If you ever kept a diary during your teenage years you will already know how journalling can be a powerful tool to support you through all the bumps, detours and dead end roads we inevitably go down on the path to growth and success. Journalling helps you organise your thoughts and keep what matters in check, as well as prioritise and clarify a direction to take when you find yourself lost or looking to change things up or innovate your mind.
Journalling prompts can vary from structured goals to free-form writing where you journey into the subconscious depths. Keeping a gratitude journal you can increase happiness by writing down five things you're grateful for everyday before bed or first thing in the morning and the founder of positive psychology, Martin Seligman swears by it. Writing down all the thoughts in your head on paper otherwise known as a "brain dump" can clear mental fog and help reduce stress. Free flowing writing or drawing with your eyes closed about a subject without thinking first can help you tap into your deeper thoughts process and allow insights to emerge from the unknown. Writing mindfully or keeping a self-compassion journal can also be a very meditative and self-reflective practice that deepens awareness and helps regulate the nervous system.
Journalling can be done in the privacy of your own home, in life coaching sessions at The Coach Hub and last week we even did a mindfulness coaching journalling session with one of our workplace clients. Journalling doesn't have to be long drawn out sentences, you can explore bullet journalling, or writing short notes to yourself or if you prefer longer writing explorations that is fine too. You can purchase some great journalling books for children and teenagers, adult journalling books or even just a simple notebook is enough to get started. I love my journal from Dymocks in Camberwell which is made from 100% Post Consumer Waste and recommend you buy local and environmentally friendly journals where you can.
Try our three journalling activities this week
Self-Care
Create a self care goal for the week related to each element related to your wellness including: mind, body, emotions, behaviour and social. Don't forget to reflect on each goal when you have done it and make sure your goals are SMART goals and specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-framed.
Creativity
Think outside the box by writing about arriving in a far away land you have never been to before, you launch and land and start to explore. What do you notice? This kind of imaginative writing can inspire new ideas and help you come up with diverse ways of thinking.
Career Clarity
Write a career timeline from your very first job until today. Mark in your highlights, major turning points, people of influence along the way, setbacks and promotions. Then reflect on what strengths and skills you used in different jobs and what experiences were most meaningful for you.
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