Our lives are made up of small daily habits. They say, "How you spend your days is how you spend your life". I personally believe that one of the most detrimental ways to live is by just going through the motions. Over the course of the past couple years, I have made it a practice of mine to deep dive into personal growth and self improvement in the hopes of living my best life.
The biggest tool to achieve this goal of mine has been journaling. Journaling is a passion of mine that stemmed from a love for writing that collided with my passion for planning and organization. A lot of my journaling style is comprised of list making and goal setting. I like using my journals as a way to hold myself accountable and manifest my best life. It is proven that by writing down your intentions for life, you set it into motion. Setting a goal that is followed by a detailed plan creates a mission that will be conquered.
For me, I use journaling for two specific purposes in my life and therefore I have two different journals. The two categories I separate my journaling into are Personal Reflection and Personal Growth. I think of this as a way to learn from and appreciate the past and then a way to plan out and be purposeful with my future.
Journal 1- Personal Reflection
This journal is my daily journal. I received this one as a gift for Christmas in 2014. It is a One Line a Day journal that lasts for five years. Each page is marked with a calendar date at the top and then five sections of blank writing space below. As you fill in the events of each year you can compare your life and how it changes. I started this journal on January 1st 2015 and I have written in it every single day since. Every night before I go to bed I take about five minutes to reflect on my day and write down what I did. I try to focus on milestones, events, goals accomplished and overall happy moments. By doing this simple practice everyday I'm creating my most prized possession that holds all of my favorite memories. I love going back and seeing how my life has unfolded in just the past couple of years. I plan to do this type of journaling for the rest of my life as I will always cherish having a record of my days. Since starting this journal I have done so much including graduating high school, starting college, joining Alpha Phi, starting my blog, working for five different companies, traveling to new places and getting Oscar! One of the best ways to reflect on self improvement is to look back and see how far you've come. This journal allows me to see all of my accomplishments, joys and struggles in one singular place.
Journal 2- Personal Growth
This journal is just a blank Lilly Pulitzer notebook. This is my free writing journal where I create prompts for myself and can write about any topics or feelings I might have. This journal serves many purposes for me. It can be an outlet for my creativity, a place to dump all of my thoughts, a plan for my life, and a form of therapy. This journal holds literally everything I can possibly think of. In here I write blog post ideas, my bucket list, future baby names, new years resolutions and gratitude lists. I don't have a daily schedule for writing in this journal because I don't want it to be forced or structured. I only write in this journal when inspiration hits or when I have thoughts or ideas. You can learn a lot about yourself through journaling in this natural form.
I hope that your takeaway from this is just simply a sense of inspiration. While I think everyone could benefit from some form of journaling, I know that it takes practice. Journaling can feel uncomfortable at first because you are allowing yourself to be completely vulnerable on the page. I think the first step to starting a journal is really reflecting on what you want to change in your life. What will the main purpose of this journal be and what do you want it to achieve for you? Do you want to set goals, use it as a form of self reflection or keep a record of what you are grateful for each day? As you start your journaling journey you will find your groove and know how to write in a way that will be beneficial to yourself!
Xoxo, Liv