4/15/2020 0 Comments an introduction to journalingWe are humans. Humans have thoughts and feelings. Thoughts and feelings can accumulate in our head and cause emotional distress if we don’t address them one way or the other. Journaling is one of the ways to release the tension. You don’t need to be a Pulitzer’s Prize winner to journal, since you are just being honest and open to your heart and brain. All you need is just a writing tool (like a pen) and a place to put down your words(like a notebook).If you are the kind of person who thinks way faster than they could write, you can also use a laptop to start a digital journal. Journaling is fun, therapeutic, and it will definitely help you stay sane in such a stressful time. What is journaling?To put it simply, journaling is a writing exercise. Your journal can carry a vast variety of things- your emotions, thoughts, feelings, observations about certain things, or just plain-old “I had pancakes for breakfast today”. It not only serves as a great outlet, but also lets you keep a document of your life. It can be used in tons of ways, ranging from planning your day to day life to reflecting on the past year. In the next section, we will explore 2 types of journals, how they are done, and what they are used for. 2 Types of Journals1. Mood Journal Our mood can change pretty fast from time to time, and sometimes it’s trigged by some events, other times there’s no trigger at all. Therefore, keeping a mood journal lets us identify our triggers and patterns, and learn to manage our emotions in a healthy way. A mood journal can be done in mainly two ways: First, you can make a chart and document your emotions, like this: But if you don’t feel artistic, you can also keep a diary-style journal, writing out the time, place, event and your feeling. 2. Gratitude Journal It is important that in such uncertain time we are reminding ourselves of the things that we are thankful for. Although oftentimes they goes unnoticed, there could be small things (like a delicious meal) or relatively large things (The birth of a new family member) can be the source of our gratitude. Keeping a gratitude journal helps us have a positive and optimistic mindset on life, because so many good things can happen in life. Some tips to get you started: 1. Write regularly. It does not have to be every single day, but having and committing to a regular schedule will definitely help the rooting of grateful thoughts in your brain. 2. Be specific. Go into details so even one year later when you re-read your entries, the grateful feeling can be generated again. 3.Try to see subtraction as "gift" as well. For example, "I picked another road to pick up groceries so I avoided the traffic." Of course, there are tons of other types of journaling approach you could try : bullet journal, morning pages, food journal, etc. The main idea is to record and reflect, sometimes to look into the future and plan. Whatever you do, stay in tune with your feelings and be real with yourself. Well, how do i start?We are glad you want to start journaling! Different type of journaling may require different method when starting out, but we will give you some general ideas on how to just get your pen on the paper (or your fingers on the keyboard).
Firstly, and most importantly, relax! There is not a "right way" to journal. Your journal is your personal space, so you could build it and use it how ever you want. Even if you look up tutorials on how to journal, and you choose to follow such, you can still alter them however you feel like is the right thing to do. Secondly, choose your type of journaling, or combine them! For example, you could write the 3 or 5 things you are most grateful for at the end of your daily (or weekly) documentation of what happened that day (or week). Bullet Journal is a powerful tool when it comes to combining almost all types of journaling (without buying new, fancy notebooks.) Thirdly, if you really don't know what to write about, look up some journal prompts! There are tons of them on the internet, especially on pinterest and some blogs. The topic ranges from self-discovery to how do deal with your emotions more effectively, and what's better, because it's YOU that are writing the journal. so they are personalized just for YOU!
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