Learn to let journaling be your best friend. It will aid you in discovering fears, concerns, and limiting beliefs you are experiencing in your life. Identifying negative thoughts and emotions is critical so that they can be shifted to more positive, uplifting ones. Journaling is also an amazing stress management tool in that it allows you to write down what is triggering you to feel this way.
The main goal of journaling is to help you learn from life experiences. Here are some questions you can ask yourself in your journal daily:
- What happened today to make me feel good? Make me feel bad?
- What lesson(s) did I feel I needed to go through today?
- Did I have an encounter with someone? Was it good or bad? How did it make me feel?
- How was my overall mood today?
- How well did I communicate with others today?
- What happened in my relationships today with my spouse/kids/family/co-workers/boss/neighbor/friend, etc.?
- How did I feel when I woke up this morning? Happy? Sad? Why?
- What amazing gifts did I receive today?
- What events happened today to make me laugh and/or smile?
An active journaling practice is also key to helping you sleep better. Make it a habit to journal right before you drift off to sleep. Release any worries, frustrations, or negative thoughts you experienced during the day. LET IT GO! Don’t go to bed with unfinished business rustling around in your head. I can promise you that when you wake up the next morning, it will be the first thing that appears – yesterday’s drama! Remember that you receive the gift of 24-hours each day so do not waste it reliving anything from the day before. It is in the past where it belongs. Today is a fresh, new day!
Journaling is also an excellent tool for tracking your day-to-day progress. We cannot truly see how far we have come along our life journey if we do not in some way keep track of what has transpired. Reviewing past entries is instrumental in helping you uncover any limiting beliefs you have that may be holding you back from experiencing a more fulfilling and joyful life. Use your journal effectively and efficiently. Record ideas and thoughts all during the day. Who said you cannot bring your journal along with you while you are at work or school? Let this be a vital tool for reflecting on what has happened in your life each day. This will prove to be invaluable as you work to continuously improve your life. Life is a journey and you should work each day to make it better. Only you can do this work. Only you can write down what you thought, felt, and said each day. Let it be a guide to process those emotions, identify which ones are holding you back, and discover how to shift them to more positive feelings.
Start with small steps. Even if it is just a single sentence – you are journaling! Do not focus on spelling or grammar – just let the words flow onto the page. This journal is yours and yours alone. No one else is going to read it. You can find a basic journal page under the “YOU-niversity” main header and then Member Only “YOU-workbooks”.