The practice of mindful journaling has been around for centuries, but it’s becoming increasingly popular as a form of self-care. There are many ways to do this, including through different forms of writing: journals, blogs and even social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
However you choose to record your thoughts and feelings, the important thing is that your writing becomes an exercise in self-reflection that can help you develop more self-awareness.
What is mindful journaling?
Mindful journaling is a way to reflect on your feelings, emotions and thoughts. It’s also a great way to stay in touch with your inner voice. The practice of mindful journaling can help you express gratitude and appreciation for the things you have in life, thus improving your overall happiness.
Mindful journaling is not just about writing down everything that comes up; it’s about being mindful of what you write down as well as how much time and effort goes into making those entries. The goal should be to create an entry that takes less than five minutes so that it doesn’t become overwhelming or stressful for either party involved (you or whoever reads it).
Journaling is a form of self-care, but it’s different than just writing about your day.
Journaling is a form of self-care, but it’s different than just writing about your day.
When we journal, we’re taking time out of our busy lives to focus on ourselves and explore our feelings and emotions. This can be difficult at first because we may not want to deal with how we feel about things in our lives–but this is exactly why journaling is so helpful! It forces us out of our comfort zones and into uncharted territory where we can do some deep digging into what’s really going on inside ourselves.
Mindful journaling is about exploring your feelings and emotions, not avoiding them.
One of the most common mistakes people make when they try to use mindful journaling is that they avoid their feelings and emotions. Mindful journaling is about being aware of your feelings and emotions, not avoiding them.
Don’t worry if you don’t understand what this means at first! It might take some practice before you get it right! But once you have the hang of it, here are some examples of how to explore your feelings in a mindful way:
- Write down how something makes you feel (for example: “I feel angry when my partner doesn’t clean up after himself”)
- Write down what triggers these feelings (for example: “It makes me angry when he leaves dishes on the kitchen counter”)
There are four steps to mindful journaling that help you reflect on your life:
1. Start with the basics of a journal entry.
When you write, don’t just write about what happened–focus on how it made you feel and why that was important to you as an individual.
You can use any notebook or journal for this practice (although if you do have one that feels special or meaningful to you, that could be helpful).
2. Actively reflect on the day’s events.
Think about how you felt during the day, and write down those feelings in a way that makes sense to you.
Express your emotions in a way that feels authentic for you, even if it doesn’t always seem like something positive or happy is happening in your life.
For example: “Today was hard because of X.” Or: “I am feeling overwhelmed by Y.” Sometimes it’s okay to express negative emotions like sadness or anger; just make sure not to write in past tense (e.g., “I was sad”) because this can make things feel even more distant from where they currently stand now–and as we know from our first point above (“Mindfulness”), focusing on present-moment experiences leads us toward greater self-awareness!
3. Write down how you feel physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Write down how you feel physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Physical: Describe how your body feels–what kind of pain or aches are there? Are there any things that make it better or worse? Do you have any specific needs for nourishment, rest or exercise that day?
Emotional: How do you feel about yourself in relation to others? Are there specific people who trigger certain emotions in you (e.g., anger) or bring out qualities in yourself (e.g., kindness)? If so, write about what happened during the day and how those interactions made you feel.
Spiritual: How connected do I feel with myself today? Am I open to receiving love from others on this day and if so how can I best receive it by being more mindful of my thoughts/words/actions throughout each moment until bedtime tonight.
4. Close with gratitude or other positive thoughts.
To close your journaling practice, consider writing down three things you’re grateful for. This can help cultivate a positive mindset and make you feel more connected to others.
It’s also important to end on an uplifting note so that your mind doesn’t wander into negative territory as soon as you put down your pen or keyboard!
You can use mindful journaling as an exercise in self-reflection that can become a daily routine in your life.
As you begin to use mindful journaling as an exercise in self-reflection, here are a couple steps that can help you reflect on your life:
Write down whatever comes to mind. This is where most people start their journaling journey and it’s a great place to start if you want something simple and straightforward. You don’t have to be a writer or even like writing! Just write down whatever comes into your head at that moment–your thoughts, feelings, things that happened today or yesterday…anything goes!
This doesn’t have to be super organized; just get all those thoughts out of your head so they don’t weigh on your mind later on when they could have been used positively instead of negatively (like worrying).
Identify what made today good/bad/neutral/”meh.” After writing down everything that came up during one day’s worth of entries (or however often works best for you), look back through each entry individually and identify which ones were positive experiences versus negative ones versus neutral ones (“meh”).
This helps put things into perspective so when bad days happen again later on down the road -and they will happen–you won’t feel overwhelmed by them because now there’s no question about whether something was good/bad/neutral/”meh”; everything has already been categorized so now we can move forward knowing exactly what needs addressing first before anything else happens!
Final Thoughts
Journaling can be a great tool for self-reflection, but it’s important to remember that it’s not the only way to be mindful. You can also use other activities like meditation or yoga to promote this practice in your life. If you do decide that journaling is right for you, then all we ask is that you give yourself time and space each day to reflect on what happened during the previous 24 hours–and maybe even make some new goals before bed!
Inside the Beautiful You Coaching app, there are many Journal Prompts – if ever you get stuck in what to write/explore about yourself! Download the App today to take advantage of your 14-day Free Trial.
