Mindfulness is about slowing down and becoming aware and one with the present moment. When we create space in the morning for intention setting, goals, and actions for the day, we set ourselves up for success. When we take time in the evening to wash away and release the day by getting it out of our head and onto paper, we wipe the slate clean so we don't carry any baggage into the next day.
There are two types of journaling for personal growth that I have found to be
transformative. These consist of morning intention setting and evening reflection.
Creating space in the quietness of the morning allows me to start the day with intentionality. This is a time of creativity and possibility. Journaling to set the energetic and emotional intentions is a powerful tool in how my day turns out. Do I want to stride through the challenges of the day with contentment and ease? Simply taking pen to paper or typing this intention before the distractions of email, news, and scrolling through social media is key. This process is best done after a period of meditation. Deepak Chopra shares his "5 Steps to Powerful Intention Setting" here:
Intention Setting:
I actually start this the evening before. I lay in bed and think about how I want to feel the next day. For example, many times I choose to want to feel energized - so what I do is focus in my minds eye, what that feels like in my body until I'm so excited and energized that I squeal, pump my hands in the air, and kick my feet around because I just can't help myself.
Morning intention setting: I can't and do not want to try to control other people, places, and things. My intentions for the day are all about how I want to feel within myself and how I interact with others. If you want to keep a physical journal, I suggest one journal for all of your morning writings. I use the Journey app on my Mac because for me it's easier to type (see at the bottom for more info).
Here's an example: My intention for today is to flow with the day in vitality and ease. May I be calm and supportive with others, stay connected to Spirit and experience balance.
Effective self-reflection, which is comprised of keeping a journal, identifying our strengths and weaknesses, identifying our needs, and creating our goals. Keeping a journal of desires, goals, projects, and progress can help us achieve our vision and is therapeutic.
Taking it a step further with including an element of gratitude, thoughts on current goals, and action steps for the day were inspired by Bill Gates' morning routine.
2. Morning self-reflection:
In this moment, what are 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses that I can identify within myself. What are some needs that I have today? Is there someone I can reach out to for help? On a previous day I will have already written out some clear SMART goals (see below for an amazing template). In this morning self-reflection, what are some steps I can take today to work on at least one of those SMART goals and do I want to make any adjustments to said goals? What are the specific action steps that need to get done today? Are there any desires or projects that seem to be bubbling up inside me? Write them down here and I list something that I am grateful for this morning.
Here's an example: Strengths: I have a positive outlook and I am going with the flow this morning as I've had to adjust my routine a bit. Weaknesses: Sometimes I have imposter syndrome and when that happens, I start to lost my confidence (that's when I gain an outside perspective). Sometimes when I'm practicing self-care and having moments of downtime or rest, I can be critical or hard on myself that I'm not being productive (then I remind myself that stems from others expectations, not what I know to be best for my mental wellbeing).
A step towards one of my SMART goals is to continue to work on this website and my HR certification. Action steps: My youngest daughter has an appointment this afternoon. There's a new workout that I want to try (other than my other daily responsibilities). No new projects right now except what I'm already working on.
I am so incredibly grateful to have people in my life I look up to, receive honest feedback from and get honest answers.
Jari Roomer explains in his article, "5 Morning Journaling Practices for High Productivity & Success" that others such as Warren Buffet, Arianna Huffington, Richard Branson, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, and Leonardo Da Vinci also took part in the morning journaling ritual.
The morning should include a reflection on current goals and how to progress with
said goals that day. However, that brings us to the topic of goal setting in
general. To understand the impact of writing down our goals and sharing said goals can be found in Jack Canfield's book, "The Success Principles", where he cites a study in goal
setting in which 267 participants from the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia
where 5 groups were instructed with different actions related to goals such as:
thinking about goals had a 43% success rate,
thinking about and writing down the goals had a 56% success rate,
thinking about and writing down the goals (same as group 2),
thinking about and writing down the goals, and sharing with a friend had a
64% success rate,
5. thinking about and writing down the goals, sharing with a friend, and
sharing a weekly progress report with a friend had a 76% success rate.
When writing down goals, it's important to use the SMART method. S: specific, M: measurable, A: achievable, R: relevant, T: time-bound. One of the most relevant assignments I had in college is where I had to create my top 10 SMART goals for the next 6 months and then 10-15 goals for each of the following categories:
Financial Goals
Job/Career Goals
Free Time Goals
Health Goals
Relationship Goals
Personal Life Goals
Giving-Back-to-the-Community Goals
Here is an amazing template that can be used, courtesy of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_your-money-your-goals_SMART-goals_tool_2018-11.pdf
Here's an example: I will offer my personal development, success and wellness coaching services for free at shelters such as SAFE's women and children's shelter by May 1, 2028. I created this goal a year ago in the summer of 2023. I woke up one day, inspired to create this website and just started writing. Since then, I had the thought about creating the goal and taking it one step further with creating a non-profit to perhaps one day offer transitional housing for the families coming out of shelters with these coaching services. We shall see. One thing that is very important to me when I create a goal is that I let go of it. Which means, give it to the Universe and I end up with inspiration on how to complete said goals.
At the end of the day there are many elements I reflect upon in my mindful journaling. This is the second to last action I take before my head hits the pillow. I have strong convictions that balance is key in many areas of life so it is important to me that I journal about the hard moments of the day as well the positive and successful ones. I reflect on how I treated others that day and if I need to apologize as well as asking myself if I helped anyone that day. I go on to list three things that happened that day for me to be grateful about. With this, I like to focus on the little things such as a cool breeze on a hot day. I ask myself how did I contribute to accomplishing my goals. Finally, I reflect on the balance of my day and if that included areas of self-care and opportunities to grow spiritually.
3. End of day reflection:
If using a physical journal, I would use a separate journal from your morning journaling. Personally, I type it out on my laptop in my Journey app (see below for details). In the app, on the left-bottom part of the page has all of my tags I've created for my different types of journaling. My questions that I answer for this step are saved under that tag, so I simply have to click on it, copy from my last entry, paste into a new entry and re-answer the questions.
Here's an example:
1. What was hard?
2. What was positive?
3. Do I owe an apology?
4. Was I kind and loving towards all?
5. What could I have done better?
6. Did I help anyone?
7. What are 3 things that I'm grateful for today?
8. Did I practice self-care?
9. Did I practice enriching my spiritual health today?
10. Did I follow my intuitive thoughts today?
11. Progress on current goals:
12. Intentions for next day:
13. What to pray to my Higher Power?
Many of these questions are derived from my 12-step program practices.
It took some time for me to turn the above into routine. There is more to learn on this that can be accessed in my post: How to Create Positive Habits. However, there are many occasions when it's time to break free and adventure out with something new and creative! I found a really fun resource that does just that. On PositivePsychology.com , there is an article called Journaling for Mindfulness: 44 Prompts, Examples & Exercises https://positivepsychology.com/journaling-for-mindfulness/ I found many of them that I already do on a regular basis decided to give the rest a try (or get back to as I used to mindfully color) as they looked really interesting. Here is what I learned. We need to change up our routines with splashes of creativity. Making time for spontaneity is extremely important for our brains. The wider variety of things we do, the greater the connections/circuitry made and this boost's the brains capacity.
4. Intermittent processing
There are many instances where a circumstance or person has bothered me to the point beyond acceptance to where I can't shake off the negative feelings. At this point, the writing process is extremely beneficial in order to process emotions and get the energy out of my body. Engaging in some free writing until I've gotten it all out of my system and then asking myself, how can I view this person or circumstance with a big-picture mindset? How can I change my perspective to gain some acceptance over what I cannot change? This is key to moving forward without the attachment of what it was that I couldn't shake off in the first place.
In my personal experience, I have found the following to be true but the Harvard Business Review as explained it perfectly. In the article called "Why You Should Make Time for Self-Reflection (Even If You Hate Doing It)", Jennifer Porter writes:
"Reflection gives the brain an opportunity to pause amidst the chaos, untangle and sort through observations and experiences, consider multiple possible interpretations, and create meaning. This meaning becomes learning, which can then inform future mindsets and actions".
Personally, I use the app and website called Journey to record my daily journaling. I enjoy it for several reasons. One is that it is available to download as an app on my Mac but also available as a website on my Windows and connects seamlessly through the cloud. The security feature that allows me to lock my content with my fingerprint is a feature that is a must for me. I also like the fact that I can create and use different tags for my entries. There are also different programs and templates that can help you get started. (This is not a paid sponsor, I just really like them!)
Check Journey out at: https://journey.cloud/app/timeline
Leave a comment if you'd tried anything mentioned and what you find most helpful or what was the most fun!
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