Our Story - How Our Journal and Partnership Were Created
Belinda Alexandra
I met Kelly in 2020 when my publisher recommended Looking Glass Creative to design my new website. We hit it off immediately. Kelly is everything I find impressive in a creative entrepreneur. She is dedicated to offering her clients the best service possible, keeps herself abreast of new developments, all the while holding high standards of ethics, while also being screamingly good fun to work with.
I’d reached a point in my life where I had a lot of demands on me and was under constant stress. Although I had many things to be grateful for, I found that I had lost my zest for life and also my confidence, and I wanted them back.
I knew it was my mindset and habits that were the problem, and that I had the ability to change them. I’d also lost the sense of adventure and daring that had previously defined me, and I was feeling flat and stuck in my comfort zone. So I absorbed myself in studying positive psychology and practising meditation. I improved my exercise habits and set new goals that challenged and excited me. While I made excellent strides forward, I would also backslide badly at times, and that made me feel discouraged.
Then, one day, a quote from the British physicist and mathematician, William Thomson Kelvin, came up in my feed. What is not measured cannot be improved. What is not improved is always degraded.
I realised a big part of my problem was that I didn’t have a way of tracking my progress, holding myself accountable or celebrating my wins. And when things went off course, instead of analysing what went wrong and developing a new strategy, I’d beat myself up for failing, which would only make me feel worse.
So I developed my own system of positive goal-setting and goal achievement, intentionally conditioning my mind for how I wanted to feel each day, and reviewing my progress. It was a very simple system that I could fit into my busy schedule in just a few minutes a day, but it was powerfully effective and changed my life. I was feeling better than I ever had, but there was just one hitch - my system was kept together in a binder folder, and it was unwieldy and uninspiring to use.
That’s when I got the idea of creating a guided journal that would be attractive, fun, practical and a delight to use - not only for myself but for others who also wanted to feel good daily.
So I contacted Kelly.
Kelly Morton
When Belinda sent me her idea, it was an immediate yes. I loved it.
I already loved working with Belinda; it was always creative and fun, and we make a great team. She also has to be one of the hardest-working authors in Australia and one of the kindest. The idea that I could create something with her was a straight-up dream!
I’ll be honest with you, I used to think all this stuff (affirmations, journaling, etc) was bull****. It wasn’t until I went through some truly rough times and felt broken that I found myself later searching for answers. For something. For myself. Writing my feelings down, journaling, as well as relearning how to speak kindly to myself with affirmations, were the things that helped me rebuild myself (as well as my trusty shadow, my dog Mikey).
Enough of me, back to the journal!
It was vital to me to design something that was FUN to use (because fun’s a feel-good emotion), and we could all use a little more of it. And that’s not to acknowledge that you can have tough days or times and feel them. None of that toxic nonsense here. But we wanted something you can pick up when you’re ready, and it will be there for you.
It had to be a journal that people enjoy using, so we made sure it was packed with lots of extras, so that you:
See something new each time
Have something help you think in a different way
Help you remember something you thought was lost
I can tell you, this journal has been created with loads of laughs and a lot of heart.
Belinda and I first bonded over our love of animals. I matched her cat lady energy with my dog lady energy, so it was also important to both of us that this project give back to organisations we admire that need help. Find out more about them below.
For me, using this process has helped me be more present in the moments of my life, but the most important part of all this is you. I hope you have fun using this and hopefully find your own moments.
