Start Your Day Right: 3 Tips for the Perfect Journal Entry
Start your morning right with a journal entry. They say the day is shaped by the tone of your morning ritual. So make it productive, uplifting, and grounding.
There are many benefits of journaling. It’s an emotional cleanse, a refocusing on the positive, and a reminder of your purpose and vision. Try these tips to maximize the potential for your day and to keep you on target with your goals…
- How I’m feeling today: Take a moment to check yourself – emotionally, spiritually, physically. What are you experiencing in this moment. This keeps you present and grounded in the moment – and real with yourself.
- What I’m grateful for: The power of gratitude is mind blowing – and expanding. Studies have shown that positive thinking changes your brain so that it becomes easier to naturally notice the good unfolding around you. Take stock of the many gifts you already possess.
- My intention for the day, week, next few months and years: This is where I sort out my to do’s, the nitty gritty, and indulge my dreams. It keeps me on track in a realistic way and allows me the mental space and freedom to explore something bigger.
Journaling gives you a safe place to express your feelings. We know that internalized emotions cause a variety of problems including inflammation in your body, aches and pains, high blood pressure, migraines, and exacerbation of current illnesses, just to name a few. It can also affect relationships, career, and mood. So release those emotions. Reflect on them objectively when you see them on the written page. Make needed adjustments.
Gratitude and hope affect the neural pathways responsible for a good mood. When we take a moment to reflect on what’s going right, we affect our chemistry in positive ways. It’s motivating, inspiring, and healthy. It distracts us of from focusing on disappointments and frustrations. Give your brain a break. Consider those moments of gratitude a stress holiday.
Revisiting your intention refreshes your vision and releases all the things you’ve committed to memory, to the page. The more information we store in our memory, the more stress we create. So free up your mental space and take action on your priorities. Begin closing “open loops”. Unfinished business slowly drains your energy and focus in a similar way open apps on your smartphone drain the battery.
Beginning the day with a journal entry helps reduce the mind chatter. It sweeps the clutter from your seemingly endless to-do list. It sifts out the dust and presents the essence of what’s most important to you. It allows you time to reflect on what really matters. So grab a pen and paper. It can change your life.
photos courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net by nuttakit, sira anamwong, tiramisustudio
