I find it humorous that over 2 years ago, I used to think the idea of journaling was ridiculous.
“Isn’t that what you do when you’re in school and you like one of the other kids in your class, so you write about how much you love them and then doodle hearts and shit all over your book?”
At least, that was my understanding of journaling because that’s the only kind of journaling I ever did.
So I thought the idea of doing it as an adult was pretty stupid.
But I did it anyway. Because I will always at least TRY something before I write it off completely.
Journaling wasn’t easy for me in the beginning. I remember seeing it on my to-do list (yeah, I treated it as a “to-do” instead of something that MUST be done each day) and would put it off, put it off, put it off, until it was the end of the day and I was all.. “eh, I’ll do it tomorrow”.
And when I WOULD finally sit down and journal, it would feel terrible. Like I was wasting my time. There were 8,267 other things I’d much rather do then sit down and write about how awesome my dream life is (when in fact my life was average at best).
I would often write things like –
“This is so stupid.”
“I hate journaling.”
“This makes no sense.”
“I have no idea what I’m supposed to write.”
“I hate this.”
“I can’t wait until this experiment is over.”
And so on and so forth..
But I kept pressing on. I’d heard SO MANY good things about journaling from some of the biggest and baddest entrepreneurs, so I didn’t stop, even though I so badly wanted to.
A lot of my journaling was pretty negative in the beginning. A lot of it was jibberish and made no sense. It was a bunch of “this is stupid” type statements, or run-on sentences of me talking about what I wanted in my life (but not really believing it was possible for me).
I committed to doing it consistently every single day, but some days I’d spend 5 minutes or less (especially the days I felt uninspired or pissed off at the world). I’d say on average, I’d spend 10-15 minutes journaling every day.
I was happy with that because at least it was happening daily.
After a couple of weeks, I started journaling a bit differently. Instead of just writing out my dream life, I incorporated 3 other things –
Brain release –
Letting everything out of my head and putting it all on paper. This has been the biggest help in getting me ready to start my day with a clear head. I was often starting my day with so much crap in my head from the day before and overnight, that I was almost always feeling behind and overwhelmed.
Now, the first thing I do in my journal is clear out my head. I release everything that’s going on in my brain. I get it out of my head. I often fill at least 2 pages in my journal doing this.
Gratitude –
Again, I often fill at least 2 pages of gratitude statements, many of which are the same every day, with some different ones added in on occasion. I express gratitude for everyone and everything in my life and make it clear that I am thankful.
I also express gratitude for what I am CALLING IN to my life, but isn’t yet here. For example “thank you for my dream home that I’m not living in” (the one big thing I’m currently manifesting).
I’ve noticed that the more grateful I am, the more I receive, so gratitude is a huge part of my journaling practice.
Money affirmations –
A big “complaint” I would often have when I’d do my brain release during journaling time was that I wasn’t making the money I wanted to be making. Not to say I was making “bad money” (to most people I was making a ton), but it wasn’t where I wanted or expected myself to be.
I recognized it was because I wasn’t affirming my beliefs around money (the positive ones, that is)! Now, every day in my journal, I list out at least one full page of positive money affirmations. This helps me get into an abundant mindset!
I tend to do money affirmations right before I’m about to sell something, too. 🙂
Now, 2 years of journaling later, and about 1 year of doing it consistently, day after day, I can truly say that it has changed my life.
I’m now one of those people I would roll my eyes at when they said journaling changed everything for them.
It definitely changed everything for me!
It went from my most hated “to-do” of the day, to my most loved “MUST-do” of the day. It’s actually why I am so excited to wake up at 4:30 in the morning every day. Knowing that I get to journal makes me EXCITED to wake up at the ass-crack of dawn.
Journaling is now my favourite activity of the day.
I love it so much that I often do it multiple times per day (not just first thing in the morning). It really has changed my life in the best way possible!
Through journaling I’ve been able to create some AMAZING things in my life, including –
- 10 pounds (and counting) of weight loss
- $30K cash months in my business
- A full-time content manager
- Business-class flights (multiple times)
- Sold-out coaching packages
- My dream vehicle (that I’ve wanted for over a decade and never thought I could afford)
- Multiple vacations/trips every year
- $50K cash months in my business
- Working with my ideal mentor
- An email list of 10,000+ subscribers
- Filling my workshops and programs
- $60K cash months in my business
- Better relationships with the people in my life
- My soulmate clients that I love and adore
And that list continues to grow!
I’ve had SO MUCH happen to me thanks to journaling. So many good things in my life, and they all came from my commitment to daily journaling and calling in what I want.
I journal because it makes me happy.
I journal because it inspires me.
I journal because it excites me.
I journal because it makes me money.
I journal because it gives me freedom.
I journal because it improves my life in so many ways.
A day without journaling is like a day without breathing. If that seems extreme, it’s because it is. That’s how important journaling is to me. That’s how much it’s changed my life and continues to change my life each and every day.
If I get nothing done all day except writing in my journal, it was a successful day! There is no task more important.
I truly believe everyone should journal. It’s one of the best things you can do for yourself now and for your future. Through journaling you can create things and experiences that make your life better, but you need to be consistent with it.
Commit to spending at least 15 minutes per day writing in your journal. What you write about is up to you, but here is what I recommend (in this order) –
- Brain release
- Dream life (as if it’s already happened)
- Gratitude
- Money affirmations
The point is that you do it every day.
There really is no right or wrong way, except you want to avoid writing only negativity. If you must say something negatively, make sure you then turn it around with a positive statement. You want to end your journaling sessions feeling uplifted, inspired and motivated.
As soon as you drop into a negative mindset, get out your journal and start writing out your positive statements until you feel high-vibe and positive again.
Journaling is one activity that can give you so much clarity, make you feel incredible, and seriously change your life for the better! I’m so glad I discovered and stuck with it.
I know without a doubt that I’d be lost without this daily must-do.