New Habits Running Away From You? Use Your Journal To Keep Track
I reckon you guys have guessed I’m a just a little into journaling by now! And when it comes to creating habits, this is practically what journals were made for. Goal setting is big news in journaling at the moment and the process of putting into place and achieving those goals is basically done by creating and practicing lots of little habits to reach them. Forming new habits is a wonderful way to improve your life, reach your goals, and gain the motivation and momentum to accomplish anything you want. Tracking is also a big part of sticking to habits, as well as understanding exactly what is expected of you.…
The Bonus Benefits of Goal Setting: Can You Create a More Positive Worldview?
So you’ve decided to set yourself some goals and work towards making some positive changes in your life (on your terms, not your boss’s or your therapist’s!) As you start to make this practice a habit, I guarantee that some positive changes will start sneaking into your life. The interesting thing is though, that you might not even notice how things are improving, as is often the way with positive change, unless you know what to look out for. So here are some of the fantastic benefits that can come from your new goal setting habit. Creates a Better Worldview When life has piled up around you and you feel…
Goal Setting Can Be Fun (Honest!) Change Your Perception of Setting Goals
When you hear the words goal setting, do you groan?! In the target-driven culture we live in today, it seems we are always being asked to set goals and evaluate our effectiveness towards achieving them. How many dull work meetings seem to focus on this topic? I get it, we can get pretty tired of always having to constantly put ourselves out there to achieve and then often feeling bad about ourselves when we haven’t reached the mark. That’s why there is an art to goal setting. And there is a real difference between the kind of goal setting that we might actually like and the kind which we loathe.…
How Journals Help Those Human Trafficked- A Review
It’s 2019, so you probably think that human trafficking isn’t still a “thing”, right? Well, think again, honey. The local TV show I worked with produced several shows about the topic and how prolific the problem is here in the mid-western US. The United States of America. In the heart of the Bible Belt. “Human and sex trafficking is one of the largest illegal industries in the world, second only to drug trafficking. It generates an estimated $32 billion dollars each year, according to UNICEF. While it might seem like something that happens everywhere but home, hundreds of victims are being trafficked right here in our area.” source When The…
Become Gracious & Grateful with a Gratitude Journal
Being grateful for what we have in life is certainly not always an easy task. We know deep down that we are all lucky in some way. We may be grateful for our kids or that we are not living in poverty. What we find hard though, is bringing that gratitude into our daily lives. It’s all very well knowing we are better off than most, but when we are having a tough time, that sometimes doesn’t seem to mean that much. We battle through our day, making sure all our jobs are done, looking after other people, perhaps fighting whatever inner demons are ours, and by the end of…
The Creative Type? Unleash Your Inner Artist with an Art Journal
I came across a really intriguing new type of journaling recently; art journaling. I love words and I could chat and write all day long! But, speaking to friends and family about their lives and difficulties, it came to me that it is not so easy for everybody to express what they are feeling using words, whether that is to someone else or to themselves. We are all so different, and have such varied means of self-expression, which is what makes us so interesting. Whereas for one person writing about their feelings can be cathartic, for someone else, painting or playing the piano might help to reduce stress. For all…
Are You An Emotional Eater?
So many of us have a complicated relationship with the food we eat. Body-image issues are incredibly common and many of us have been on the diet merry-go-round for much of our lives. Even if we are happy with our bodies, what we eat often seems to be tied in with our emotions. I would say that the majority of my girlfriends (and some of the guys too!) would admit to reaching for a huge bar of chocolate or a tub of ice-cream if they are upset or stressed out every now and again to make themselves feel better, and I’m certainly no exception! And, surely, there’s no harm in…
Meditation, Mindfulness & Journaling
Mindfulness is big news right now. But what exactly is it? How can it help us and how can we use it as part of the journaling process? Well, mindfulness as a concept actually fits in really well with journaling as it is about stopping, being present in the moment and taking time to allow ourselves to just be. How often do we do that? The most common answer among most of us would be occasionally or never! What with jobs, family, bills to pay, shopping to do, not to mention keeping ourselves physically fit, we so often neglect our minds. What I have noticed since I became interested in…
Could Journaling Help Me with My Anxiety?
Anxiety is so common in the hectic, pressurized world we live in today. I don’t know about you, but I find that any time I open up about my struggles with anxiety to a friend or colleague, they will tell me a story about their own struggles with anxiety, whether they are related to their jobs, family, issues with self-esteem or just keeping going with the daily grind. Not to mention the impact of hormonal imbalances on our anxiety levels; the theme which I chose for the focus my last series of blog posts as I know how many of us are affected in this way. My teenage daughter, as…
