have either asked for, found, or just heard in passing.

(Don’t let me fool you though. It may sound fancy, but this is actually a totally unorganized compilation of notes full of spelling errors in my iPhone).

Regardless, it has helped.

When I look through my journal and absorb all of the changes that have happened and are still happening in my life, I realize my efforts are not passive or wasted.

My journey of becoming is an active process that I am taking ownership of. And that makes me so proud of myself.

I cannot tell you how often I say, “Wow, I need to get my life together,” or mumble under my breath, “What the heck are you even doing?”

This is not to say I will stop saying those things to myself. Still, I share this to say that at this very moment, and moments when I reflect, I realize I am actually getting my life together. These records are what confirm it.

You may not keep a journal or notes on advice, but because I do, I want to share some of the notes I have from this year that have made the most impact on my journey.

My hope in sharing these is that you find inspiration or whatever it is you need from them, just as I did.

Or better yet, you will start a journal by using these notes as a start — it may give you something to look to when you inevitably get lost in life.

Maybe in upcoming posts, I will share more details about how each of these impacted my life this year. Some I kept front of mind, but others I rediscovered when I went back through what I now consider my “collection of wisdom” (iPhone special edition).

There is so much power in having an active role in your life — imagine this as reading your biography and still being able to change the plot if you don’t like the story.

Things happen to you, for you, and because of you. When you keep your reflections and inspiration in your hands, you start to see how much of life falls into each of those buckets.

I hope all good things happen to you and for you.

But most of all, I hope the best things in your life and this world happen because of you.