One daily routine that is a must for me is journaling. I wake up, do a mediation and do my three morning pages. Sometimes the pages consist of the dreams I had, things I want to accomplish in the day or things that I am grateful for. And sometimes the pages are just random thoughts that come to mind that I put in writing to let all the clutter of my mind come out in front of me.

Journaling is a practice that allows me to lay out my ideas and write down memorable things that happened during the day, week or even year. It also helps me see the progress I am making in my life as I can look back on what I wanted and achieved. Look at how that’s changed to what I want to see in my self now. Putting my thoughts in writing makes them seem clearer to me. It also is like a message to the universe that I am serious about my goals, that writing them down is like a contract promise towards the growth I have been working on. It shifts the reality of your goals and ambitions when you put them in writing.

Journaling is a great exercise to practice for a number of reasons. For me I can write out situations that are frustrating me or causing me anxiety and work through them. In the stressful times I write out the situation and then I ask my self questions like why is this causing me to feel this emotion ( anxiety, frustration, anger, sadness). Then I ask myself is this situation/ person meaning to make me feel this way? Usually no that is just the way I interpreted the situation or yes but it really has nothing to do with me. After I figure out what could my response be to the situation or person that would help me move on and past this uncomfortable feeling. Can I just accept that they are having a bad day or that this person was not intentionally trying to hurt me. Can I use this situation to my advantage? Could this situation give me more time to do things I would like to do? Could this situation be a learning curve and actually be a blessing for me? I map out the whole event and question the emotion that has come up and get to the root of what is bothering me. Once I have done that then I can work through it and come to a resolution. Journaling is a great tool for this. It’s cheaper than therapy and can help you grow and exercise working through difficult situations.

Journaling can also be a way of manifesting. Putting down your goals and prioritizing how to achieve them. Writing down what your daily, weekly, monthly and yearly goals help visualize the steps to take on how to reach your goals. This helps you to make a clear plan and figure out which path is the most effective to take as well as track the progress and check in to see what is going well and what areas need some reworking.

Journaling can also help shift your attitude. I always write “I am” statements. “I am” statements are affirmations that I write down to create my reality. When I put “I am” it shifts my mentality to think positively. These short affirmations are the starting of the embodiment of I AM which I can see the positivity take shape in my everyday life. First, I write them down and then I say them out loud and in front of a mirror. These short statements will carry with me in my mind for the rest of the day. If I need a little reminder or a boost of positivity I can look back at my journal or can have the affirmations in the back of my mind to remind myself of the “I am” that I have embodied. Some examples of “I am” affirmations are;

I am powerful

I am perfect health

I am happiness

I am empowered

I am strength

I am beauty

I am focus

You get the idea, but these affirmations are so so powerful, and I invite you to write your own “I am” affirmations.

Another great exercise in journaling is doing a word dump. Where you just write in your three morning pages everyday. You just write down anything that comes to mind to get it out of your head so you can focus and be clearer for the day ahead of you. This came from the book called The Artists Way by Julia Cameron. I have been doing morning pages for almost a year and a half and I don’t know what it is but doing these morning pages has helped keep me accountable not only for writing in my journal but also putting my goals and my thoughts on paper as I mentioned above. It truly is a magical exercise and does something to my mindset for getting things I want to do done. If you are not sold on the whole writing in a journal thing, I really want to encourage you to start with these three morning pages. It doesn’t have to be in the morning when you write them, it could be at any point in the day but just do them everyday if you can and see for yourself what happens. It has allowed me to be more focused and have less procrastination and become more organized.

Journaling for me is an exercise that I will continue as part of my daily practice into 2019. I invite you to take a stab at it. And here are a few journaling prompts if you are unsure what to write about;

What are you grateful for?

What are some of your goals for 2019?

What are 3 great memories for you?

Where is somewhere new you would like to see or travel?

What is holding you back from reaching your next level to becoming a more confident or better you?

What are your “I am” affirmations that you would like to bring to life?

Give it a try and feel free to write what you experience was whether you have become obsessed like I have or if you do not think it is for you. Also, I want to encourage you to share a journal prompt of your own on my latest Instagram.

Until next time,

Xo Kristy