Three Types of Journaling to Shift Your Mindset
Do you find yourself focusing too much on the negative aspects of your life? Shifting your mindset can happen pretty quickly when you start a regular journaling practice. There are three types of journaling styles, when practiced on a consistent basis, that can help lead you to a more positive and healthier outlook on your life.
Simply putting pen to paper can be a very cathartic release of emotions. But it can also be a source of energy to shift your thoughts to more positive, joyful perspective.
How can you get started? Here are three types of journaling practices to shift your mindset along with some thought-provoking prompts to get you started.
Three Types of Journaling to Shift Your Mindset
- Reflective Journaling
- Gratitude Journaling
- Goal-Setting Journaling
Reflective Journaling
Reflective Journaling allows you to analyze an experience in order to gain perspective, clarity, and self-awareness. Unlike a diary, reflective journaling is more than just writing out feelings and experiences, but rather it is a tool to gain personal insight for self-improvement and growth.
Reflective Journaling Prompts
- Gaining Confidence: What have I been avoiding? Is there a decision I have been procrastinating making?
- You Are Work in Progress: What 5-10 things have I done in the past year that I am most proud of accomplishing?
- Exploring Your Originality: What gifts do I have that I may or may not be using?
- Am I Having Fun? Am I taking life too seriously? How can I have more fun?
- Releasing Judgement: What am I judging myself for today? Can I replace the judgement with love?
Gratitude Journaling
Focusing on gratitude is a very common type of journaling which allows you to write or list a few things each day for which you are grateful. Keeping a daily gratitude journal not only will allow you to place focus on the positive things in your life, it also will help to rewire your thoughts to becoming more resilient when facing difficulties and challenges.
Gratitude Journaling Prompts
- Aspire to Inspire: Who has inspired my journey? Is there someone in my life that I can mentor and why?
- Follow Your Joy: What do I need to do more often that brings me joy? Make a list of things today that are joy-inducing activities for you.
- Gratitude for Others: Who has had a great impact on my life in the past year? Consider writing them a thank you letter, sending a text or scheduling time to meet.
- Trust the Process: What areas of my life am I holding on too tightly? Where can I have more faith and trust. How can I look at a situation that is stressing me out differently?
- Love For Yourself: How can I reflect love for myself in my daily habits?
Goal-Setting Journaling
There may not be a better way to shift your mindset than through goal-setting journaling. Writing out your goals always keeps them at the front and center of your daily thoughts, and allows you to track your progress of how far you have come. Setting your intentions on paper for the things you desire is a fast track to shifting your mindset and improve your overall well-being.
Goal-Setting Journaling Prompts
- Evolve: How can I commit to working on myself daily so that I am making forward progress? What book, podcast or personal development program can I commit to?
- Keep Moving Forward: What goal can I set today in order to let go of a failure and step into a new beginning? Is there something I must let go first in order to move forward?
- Empowerment: Who or what group can I choose to empower with my gifts? How can my daily actions affect people or groups that I care about?
- Stay Focused: What is one distraction that I can eliminate for 21 days? What can I eliminate from my daily activities in order to stay focused on my goals?
- Build Courage: What areas of my life have too much comfort? Where can I be more courageous and brave?
Shifting your mindset is not always the easiest thing to do. It is going to take effort. Establishing a daily habit of journaling can help break the cycle. By reflecting on where you have been, having gratitude for where you are, and focusing on creating goals for your future, you will begin to shift your mindset to a more positive and joyful outlook.
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