Journaling is a great way to record your daily experiences and express yourself. Whether you’re writing about the small moments of joy or moments of stress, your journal can be a safe space for exploring your thoughts.
When it comes to self-improvement, what are your biggest priorities?
This week’s journal prompt
Start Your Journal with a Positive Headspace
Before you open up your journal and start writing, you might first want to spend a few minutes getting into a mindful state and reflecting on your mood and what is going through your mind at this moment.
This doesn’t have to be a practice you do when you intend to journal in the form of a brain dump or stream of consciousness, but it can be really useful for other forms of journaling.
Why should you be in a positive headspace for journaling?
While this isn’t necessary every single time, there are definitely some benefits to being in more of a positive mindset as you write in your journal.
Try to be mindful of how you feel right now, and turn your negatives into a positive. Are you feeling a bit stressed about your job? You can think positively that you have a job you love or a job that pays your bills.
Get into a place of acceptance, gratitude, and mindfulness; that is enough positivity for your journaling. Here are some quick tips to help you get started:
- Take a few moments to sit in silence and slowly take deep breaths. Allow yourself to let go of any anxieties and just relax.
- Create a calming atmosphere – light some candles, put on soothing music, or use essential oils. Anything that helps create an ambiance of relaxation for you is perfect!
- Visualize yourself in a peaceful place – imagine the details of this space, and use them as inspiration for your writing.
- Write with an open heart – let your thoughts and emotions flow freely without judgment. Even if you don’t feel like it’s been a great day, permit yourself to express whatever comes up.
By taking these steps to set up a positive headspace before writing, you will be able to make the most out of your journaling experience! Your thoughts and feelings matter, so be sure to create a safe space for yourself to express them.
When you are grateful and appreciative of the blessings in your life, it boosts your mood, helps you become happier, and you carry that with you through every facet of your life.
Write down a few things you are grateful for every time you start a journal entry. Even if the rest of what you journal about isn’t all positive, you can still get into the right frame of mind from the very beginning with the simple act of writing what you are grateful for.
There are a few ways to express gratitude in your journal, but here are some simple options:
- Write down 3 people you are grateful for that day.
- Write about 5-10 things or possessions you are grateful for.
- Write a list of things or people in your life in general that you are grateful for.
Many people use their journals to write about their feelings and thoughts, which sometimes can be on the negative side. You can definitely use your journal for venting, but there are still ways to add some positivity to those journal entries.
For example, if you had a bad day because your car broke down, then you were late to work, and your boss yelled at you for it, see how you can spin it. Maybe when you took your car in for one issue, they found something even more serious that could have caused a major accident.
You just saved yourself from a potentially dangerous situation. Or when you saw how irrational your supervisor was for something you couldn’t control, you got the idea that you want a better job or to start your own business.
Full Year of Journaling Free Printable
Enjoy journaling this year by printing out this free printable journal full of prompts. This will help you get started with your journaling in an organized way and will provide you with many thoughtful reflection topics.
This is the journal for the whole year, with 53 weeks of journaling pages, one for every week of the year, plus a variety of other lined and doodle pages as well.
Journal Pages Include:
Cover Page
“This Journal Belongs To” Page
Journal Prompts Pages (1 for every week)
Lined Pages
Lined Pages with Image Spaces
Doodle Pages
Stream of Consciousness Pages
