How to Make Journaling the New Guilty Pleasure

By @samkaczurlife



​FIGHT IT OUT? NO. WRITE IT OUT.

Journalling is extremely overlooked. I even had a resistance to journaling. I would put so much pressure to “perform” while journaling that I would end up feeling more guilt around it than improvement. That was because I was not setting myself up for SUCCESS.

Writing things by hand actually activates the brain differently than typing on a computer. This allows your brain to want to SOLVE the problems/thoughts that you wrote down, and to work in your favour subconsciously during the rest of your day.

Find a style of journaling that works for YOU. It could be Gratitude Lists, Brain Dump, Future Self Journaling from @the.holistic.psychologist , Dream Interpretation, Active Problem Solving, To Do Lists, “A sentence a day”... I had to explore a few different styles to discover what felt productive for me.

Tip #1: Always focus on solving a problem OR ending with a positive spin, this will allow the exercise of writing to leave you with a positive feeling rather than a negative one.

Tip #2: Find a journal that you LOVE, find a pen that you LOVE writing with. Make it special to open up those pages and write down your thoughts and emotions. Trust me, it makes a difference.

Tip #3: Journal the same time of the day. If you are focusing on a more reflective version of journaling (writing down “what happened”) do this at night. Or if you are wanting a more ACTIVE version (writing goals), write in the morning.

I created a 21 Week long Journaling Program for myself, I did one round last year and am gearing up for a second round because it worked so well. I journal both morning and night during this, it takes up a lot of time, but that is what I need to make those BIG changes.

You choose what works best for YOU. Remember, the pen is mightier than the sword. Use it wisely.

What journaling style are you going to try?