Sometimes at the Endpaper Blog we get the unique opportunity to offer a platform to creative journallers from around the world. Today, we welcome self-development coach Trevor Higley to the blog to share how journalling his impacted his life as well as some prompts to help you develop your journal-writing habit.
You can follow Trevor on Instagram, Facebook or visit his website to get his daily journalling prompts, meditation work and more:
Instagram: @trevorhigleycoaching
Facebook: @trevorhigleycoaching
Website: trevorhigley.com
Introducing Trevor Higley
Name: Trevor Higley
Age: 26
City/Town/Country: Grand Rapids, MI
Occupation: Self-development Coach
Education/Training: Bachelor of Business Administration from Davenport University; Conversational Management Certification with a focus on coaching
Creative Works: I create and lead my own meditations that directly tie into my coaching programs
Places Travelled and/or Lived: I have travelled to a handful of U.S. states, England, Scotland, Spain, Australia, and New Zealand. I lived in England for roughly a year and Australia for a year as well.
Passions: My first and foremost passion is for self-development. Lack of self-development breeds stagnation and repetition. Through my passion for self-development came a passion for reading and journaling (often both at the same time). Coupled with self-development comes a passion for movement. I push myself to stay active 4-5 times per week as it actively fuels my drive to hone my mindset in addition to my health. I also have a strong passion for working with people as I was a gymnastics coach for 5 years. I quickly saw the importance of being a strong role model and how it can impact the lives of others… even when you don’t realize how the impact is being made.
Favourite Quote: “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” Those that know me will say I am quick to admit my flaws. Trying to make things happen as fast as possible is one of my biggest personal challenges. I love this quote because it reminds me that greatness isn’t achieved overnight.
What impact has journaling had on your life?
Without sounding dramatic, journaling is the reason I am where I am today. I first started journaling consistently while going through a difficult time with my partner at the time. It was actually his idea to try journaling as a way to help improve our relationship. Needless to say, it didn’t end up helping our relationship, but it definitely impacted me.
Through journaling I was able to decompress the thoughts flying around in my head. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint” applies here as well because my thoughts go even faster than my actions, mainly because my physical body isn’t capable of moving that fast! Putting my thoughts on paper allowed me to slow down and create intention behind my actions. The first 4 pages of my first journal were divided into categories: relationship, money, work, and life after graduation. I started this journal when I was nearing the end of college and was overwhelmed by the choices I had to make.
Fast forward a few months and many pages of journaling later, I went back and reread my journal entries from the beginning. Without any real reason for rereading other than to reminisce, I immediately began to see my mental cycles. I was repeating similar behaviors disguised by different situations and people that were, ultimately, the reasons I felt so overwhelmed and unsure about where I was headed in life. Being able to reread and see my own thoughts on paper forced me to get real with myself and I started to make changes to improve where I was headed in life.
To sum it up, journaling showed me myself. Journaling brought to fruition a desire to improve and understand my personal thoughts. It pushed me to develop myself on a continuous basis to ensure that I kept moving toward a life I wanted, not a life I was unconsciously creating.
What type of role does journaling play in your work as a personal coach?
There are two major roles that journaling plays in my work as a coach. The first ensures that I continuously keep developing myself. I can only show up for my clients at the capacity I show up for myself. I strive to educate myself and constantly reflect on the information as a way to improve myself and my mentality. Being a coach to me isn’t about arriving at any set destination whether it be a financial goal, published work, high profile clients, etc. Don’t get me wrong, all of those things are goals to strive for and do make me feel accomplished, but those reasons aren’t what fuels me. There will always be challenges to overcome for myself and everyone else in the world. Personal journaling is how I ensure I am continuing to better myself so that I can share what I learn/experience with my clients.
The second role journaling plays is as “homework” for my clients. This is exactly what it sounds like. I often give my clients questions, podcasts, readings, etc., and ask that they write about their thoughts pertaining to what I have shared. So much of self-development is spending time working with your own limiting beliefs. Having a journal is a safe space to slow down, disconnect from outside distractions, and have a real brain dump as I call it! Write it all down, reread it, and see where that takes your thoughts next.
What has inspired the journaling prompts you will be sharing with us?
The biggest inspiration came from my personal journey with journaling. When I first started journaling, I found it extremely hard to know what to write about. It took some time, but I found the ways that worked best for me. The journaling prompts I share are there to help others get started or to enhance their journaling. To encourage others to spend some time alone with their thoughts. To encourage people to take time to try to understand why they do what they do. To give them the ability to improve their lives with simple things like pen and paper. If I can help even one person by sharing a journaling prompt, it makes me feel inspired to create more and more.
Scroll through Trevor’s prompts above or check out our special new Trevor Higley Coaching collection on the Paperblanks Journal Prompts App!
