Category: Journaling

Journaling is a powerful self-help tool that is gaining popularity. You can purchase a variety of journals online from stores such as Amazon as well as in bookshops. Coaches and therapists also use journaling to help clients. It is also incredibly easy to journal on your own in just a plain notebook. However, all journaling has one thing in common and that is writing.

So how can you journal if you hate writing?

Draw Pictures

From simple to elaborate, any kind of picture that expresses your emotions and situation will help. After you’ve drawn the picture you can label and annotate it. If you leave a blank page opposite your drawing then you can come back and review it at a later date and jot down any additional thoughts, emotions and responses. Quite often this simple method will actually get you writing quickly.

Why not try using different types of pen or pencil to make your journaling more interesting and exciting?

Diagrams

If you are journaling about a problem, then you might consider using a diagram such as a mind map or decision tree. Diagrams are powerful because they are visual and help you to see patterns and connections more easily. If you are trying to make a decision, then you can illustrate the different outcomes and results to help you formulate the best decision. Adding in color not only makes them more attractive but can highlight connections.

Use Prompts

Using a simple prompt such as a word or question can help break the blank page syndrome and inspire you to unburden yourself onto the empty page in front of you. It’s important that you don’t feel that you have to write a lot or even in full sentences. The journal and act of journaling has to relate to your needs at that moment in time and this will vary day to day.

You could consider purchasing a journal designed for the specific use you need. There are lots of weight loss, gratitude, happiness and other journals available. Many of these will include prompts and recording methods that don’t require lots of writing.

Create a Collage

Get some magazines or newspapers and cut out words, phrases, paragraphs or even articles that relate to your situation or emotions at that particular point. Add in pictures that you find that could demonstrate how you are feeling or want to feel. Again you can annotate it to make it truly personal. Leave a blank page so that you can revisit and review at a later time and add in additional journaling.

Speak It

While writing using a pen and paper is probably the most powerful method of journaling you can also use dictation software such as Dragon. You’ll need the software and a computer with a microphone to use this method. It may be easier to start your journaling journey by speaking to the computer and imagining you are talking to a friend or just yourself. The software will ‘write’ what you say and you can save the document so that you can review it later.

You may decide to keep your journal electronically in which case you can review it and add in later thoughts and feelings by typing or dictating through the speech recognition software. Or you may decide to print it out and keep it in a binder. If you do print it out, then you have the opportunity to embellish it or make additional notes on the hard copy.

Be Flexible

Journaling does not have to be undertaken every day for a set period of time if that does not suit you. Many people journal every day for 20 minutes as that is the method that suits them best. However, it may be that once a week is enough.

Alternatively, you may decide that you will journal when you feel you need it. Some days it may be that you choose to use a prompt or picture to kick-start your writing. Other days you may find that the words flow and you can write without stopping.

The important points to remember are that the journal is a personal document designed to help you and that it is designed to be used and revised. It’s a living document and there is no right or wrong way to create or use it.

Expressive journaling can be your road to de-stressing and re-energizing your mind. It can help you declutter your brain and your soul, and help you get feelings out on paper where they can be examined and interpreted. Journaling like this can help you live more of your life in the moment, as you deal with the past and future in your journal. You’ll feel more secure in your daily life without all that hanging around in your brain, and you’ll find yourself enjoying your days with less worry and pressure.

Here are lots of different types of expressive journals, and each of them can be used exclusively, or you can mix and match what you want when you want it. We’ll talk about several of the most common types of expressive journals in this article.

Art Journal – Whether or not you are artistically talented, an art journal is an excellent idea if you love to doodle and sketch. What are you feeling? Turn that into a sketch. Draw an outline and then color it in with colored pencils or gel pens. If getting better at art is your goal, make the page opposite your creation where you write about how you feel about what you’ve created and how your progress is coming along.

Gratitude Journal – There’s no better way to increase positive feelings in your life than with a gratitude journal. Each day, reflect on your experiences, what you’re thankful for, and lessons that you want to remember for the future. And then take it a step further and let the people you’re thankful for know about it!

Dream Journal – Each morning, grab your dream journal and write down your dreams from the night before. Leave room after each dream, in case you come back with different insights later on, and you want to record them. Your dreams can tell you a lot about your waking life when they’re interpreted correctly!

Creative Writing Journal – If stories are your thing, try a creative writing journal. Write a short story every day, or challenge yourself to write a short story in just 100, 200, or 300 words. Challenge yourself and hone your skills!

Positivity Journal – Each day, pick something positive that happened that really inspired you. Write about what happened, the people involved, and how it made you feel. This can help you see more positive things in life overall, and helps decrease negativity.

Don’t overthink your journaling – just get started and try!

Being able to adequately express yourself isn’t something that comes naturally to some, or even most of us. But it’s important for you to be able to express yourself and express your wants, needs, and desires, as well as express things you don’t like. Being able to express yourself is necessary to live an authentic, fulfilling, and healthy life, and to help you create the life of your dreams!

There are three main steps involved in learning to express yourself. These steps may not feel natural at first because they are new, but stick with it! You’ll soon find yourself better able to express yourself to those around you with confidence.

Learn to listen to yourself, your emotions, and your intuition. Too often, early in life, we are taught (directly or indirectly) to hide our emotions, and put on a smiling face even when we don’t feel like it. It’s time to unlearn all of that. So, the first step is to begin to really feel the emotions that are inside you. Your first instinct may be to mentally run away from those feelings but try not to do that. Feel each emotion, no matter what it is, without any self-judgment. Your emotions are simply what they are, and there aren’t any wrong emotions, only wrong ways that we’ve learned to react to them. So, quiet yourself and allow yourself to feel because you can’t express yourself if you don’t know what you’re feeling.

Acknowledge whatever you are feeling. Honor those feelings, again with no judgment. By self-validating your feelings, you learn to seek answers from within yourself, rather than always looking outside yourself for solutions. In reality, all we need we already have inside of us. Acknowledging your feelings might seem very frightening at first because you feel vulnerable. That’s okay. That feeling of vulnerability will go away once your mind realizes there isn’t really any need for fear.

Tune in to how your body reacts to the emotions you are now experiencing. Body awareness is very important in learning to express yourself, as it is one of the best ways to gauge your comfort level. If you tense up in response to an emotion, show your body and brain that everything is going to be okay by doing some deep breathing. Close your eyes, acknowledge the feeling,

and then let it go. If a part of your body tenses up, consciously relax it. Use your new awareness to find what works for you in terms of expressing yourself, both emotionally and physically.

Setting goals is an important part of life. Without them you won’t know how to recognize success or achievement. By knowing your goals, it tells you what you want to achieve and why it’s important to you. While not all goals are equal they do all deserve the best chance of achievement.

In life we all have dreams, ambitions we want to achieve. However, it is entirely in your power whether they remain dreams or whether you will actually set out to make them a reality. If you think of a dream, then it is more like a hope; a wish not yet fulfilled. Perhaps your ambition is to be promoted to director in your company. That’s great but just having that dream won’t actually help you achieve it.

Writing your dream down can help increase the chance of it becoming a reality. The very act of committing it to paper makes it more real and concrete. You can see it.

However, there is more to making your dreams turn into reality than merely writing it down. You actually need to flesh it out. You need to give it substance and to create a goal. By turning your dream into a goal you are further committing to its ultimate achievement.

Your goal is the end-point. It is what you want to achieve and how you will know you have been successful. The key to success is to writing down the steps you will take to get there. How you will turn that goal into a reality.

It is important to know why that goal is one you want to achieve. So you need to write down what achieving it will look and feel like to you. How will your life change? By making your visualization of your success as descriptive as possible and by writing it in the present tense as if you are living it now, you create a connection with your sub-conscious mind.

Additionally, writing is a right-brained activity. It is part of your logical and analytical mind. However, the very act of writing keeps the right-brain occupied and allows the more creative left-brain to be accessed. This will let you begin to create and visualize the future you want.

Setting that vision down on paper is a record that you can refer to again and again. It will remind you why you want to achieve the goal you have set and how you will know you have achieved it.

Adding the steps to achieving the goal provides you with a to do list. You can tick off each step as you complete it and see your progress. This can be very motivating especially if you find yourself struggling. Acknowledging how much you’ve achieved can strengthen your resolve and provide motivation to continue.

Alternatively, by having a written record of your goal and the steps needed to achieve it you will be able to see if your mind has changed. Often you’ll find that your actual goal changes. Where you started as wanting to be promoted to Director you may find that you actually want to be promoted to Director of a different division or department or maybe even a totally different role!

Goal setting is not something that is written in stone. Your written goal, visualization and plan will not only be a record and guide but a working document that can be changed as your vision of your future changes. Having it written down enables you to track your progress and any changes. You can evaluate as you progress and by ticking your achievements off as you go you’ll be able to celebrate
your progress along the way.

Gratitude journaling is a popular tool used by coaches and consultants helping people to improve their health and lives. Studies have shown the benefits for mental and physical health. If you are considering whether this could be something that could help you then you probably have questions about what you need and how to do it. Gratitude journaling is actually very low cost and fairly simple.

You will need:

Writing implements: You could use a pen or pencil but why not increase the fun and creative aspect of your journaling by adding color and even texture. Different colored pens or pencils as well as different styles can make your gratitude journal not just a record of thanks but also a really creative endeavor.

Notebook: While you could use a piece of paper, keeping a special notebook for your gratitude journal ensures that you will know exactly where you are writing and allows you to review previous gratitude records. Your notebook can be a plain and simple one or you could splash out on a more decorative one. However, why not consider using a plain notebook and jazzing it up yourself.

By decorating a plain notebook or making a book from scratch you are making a greater commitment to the project itself. Your notebook will mean more to you and you will feel a greater connection to it when you use it. After all, if you are writing positive thoughts inside it, you also want to feel happy and proud when you see it.

Time Alone: By taking time out away from disturbances you are giving yourself space to think, relax and write. You’ll also find that you enjoy the experience of being alone and celebrating those things you are thankful for.

Now you know what you need it’s time to discover how to do it.

Collect your journal and whatever you’ve chosen to write with.

Find somewhere quiet and that you know you won’t be disturbed. Your journaling time should be a time for reflection and celebration free from outside distractions for the best results.

Ensure you are committed to gratitude journaling and that you want to feel happier as well as more grateful as a result. There is no point in just going through the motions of journaling without creating a positive meaningful emotional experience.

When you write, instead of creating a long list of things you are grateful for put some real thought into it. Take time to write about a particular event and describe in detail why you are thankful for it. Remember to record how you felt and why.

Try to include people you are thankful for as much as you can, not just events. By including specific people and the reasons you are thankful for them you will create a greater emotional impact. It becomes more personal.

Include surprises and unexpected events as these will create a stronger sense of gratitude and more significant emotional impact.

Set yourself a weekly date to write in your gratitude journal. While you could journal every day it may

be more beneficial to create a habit of writing in your gratitude journal once a week. This will allow you to plan for it and enjoy it.

There are no right or wrong ways to keep a gratitude journal. Everyone’s will be different. However, it is important that you are committed to the process and the outcome, as well as make time for it on a regular basis.

You are well aware of the power of your emotions. You probably also understand how sometimes they can seem out of control and unmanageable. If you’d like to achieve emotional balance, greater control over your emotions and better health the following information will prove invaluable.

There are certain skills to managing emotions. These include:

Definition: defining the emotion in your own terms and from your own understanding.

Distance: it is important to gain some distance from your emotions. This will help you gain clearer understanding of your feelings and how they are impacting you. When you are in the middle of the situation dealing with the emotions in the here and now everything will seem muddled and you will struggle to see what is happening as well as the bigger picture.

Release: by understanding and recognising the emotion as well as achieving distance you will be able to begin releasing the negativity surrounding it.

Focus: through focus on the emotions and the attendant triggers, feelings and behaviors you can gain clarity and create change.

Regrouping: by following through the previous skills you will be able to regroup your thoughts, feelings and attitudes. Creating a new set of behaviors when dealing with difficult situations will help you to cope will help you to cope in the future.

Maintenance: like all habits practice makes perfect and you will need to constantly remind yourself of the positive changes you have made with regard to your emotions and their impact on your life. What will you do to remind yourself how to remain positive, calm and balanced?

Writing can help you to achieve emotional balance as it will take you through all the skills above.

How does it work?

If you are suffering from an emotion such as sorrow then everything you think, feel and do will be tainted by it. It will have a negative effect on you and your actions. No one wants to live in sorrow for long.

By taking a piece of paper and a pen you can write yourself into a more emotionally balanced state.

Start by writing a really happy memory of a time when you were not experiencing any sorrow or any other negative emotions. Make your writing really descriptive so that you can see the scene clearly, make it colorful, add sounds, smells and things you can touch as well as taste. Write down how you felt and why you felt so positive and happy. Try and include the following:

When?

Where?

What?

Who?

How?

Why?

This positive memory will become an anchor. You can display it somewhere prominent or keep it safely hidden for use when needed. It is designed for use when you are feeling anxious, stressed, sorrowful, angry or any other negative emotion. If you have a bad day you can refer to it and be reminded of a happier positive time.

Next, follow each step from defining the negative emotion you are feeling to maintenance. Again include the when, where, what, who, how and why as this will really help you understand the emotion as well as any triggers and resulting behaviors.

By writing your thoughts and feelings at each stage, as well as identifying the triggers, you can not only understand the emotion better but yourself and your reaction to it. By having this written insight into yourself you are learning how to take control of your emotions and achieve balance. You will be able to refer to it to remind yourself how to cope with difficult situations or simply how much you’ve achieved and grown.

 

Journaling is not just for 12 year old girls! Journaling can be a powerful weapon in your get-it-done arsenal, and it’s easy to do. You can and should put all kinds of things in a goal journal, not just your thoughts and feelings on a given day.

Journaling is just one way of tracking your actions and successes, and yes, even your setbacks and failures. It also keeps your goal right in front of your face so you keep on top of taking action steps each and every day. It keeps all your ideas and revelations in one place so you can go back and review whenever you want. For example, if you are having trouble getting motivated one day because you feel like you’ve been working hard, but making little progress, going back into your goal journal is a wonderful way to help you see that all of those little actions really are paying off in a big way. So what should you keep in your goal journal? Start with these ideas and add to them as you see fit.

Detailed goal–Write down your exact goal in as much detail as possible. Describe it in a way that makes you feel excited about what your life will be like when you achieve your objective.

Your Why–Your Why is the big reason why you want to reach the goal you have defined for yourself. It’s the reason you are willing to take the massive action steps needed to change your life for the better.

Massive action plans and schedule–When you make the plan for how you will go about reaching your goal, write it here. Writing it down is important so that you can track your efforts so you can see what actions are creating the most results.

Braindumps–A brain dump is just a list of actions that you need to take in no particular order. Sometimes all the tasks you need to take build up in your head, making you confused about where you should start and what you should do next.

Prioritize–After you do a brain dump, organize the tasks into a priority list and add them to your daily and weekly to-do lists.

Daily to-do list–Write out your to-do lists here so they are always handy.

Aha’s–As you make massive action, you will have inspiration or aha moments when something becomes clear. Capture those ideas here so that you can refer to them later when you are ready to put them into action.

Journal entries–Yes, you should actually journal. Sometimes there’s nothing better than stream of consciousness writing to help you solve a problem or get your worries off your chest. It’s a therapeutic and inspirational way to work.

It’s normal to have trouble falling asleep when you have major life changes to deal with. You may find that you lie down exhausted by it all, but then your mind won’t shut down so that you can rest. Here are some things that you can do to invite sleep to come more easily.

Take light daily exercise

Find time to move your body each day. Regular exercise helps us sleep more swiftly and soundly. A brisk walk is all that is needed.

Have a no tech bedroom

We have technology everywhere. But it shouldn’t be in the bedroom. Ignore your TV, smartphone, and computer before bed. Resist the temptation to check Facebook one last time before laying down your head. It will only give your mind something else to start thinking about.

Journal

One way to get things off your mind before you close your eyes is to journal your thoughts for the day. Getting them out of your head and onto the page is extremely cathartic. This works best if you use a paper journal, rather than an electric one (see below).

Unplug earlier

The screens that we are all so addicted to emit blue light which affects our natural sleep cycle. The blue light mimics sunlight, so our brains actually wake up when we are watching a screen, whether watching TV, playing games online, working on the computer or reading a book on an eReader. Unplug at least 30 minutes before bedtime to ensure better, faster sleep. Snuggle up with a good book instead.

Meditate

Even if you prefer to meditate in the morning, using a guided meditation right before bed is very relaxing and can help you fall asleep faster. There are lots of free meditation apps you can use if you don’t already have a guided meditation that you like.

Keep the same sleep pattern

When at all possible, go to bed and get up at the same time every day. Your body will get used to this cycle so that you notice you start to get drowsy right around your bedtime. You’ll find it easier to get up in the morning also.

Only sleep in bed

Excluding journaling and meditating, only use your bed for sleeping and intimacy with your partner. Avoid studying or working on your bed since your brain starts to believe that the bed is where work occurs. So, when you hit the hay, instead of falling asleep the brain wakes up and prepares for work.

It’s normal to have trouble falling asleep when you have major life changes to deal with. You may find that you lie down exhausted by it all, but then your mind won’t shut down so that you can rest. Here are some things that you can do to invite sleep to come more easily.

Take light daily exercise

Find time to move your body each day. Regular exercise helps us sleep more swiftly and soundly. A brisk walk is all that is needed.

Have a no tech bedroom

We have technology everywhere. But it shouldn’t be in the bedroom. Ignore your TV, smartphone, and computer before bed. Resist the temptation to check Facebook one last time before laying down your head. It will only give your mind something else to start thinking about.

Journal

One way to get things off your mind before you close your eyes is to journal your thoughts for the day. Getting them out of your head and onto the page is extremely cathartic. This works best if you use a paper journal, rather than an electric one (see below).

Unplug earlier

The screens that we are all so addicted to emit blue light which affects our natural sleep cycle. The blue light mimics sunlight, so our brains actually wake up when we are watching a screen, whether watching TV, playing games online, working on the computer or reading a book on an e Reader. Unplug at least 30 minutes before bedtime to ensure better, faster sleep. Snuggle up with a good book instead.

Meditate

Even if you prefer to meditate in the morning, using a guided meditation right before bed is very relaxing and can help you fall asleep faster. There are lots of free meditation apps you can use if you don’t already have a guided meditation that you like.

Keep the same sleep pattern

When at all possible, go to bed and get up at the same time every day. Your body will get used to this cycle so that you notice you start to get drowsy right around your bedtime. You’ll find it easier to get up in the morning also.

Only sleep in bed

Excluding journaling and meditating, only use your bed for sleeping and intimacy with your partner. Avoid studying or working on your bed since your brain starts to believe that the bed is where work occurs. So, when you hit the hay, instead of falling asleep the brain wakes up and prepares for work.

You may not have journaled since you were a kid. Or maybe you’ve never tried it and don’t see the point. But, the action of putting pen to paper is an extraordinarily beneficial way to improve your life. Journaling is an effortless way to change your life when nothing is going right.

Discover what’s important

When you free write, you end up writing about the things that are most important to you. They may be things that you don’t even think of as that important but looking back over your writings later will give you a strong inclination of what you find the most rewarding in your life. For example, if you find yourself coming back to the idea of starting your own business over and over again, it’s obvious that it’s a dream that’s important to you. When your life is in chaos, you have less to lose, and you might decide to go for it and see what happens.

Track successes

We get used to living in a routine and frequently overlook the small actions we make that add up to beneficial changes in our lives over time. Journaling helps us see all the successes we’ve had, even when life isn’t going the way we want it to. Using a journal as a form of tracking our successes can bring us a great deal of comfort when times are tough.

Let go of old emotional blocks

We can share our deepest fears and worries in a journal. When we feel down, we often need a sounding board more than we need advice, and journaling gives us that. We can let out and then let go of past hurts and failures, our needs and wants, without having to tell anyone about them but ourselves. Writing is cathartic and can help us release old emotions and beliefs that are no longer serving us.

Find the answers

People who journal often report that they find the answers to problems within themselves by using journaling to tap into their unconscious. Each of us has the answers to every problem already inside of us and journaling is a way to access those answers in a positive way. It’s amazing how allowing ourselves to be honest and open to our struggles ends up making the answer we’ve been seeking so obvious – it’s all there in black and white.

Encourages creativity

Many people who journal find themselves writing poetry or drawing to express themselves. A journal is a safe place to be creative. There’s no judgment from others, just an open invitation to express ourselves in whatever way comes up. Allowing this creativity to spring forth is another way that our problems get solved because we allow our minds to be in a different, creative space that is open to all possibilities.