If you’re keen to start Journaling, but have no idea how, here’s 3 journaling styles you can start with now.
- Gratitude Journaling
Starting a practice of Gratitude Journaling as early in the morning as possible maximizes the brain’s confirmation bias. So subconsciously, you’ll keep looking for more things to be grateful for.
Don’t be deterred if you can’t get to journaling first thing in the morning though. Gratitude journaling any time of the day has proven scientific benefits.
Write as many as 10 things you’re grateful for AND WHY. The “why” is what makes this so effective, because you’re not just labelling things that you appreciate, you’re also allowing the feeling of gratitude to seep into your conscious and subconscious world. Everything we experience starts off with a feeling. And as Allah has promised us, the more we are grateful, the more He will increase us in favour.
After you write down everything you’re grateful for, reread all your points and silently or out loud, repeat the phrase “shukr ya Allah, shukr”. This tip is adapted from a book on gratitude journaling, The Magic by Rhonda Byrne.
This is my go-to style for daily journaling. I switch it up with the second and third point if I’m facing a particular challenge. So keep reading…
- The “Now that” style.
This form of gratitude journaling let’s you reframe anything you’re struggling with. For example: if your kids are having a hard time settling into school, instead of journaling how tough it is, journal; “I’m grateful NOW THAT they’re settling into school with ease”. Similar to the first example, your brain will just keep looking for proof of all possible solutions to aid you in that goal.
This is style is actually rooted in Dialectical Behaviour Science and is sure to assist in cognitive reframing. According to Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), we have four options when facing a calamity or hardship:
- Stay miserable
- Solve the problem
- Change your perception of the problem
- Radically accept the problem
Journaling in this fashion gets you out of being miserable and facilitates your progression toward problem solving and perception changing.
- And finally, the Emotional Dump style.
It’s very effective for releasing pent up emotions, but it’s not my favourite for every day journaling. Use it when you’re emotionally charged and want to decompress. Verbally ventilate in your journal, even if the sentences don’t make sense or are grammatically incorrect. Top tip for this style of journaling: don’t dwell. This is a tool rid yourself of negative emotions, not stew in them. Once you’re done venting, breathe deeply and turn the page. Because where our attention goes, our energy flows. So if we’re focusing on all your problems, you’ll subconsciously find it difficult to reach solutions.
Consistency is everything with journaling. Journaling is especially helpful for managing anxiety, tracking goals and just unpacking thoughts. But most people get wound up and fail to even try. If that sounds like you, these tips might put your mind at ease.
Tips for staying consistent
- Attach a journaling routine to an already established routine. For instance, you can journal straight after performing any salaah, or after the kids leave for school (like I do).
- Don’t get distracted by all the fancifications (yes, that’s a made up word) the internet and social media will encourage you towards. If you want to be creative and colourful, by all means, do so. But don’t let it be the determining factor for whether you start or not. A pen and a page is a great start.
- Having just said that, you don’t have to keep a paper journal. The usual advice is to write on paper because writing forces you to slow down which in of itself, relieves stress. And though I still love writing on paper, a lot of my thoughts, goals and personal retrospectives end up on my tablet (synced to cloud and it’s on all my devices).
- Journal when you feel good too. Most people only consider journaling after they’ve bottled things up for too long and are about to explode. When we journal in moments of ease, it becomes easier to apply this tool in moments of difficulty.
I hope you give these tips a try.
Stay mindful
