Today we're going to talk about practical ways to start a mindful journaling practice.
So this is a transformational practice.
It builds self-awareness,
It supports overall well-being,
And it helps us process our thoughts and feelings with more objectivity and presence.
But how does it work,
And where do we even start?
The term mindfulness is everywhere,
But its exact meaning can be elusive.
At its core,
To be mindful means to be present and aware.
Rather than being caught up in thoughts about what was said in a conversation two weeks ago or how nervous we are about tomorrow's presentation,
A mindful person is present to experience it all,
Engage in the world,
Participate fully,
And notice our thoughts without allowing them to distract or take over.
Author and meditation teacher Joseph Goldstein summarizes it nicely when he says,
Every time we become aware of a thought,
As opposed to being lost in a thought,
We experience that opening of the mind.
As many of us have experienced,
However,
Simply being mindful is not as easy as it sounds.
Our minds wander or we get distracted,
And mindfulness can seem out of reach.
And this is where journaling comes in.
Journaling is an excellent way to cultivate mindfulness and create a habit of presence that we can carry forward beyond the page.
It's an economically savvy way to promote overall well-being,
Reduce anxiety,
And support deeper self-awareness,
While also helping us to build our ability to remain present.
Journaling is utilized in therapy and coaching sessions for good reason.
It is a powerful tool to help pull us into the moment,
Address distracting thoughts,
And release burdensome emotions.
Research has even shown that a simple act of keeping a journal may reduce anxiety.
So with all these benefits,
It's a wonder we're not all keeping mindful journals every day.
But the fact is,
Life is full of distractions,
And it can be easy to forget to invest in ourselves.
To begin to create a mindful journaling habit,
Let's begin with the potential barriers.
How to find time.
It can be easy to tell ourselves that we don't have enough time to write every day.
So let's start small.
Think about your average day and what time you could realistically devote,
Even five or ten minutes,
To mindful journaling.
For many of us,
This is right before we go to bed or first thing in the morning.
A helpful tip is to set an alarm at the same time each day to remind yourself to journal.
Another common obstacle is how to find the motivation.
While you may have great intentions,
Sometimes it's easy to get distracted from your goal.
To address this,
And to have more fun with it,
You can invite a friend to join you,
Or find accountability partners and coaches to support you.
Mindful journaling sounds wonderful,
But where to begin?
There are different forms of journaling that you might want to experiment with.
Expressive writing means exploring deep-seated emotions,
Which can be a powerful mindfulness practice.
You can also begin with a gratitude journal or a list of things that went well in your day.
If you don't consider yourself a writer,
Beginning with a list is an excellent way to journal.
You can capture your feelings,
Sensations,
And thoughts in short phrases,
Or even single words.
So as you get started,
You can experiment with these three different versions of mindful journaling and see what resonates for you.
Ultimately,
Capturing your thoughts,
Feelings,
And sensations on the page in ways that are most accessible to you will best support you in creating this habit.
The key is to capture these present observations without judgment,
And often writers will read back their words and feel that deeply held negative beliefs or emotions have less power.
To capture what we are thinking on the page invites us to slow down,
Assess,
And safely explore how we feel.
If the concept of mindfulness has always seemed out of reach,
Try one of the prompts I'm going to offer.
Maybe even try them all.
They might lead you to new perspective,
More harmony,
And better overall health and well-being.
So I'll give you one example of mindful expressive journal prompts.
Think about the emotion that was most dominant for you today.
What images or sensations does that emotion evoke?
I'll set a timer for 10 minutes and begin to write.
Another prompt is more of a mindful insight prompt.
And this is just a simple reflection,
Thinking about your day from start to finish.
What scene really stands out to you the most and why?
And the third journaling prompt I'll offer you is to list all the good things that happened today.
So when you think you're done,
List one more.
So once again,
These are to think about an emotion that was dominant and just write about the images and sensations it evokes.
Or think about your day from start to finish and write about the scene that stands out the most for you.
Or list all the good things that happened today,
Plus one.
See which one resonates for you today and really go for it.
The beauty of mindful writing is that it's practical for busy people,
And it doesn't require a lot of time.
You can do it anywhere with as little or as much time as you'd like.
And there is no great cost for the immeasurable benefits that come with increasing awareness and presence.
You can start today.
You can do this.
This can become a habit.
And if you need to,
You can always listen to this track again.
Wishing you all good things.
