I’m a huge sucker for a new journal and (while my wallet may say otherwise), this is actually a good thing! Journaling has actually been proven to be extremely beneficial for mental health, especially for those of us that have depression, anxiety, or experience high levels of stress (which is all of us at some point. Am I right?).
Writing frequently in a journal allows us to write down and process our thoughts and feelings. In return, this can help us manage anxiety, reduce our overall stress load, and begin to understand the root causes of our stress.
Journaling can also be used to help put our minds into a state of gratitude and allow us to practice positive self-talk (all things that can be extremely helpful when managing stress or working through anxiety).
As someone that has struggled with taking time for myself in the past, I am extremely passionate about encouraging others to engage in self-care and manage stress efficiently. Journaling is one great way to do so!
I want you to take care of yourself so that you can show up well and live your purpose.
This passion for self-care and stress management is why I started my Etsy shop, Simply Sunshine Gifts which offers a range of self-care products.
I’ve recently started using a five-step journaling process that I love and I wanted to share that with all of you!
Step 1: Focus on gratitude
Putting our hearts and minds into a state of gratitude is so important. It can be so easy to lose sight of all the wonderful blessings in our lives!
Gratitude has also been proven to help improve our psychological health, enhance empathy, increase mental strength, and improve our self-esteem. If you are interested in learning more, check out Psychology Today’s article here!
This is why I choose to begin my journal entry every day by stating the things that I am thankful for. It could be just one thing or it could be ten, but we all have something to be grateful for today. Just the fact that we have woken up this morning is something to be celebrated.
It’s hard to have a bad day when you are intentionally focused on all the positive, beautiful things in your life.
Gratitude for the small things was the inspiration for this journal I designed. “Do small things with great love.” Available on my Etsy Store.
Step 2: What is my anxiety trying to tell me?
After I have set my intention for the day by writing what I am most grateful for, I like to move onto this next exercise.
As someone that struggles with anxiety, I often wake up feeling anxious about the day ahead. When I do not address those feelings, I will spend the rest of the day wondering why I am anxious or thinking that something is wrong.
After listening to a Dave Hollis podcast, I began implementing this task into my journaling routine. Hollis mentioned that when we experience anxiety, it is trying to tell us something. Therefore, he believes that one of the best ways to help manage anxiety is by figuring out what the anxiety is trying to tell us.
To complete this exercise, write down every single thing that is stressing you out. It doesn’t matter how irrational or irrelevant you think it is. If it comes to mind, write it down.
After you have finished writing, look back through your list. Take each fear that you have and write a counteracting statement or a plan of action.
For example, my dog was recently in the hospital for about a week with a severe case of pancreatitis. I completed this exercise on the day he was supposed to be coming home and one of the fears on my list was “I’m scared to be responsible for Bolt’s care.”
I wrote this counteracting statement beside it, “You are capable and you have people to help you. If you are unsure of anything, you can always call the emergency vet. If he doesn’t get better, it’s not your fault.”
Rationalizing and working through this fear on paper helped me feel more prepared to face the thing that I was scared of.
This exercise doesn’t work well for every situation, but this is something that I have found to be helpful in many cases!
Step 3: What would you like to accomplish this year?
After you have addressed any stressors or fears, it’s time to start focusing on our goals. What would you like to accomplish within the year?
Focus on the hard stuff. You are capable of amazing things!
Be very specific about your goals and how you are going to accomplish them.
Once you have established your goals, list them out. Do this every single day to help you stay focused and motivated to continue pursuing them.
One of my goals is to remain fit, healthy, and active by working out at least five times a week.
By writing this down daily, it reminds me to live intentionally and do things today that will help me accomplish this yearly goal.
Step 4: What do I need to accomplish today?
Now that you have identified what you would like to accomplish within a year, it's time to focus on the things you can do today to help work towards those goals.
For me, that would mean I would complete 20 minutes of a workout.
This shouldn’t be a massive to-do list of everything that you think you have to do today.
Instead, focus on the things that will really move the needle and actually help you get closer to reaching those goals.
Step 5: One thing you love about yourself
This may seem a little childish, but mindset is such an important part of self-care. We need to be engaging in positive self-talk and one of the best ways to do this is by continually building yourself up.
It can be so easy for our internal dialogue to be so negative ALL THE TIME. We criticize our appearance or compare ourselves to others.
That is why I want you to focus on one thing you love about yourself and try to make it different every day. You are uniquely YOU! Nobody else is exactly like you and that needs to be celebrated.
I hope this process was helpful and that you are able to use some of these steps in your own journaling process. I would love to learn about your journaling routine as well! Reach out in the comments section or to me personally to share your journaling practices.
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