Journaling can be beneficial from tracking growth, setting goals, gaining self-confidence, improving communication and writing skills, reducing anxiety and stress, strengthening memory, and allowing for inspiration and future plans! Journaling can improve your mood. When you sit down to write, it will enable you to still your mind and body; this helps memory, negative self-talk, prioritizing problems and concerns, tracking mood, and what triggers/can help.
Benefits from journaling:
Increases memory can be a release for emotions
Stockpile ideas that will always be there to look back on
Mental exercise
Things on paper can help put life events into perspective
Help those recover
It can be time-consuming if you need it to be
Track your mood
Recognize triggers, issues, and problems
There are many benefits to journaling. It is so simple to pull out a journal and jot down your thoughts, ideas, and beliefs from time to time. We have a few ideas for you to get started with journaling. These questions are helpful for reflection.
Question #1 - What was your favorite part of today, and what did you enjoy?
From time today or every day, jot down what your favorite experience was or something that you enjoyed. You can look back on your journal in a few months or weeks and reflect on what made you joyful and how much has changed in that time.
Question #2 - What is something you are looking forward to this week?
Jot down this question once a week, reflect on the previous weeks, and see if what you were looking forward to turned out well.
Question # 3 - What is something you once dreamed about for years but have today?
This is a great question to make you think. You will have to delve back into your life and reflect on what you have and once dreamed of.
Question # 4 - What am I proud of right now?
This is a great question to make a list and reflect on it in a few months and see how much what you are proud of has changed.
Question # 5 - What hurt do I hold on to? Why don’t I want to give that up or leave the pain in the past?
This will make you question some things, but it is great to note, so in the future, you can look back and make edits if you make strides to let the hurt go.
Question # 6 - What causes me the most stress currently? (friends, family, school, work, natural disaster, sickness, etc.)
Make a point or list of your stressors and explain why you let them bother you or provide examples as to how they stress you out. Reflect on the past and present, so you can see if those stressors have stayed the same in the future.
Question # 7 - When was the last time I was moved to tears in joyful laughter?
Reflecting on times of intense laughter and joy can be so beneficial; it can bring back memories and set precedence for the future of what you want to feel like and be around. Jot down the people you were about and what the conversation was around the laughter if you can remember.
START JOURNALING TODAY! The benefits are endless, and we hope these questions have kick-started your motivation to start journaling! We look forward to talking to you all next week.
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