Starting a Journal 101
Decided to get into journaling? Good for you! Welcome to the practice that is shown to consistently improve mental and physical health.
Here are some guidelines to offer you some direction if you aren’t positive about how to get started.
Prompt Suggestions
Check in with yourself and how you’re feeling: Our lives are busy. We can easily check in at whatever coffee shop we’re at on Facebook, but when was the last time we checked in with ourselves?
Using your journal as a tool for checking in is a beautiful way to connect with yourself each and every day. Use your journal to explore how you feel, how your day was, or what you have been facing.
Reflect on what happened during your day: Journaling can help you beautifully reflect on your day. You can write about your actions, your interactions, the way the events in your day unfolded, what you accomplished, how your day felt—whatever it is, journaling can help you close out the hours.
Work through something that you’re going through: Each one of us has faced experiences that have left an impact on us, good or bad. Journaling can serve as a tool to help you make sense of the experiences you have faced in the past or are currently facing now. Turn to your journal to connect with what’s been showing up in your life. Some questions that have helped me work through things:
Is there a fear that’s holding me back right now?
Is there an anxiety that keeps on showing up for me?
Is there a part of my body that I tend to fixate on?
Is there a part of my relationship with my partner, friends, or family that needs working on?
Use your journal as a safe place to work through unexpressed emotions.
Write unsent letters to someone in your life: Writing letters without the intention of sending them can be a really therapeutic practice. Imagine writing a letter to someone in your past who’s hurt you or even someone actively in your life today. What would you say? Journaling unsent letters can help you find closure with someone without ever having to talk to them.
