The Journaling Guide: Prompts for Self-Development and Self-Discovery

Welcome to the stress free zone. Since we’re in the self-care game, we are always looking to share the wealth when it comes to elevating health & wellness. It’s been a wild year (to say the least!) so it’s been more important than ever to prioritize mental health and mindfulness. Shifting your mentality to focus on all the positive things happening around you (especially during a pandemic) is no easy feat. Adding journaling to your morning or nighttime routine can actually improve your mental and physical health.

The Gratitude List

If you're looking to decrease your negative self-talk, this is a great journaling exercise to try. Rather than focusing on things that aren’t going as planned, focus on the things that make you feel happy and fulfilled throughout the day. This is a great way to start or end the day (or both!). Simply write down five things you are grateful for. Big or small. For example, how yummy your morning matcha was today or the hour-long phone call you had last night catching up with your mom.

The Mind Dump

If you don’t take steps to manage feelings of stress and overwhelm, it can be super detrimental to your overall health. Too much stress can weaken your immune system (take your immunity cbd gummies!!!!!), cause headaches and irritability, and affect your night’s sleep (take your sleep cbd gummies!!!!). To combat these feelings, we recommend the “mind dump” style of journaling. Get out five pieces of paper…just in case you end up having more to vent about than anticipated. Start writing. Literally about anything. The mind dump more often than not turns into a great vent session. Getting things that may be overwhelming you off your chest and onto paper allows you to release them and makes them seem much more manageable.

Tip: When you’re feeling stressed you often feel too busy to prioritize your self-care routine, but we promise if you take ten minutes out of your busy schedule to do this exercise you’ll end up saving time throughout the day.

Put Your Thoughts on Trial

Intrusive thoughts are the WOAT but they are usually based on opinion, not fact. The best way to combat these cruel thoughts about your self-worth is by putting the thoughts on trial. Over the next few days, make note of any reoccurring thoughts you have that are self-depricating. They may have to do with your career, your appearance, your relationships, or any other facet of life. Once you identify the thoughts you want to put on trial, you will act as the defense attorney, prosecutor, and judge. Gather evidence in support of and against your thought. The key is that the evidence can only be used if it’s a verifiable fact (aka no opinions, guesses, or interpretations!). Then based on the evidence, you will come to a verdict about your thought. Is the thought accurate, fair and based in fact?

The “Highs” List

As the Tik Tok trend says, “you need to romanticize your own life.” There’s no better hype person for you than yourself. Being shy and being humble about the awesome things going on in your life is okay, but you need to celebrate your wins somehow even if it’s to yourself in a journal. At the end of the week or the end of the month, take a moment to reflect on all the strides you’ve made to develop, learn, and grow yourself or others. Give yourself a pat on the back for those things.

Intention Setting

Intention setting journaling is a great way to set the tone of the day. Each morning right a short to-do list and intentions for the day. Maybe you want to categorize your intentions to different facets of your life such as relationships, career, family, health, and so on. Pick your priorities and make a goal-orientated intention. This may be as broad as a mood you want to bring to a specific part of your life. For example, “today, I’m going to happily listen to my body and what it is asking me for to stay strong and healthy.”

Discover Your Safe Space

This journaling prompt can be done as a meditation or as a written exercise. Think in detail about any real or imaginary place where you feel at peace. Write a detailed description of it using all of your senses - touch, smell, taste, sight, and hearing. Write it all down so you can travel back to this place in your mind any time you need it. Your safe space may evolve as you grow, so always feel comfortable coming back to this exercise.

We love hearing from you! If you have favorite journaling exercises that you want to share, DM us @thebreezebrand.