How To Start Journaling For Self Development

What is life asking of you right now?

There is so much turbulence, unrest and crises happening around the world today, we are in times when its so easy to get lost in our minds battle and if your thoughts, vibrations and energy level are not properly guided you’ll get lost and confused in the chaos.

There is so much strife and unsettlement hovering around hence it is mandatory that we properly protect our mental space, take charge of the thoughts our minds choose to preserve, have a constant mindset shift, create a relieving medium and protect our emotional space.

I cannot begin to emphasize the importance and need for a relieving medium where we can express this dark, deep, confused and stressed side and if we choose to suppress these emotions or ignore them they are going to manifest in some ways causing us to dump negativity to ourselves or the people around us.

I am not saying this to increase the volume of unrest, panic or worry but as a soulful call that a serious awakening needs to take place through the constant chaos and challenges we are exposed to in order to completely take control of your lives.

I have been struggling with this low energy for the past few days, encroached in so much anger, bitterness and stress that I needed to embark on a release journey and you may be feeling the exact same way. And this is totally okay!

As we journey through the tracks of survival, through the known and unknown phases life exposes to, we encounter a lot from the uncertainty that sits with us, the fear of change that constantly looms around us, the scars from past mistakes that stains us, the pain from falling and rising, the strength that is built from pushing through; it can be so easy to lose your inner balance, spiritual stability or mental wellness and this is something we don’t often talk about or proffer solutions to.

I have at some point in my life cut the rope of stability and watch my mental state deteriorate, I couldn’t bring myself to share my struggles or confusion with people around me or share what I struggled with from an early age and the relieving medium that saved my life was journaling.

I’ll send positive letters to myself, I created a log of how I felt to properly track my emotions, I’ll doodle characters of how I wanted my life to be, I embark on a positivity marathon writing positive affirmations and encouragement to all the parts of me that felt hurt, send love letters to the parts of me that were broken, insecure and couldn’t find forgiveness, address my fears, limitations, anxiety and struggles and this medium of relieve was the most empowering and liberating tool I have ever come across.

The act of releasing your emotions and untangling your thoughts on paper is really therapeutic each scratch on paper draws you closer to serenity.

Each time I remember those dark times I feel empowered that I could successfully strive through those times and emerge stronger all with the help of releasing, expressing my emotions and untangling my thoughts on paper.

With journaling I have been able to sit with my self, gain clarity in life, focus on a deeper level, keep tracks of my goals, create a success log or should I say “growth tracker”, rebuild my life in general and get accustomed with the theory that ‘’There are constant beginnings at the end of every phase’’.

I have been able to understand that from every phase or season comes a reason to uplift our vibrations and put us in a better place. I have grown so much that I am in a better place to serve as a guide in creating some helpful resources that have helped thousands of people get their lives back on track and I have been able to design a life without restrictions, limitations and joy.

Journaling has been extremely important and vital all through my self-improvement journey it has enabled me to create the right mindset shift and mind cleansing because building a successful life starts from having a stable mind and the right emotional balance.

Journaling will enable you to permit yourself to shed every layer of limitation and allow you to start over and find new ways to bloom into your best self.

Journaling is a very easy way to get a bird’s eye view of your life. Journaling is like flossing of the mind, people who floss their minds have a better mental health and it’s hygiene for the soul and spirit.

And so today we will be talking about how to start journaling, how to start bullet journaling, the best journaling ideas, how to start journaling for mental health, how to start journaling for anxiety, how to start journaling for therapy, how to journal for success, how to journal for self-improvement, and everything you’ll need to know that will enable you to practice journaling.

Journaling is an extremely powerful tool that you can use to transform your life and tap into the highest version of yourself, it will enable you keep track of your growth years down the road, get some good insight and tips from the steps you took at different shifts of survival.

Each time I go through my old journals my heart can’t help but gush out with gratitude for how well, how far and strong I have grown through the struggle of my survival.

If you have never started journaling or you are puzzled on how to start a journal, the best journaling ideas, how to start journaling for mental health, how to journal for success, how to journal for self-improvement you are at the right place!

I’ll walk you through with some effective tips in a minute. Think of your journals as a one-year success log and endeavor to switch it up every year.

1. Get Comfortable

Before you start journaling, you have to get comfortable, being comfortable can be you sitting down, slouching, sinking in solitude, meditating, relaxing, or even reflecting.

Before you start to journal, you must connect with yourself either by meditation, reflection, solitude or whatever means possible. You have to be in a comfortable or relaxing state to properly dive in and connect with yourself.

Comfortability means several things for several people it could be sitting on the couch like I said, lying down or simply getting your head off the noise. In order to know how to start journaling effectively you have to first find your comfortable space, zone or position.

2. Create The Right Space

For you to know how to start journaling, you have to find your entrance into journaling in order words find what sets the mood for you, it may be candles, music, 5 min deep breathing exercises for yourself.

Find a medium that will enable you to be calm and open with yourself. For me the aroma that comes from candles are really soothing, it enables me to relax, the calming sounds from the ocean helps me connect easily with my inner self, the calm sounds of instrumental helps me block off all sort of distractions, sitting in my balcony enables me to connect with myself in my rawest and confused state.

You have to create the right space before you can start journaling in order to avoid distractions, turn off and limitations.

3. Find Your Style

You know your style as an individual if you love to write for a longer period, you should explore adopting the stream of consciousness or morning pages ideas, if you have limited time you can adopt the five minutes journal idea, if you have no idea on how to start journaling or how to journal daily you can start by using guided journals or even bullet journaling.

One thing that has helped me a lot in my self-improvement and self-awareness journey is the ability to explore several options of journaling and stick to the ones that enable me to get in tune with myself, have an inner purge and take full control of my life. Finding your style will present you with more options in exploring journaling.

Journaling doesn’t have to be something stressful or difficult, you have to find it as a liberating and easy task and so finding your style or the best method will enable you to tab from the power and the process.

4. Find Your Journal

Journaling for me is a process of ease where I get to untangle my thoughts, detach my emotions from panic, worry and anxiety where I am loosening up every bond and restrictions that certain situations and experiences have knotted within.

I can get intuned with myself, channel better into my higher vibrations hence I am very particular about the kind of journal I use, I am currently using 2 journals The Life Compass Guided Journal and a plain notebook.

There are times when I need to guide my thoughts out of the tunnel of confusion, anxiety, stress and in those times there is no better guide than a guided journal and this guided journal isn’t just any guided journal you can find in the market I have designed and created it by myself.

I have used a lot of journals from the five-minute journal, bullet journals, happiness journal, lavender guided journal these journals are great and life transformational but for me, there are some exercises, resources, prompts and exposure that are mandatory and should be used through your self-improvement journey which were not included so I couldn’t help but create a journal (The Life Compass Guided Journal) with these unique, insightful resources, prompts and exercises for myself and my illuminators.

Also if you are a minimalist or you are into minimalism this journal will completely serve and guide you on your journey of journaling.

There are so many journals out there you have to take your time in finding what works best for you, which allows you to properly address issues, sort out, release your thoughts, relieve you of stress as an individual and serve your mental/wellness journey.

There are tons of journals out there Dream journal, bullet journals, habits journals, food journal, etc take your time out to find out one that you actually like; find a journal that enables you to feel comfortable as you pull down your thoughts, that enables you to address some daunting issues that limit you, that will enable you search and connect with yourself.

For the Life Compass Journal constant vital and helpful improvements are annually updated to enable you track, see growth where it may not be evident. So if you are uncertain about a yearly journal you can purchase the Life Compass Journal is one of the best guided journals.

5. Go Deep With Yourself

Get in tune with yourself before you dive deeper within yourself. You can start with an empty notebook or a scrape book or purchase a nice guided journal. I personally start off by using journal prompts that I created for myself and that were helpful in relieving me of my confusion, anxiety and misery and you can start in the exact way.

Below are some journal prompts and deep life-changing questions you can adopt while journaling to help you get in tune with yourself and create a fulfilling life.

How are you coping with all the cues of survival?
How is your mind?
What is the current quality of your thoughts?
What are you shedding and why?
What am I holding or carrying that isn’t mine?
How have you evolved over the last month?
Why is blooming essential for your shift?
How has your self-love grown?
What direction are you headed?
What do I wish to express in this moment?
What boundary is being crossed?
What do I feel threatened by?
Are your actions matching up to your energy level?
How peaceful is your mind during turbulent times?
What have been the most defining moments in your life?
What has been your greatest lesson learned from failure?
What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail

My life radically took a positive turn the moment I started to ask myself the right questions, I was able to realize, understand life from a deeper perspective and give value towards every hurdle I have overcome to be here today. These questions if properly answered carry a lot of weight and volume.

For more prompts, you can purchase my own Guided Journal. My team and I have invested so much of our value, materials and exercises that enabled us radically up-level all areas of our lives you can also download the free questions attached to this article in order to reboot your life.

And these several practices of journaling saved me. This sounds trivial but this story is extremely important to where I am today. I have grown so much and have overcome so many challenges emerging stronger than ever and you can do the same!

Other ways to go deep or reconnect with yourself in order to know how to start journaling include;

Approach yourself with curiosity
Observe yourself without judgment
Check-in with yourself throughout the day
Be honest with yourself
Speak to yourself with respect
Keep a daily promise
Spend time reflecting
Practice recognizing your intuition

6. Don’t Thrive For Perfection

You don’t have to be a perfect writer with grammar or with nice calligraphy or nice fancy notebooks to know how to start journaling.

Just let your thoughts flow, the pages won’t judge you so feel comfortable to express, untangle, unpack and release your emotions. This can be quite difficult for a perfectionist, I struggled with this for a very long time and a pattern I outlined when I felt swayed by the waves of perfection was;

Validate your feelings and emotions
Pay attention to your needs and honor them
Give yourself permission to be imperfect
Notice all you’re already doing so well
Be tender with your own heart
Affirm your own existence as a human being
Remind yourself of your worth over and over again

7. Keep It Private

Journaling enables you to get closer to your authentic self, address certain issues, find clarity and feel lighter and so you have to keep it private, it’s more like a safe space where you release, find closure and gain clarity so do not hesitate to keep it private.

8. Let Your Authenticity Flow

The pages won’t judge you, be truthful and just write! No one has to give you validation of permission blare out your emotions this is what journaling is, for your pen, yourself and your thoughts!

Journaling will enable you to address your emotions, accept how you are feeling, prevent you from pretending your thoughts didn’t exist and enable you to know the next steps to take.

My fears and anxiety have reduced to light hum drastically it pops up every now and then but it isn’t getting in the way of my life, it has been a helpful tool for me to gain clarity when my mental health was at my worse and at every cost I do not limit myself or my thoughts from flowing down in the exact way they want to fall out so I can make radical improvement and take full control of my life.

This year was themed finding clarity for me and I must say that more than every day I have been gaining more clarity, with my relationship, the people around, family, my business and my spiritual life all with my continual journaling practices even with the several challenges, obstacles and crises that I have encountered.

Journaling will enable you to properly discover certain things that were already present and some signs of regrets that you were not paying keen attention to so do not suppress yourself at any time.

My journal is a sacred place for finding more soulful answers and I don’t disintegrate the space!

We are constantly chased by the waves of the unknown through the phases and challenges we pass hence we must keep our inner and spiritual wellness or stability in check.

9. Be Consistent

You don’t have to write about your emotions and experiences every day, if you have nothing to say you can simply outline some motivational quotes, reminders, powerful affirmation, creating a gratitude list and words of encouragement. The input of positivity will go a long way in enhancing the stability of your mind!

For you to know how to start journaling, you have to develop the habit of picking up your journal regularly even when the waves of happiness washes down, share both the high and low moments.

There are days when I simply want to bleed out my thoughts, fix my pains or address some issues I use my plain journal/ notebook to pour out my thoughts, rip the pages out, on days when I am beyond excited and my joy knows no limit I write words of exhalation there is not a day that passes by that I do not make use of my journal. Doing this consistently has enabled me to find the root of my turmoil and know how to effectively tackle it.

10. Remember

There are no rules to journaling you can do however you want, it’s so opened it’s a relationship between you and a paper to spill and organize your thoughts.

I hope this article gave you more clarity on how to start journaling, journaling is a very vital tool that a lot of us are yet to consistently explore so hence the length.

BEFORE YOU GO!

I want you to attempt this exercise as a release medium to purge yourself into a higher level of growth:

Take a pause
Identify your feelings and thoughts
Recognize your triggers and why you are feeling this way
Ask yourself ”What is this phase, emotion or situation asking of me?”
Speak in a way that accurately reflects this truth behind your emotions

Journaling is paying attention to the inside for the purpose of living well from the inside out, so I want you to start tapping into such light and power!

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Personal Development