Using Daily Journals to Improve Your Life

Daily journaling is something that everyone should do. It is an easy task that can be done any time of day and it can really make a difference in your life. It’s sad but with all of the technology we have at our disposal people forget that expressing yourself privately can positively affect your life. The simple act of writing down your thoughts daily can help keep you on track. You may be wondering how to journal and keep it interesting. Before we jump into tips about keeping a journal let’s talk about what makes it so important.

Why Journaling is Important

When I sat down and thought of what made journaling so important, I was able to come up with three reasons that I thought were most beneficial. These may not be the only reasons that people think journaling is important but they are a good place to start.

Solidify Ideas

It’s easy to come up with ideas but most of the time you forget them. If you take the time to write out your ideas it solidifies them in your mind. Not only that but you have a written copy of what you were thinking. This gives you the chance to explore your ideas more easily. It also gives you a chance to share those ideas with others.

Written Proof for Yourself

Depending on how you write your journal you can use the entries as proof that you accomplished something. It is a great feeling when you have a list of things to do and you can check things off. If you use your journaling to set goals for yourself you can keep track of your progress in your journal.

Making a Plan

Journals are a great place to write out your hopes and dreams. They are also a great place to turn those hopes and dreams into a plan. A dream with action becomes a plan. If you journal everyday then you will be able to make small goals for yourself everyday that will eventually lead up to the dreams you originally had. Your journal is a place to see yourself grow as a person. These three reasons to journal are far from a complete list. You may sit down and think of ten, twenty, or even one-hundred reasons why you should journal. Each reason you come up with is just more proof that you should start today. Now you may be wondering what kinds of daily journals you can create for yourself.

What Kinds of Daily Journals Exist?

This is a very broad question to ask. There are in reality an unlimited number of journal types that you could write. The best kind of journal is going to fit into your daily life, your goals for yourself, and the writing skills that you have. Here are six journal ideas to get you started on your journey to journal everyday.

Daily Planner

A daily planner is one of the simplest types of journaling you can do. In a daily planner you will write out the things you need to get done on a certain day. The most efficient way to do a day planner is to schedule out your days either the night before or pick one day a week to write out your plans.

Dreams Journal

Dream journals are actually about the dreams you had the night before. This is an important journal because your dreams are a window into your subconscious mind. If you keep track of your dreams you can find patterns. These patterns can range from being over stressed, lack of sleep, disappointed with your job, or you could be excited about a special occasion coming up. If you track your dreams you will find patterns and you will be able to take advantage of knowing what your subconscious is thinking when your conscious mind isn’t.

Checklist

Checklists are a great way to keep track of all the tasks that you need to do. You don’t need to complete all the tasks on a checklist everyday. That being said you can use a different version of a checklist known as a priority list. This list is ordered from most important to least important. You can only do tasks in order there’s no skipping. This is a good way to keep productive. Make sure you are always working on the most important task.

Affirmation Journal

Using a journal to write positive affirmations is a great way to start and end your day. If you write down your affirmations everyday you will feel the difference instantly. Your days will feel more satisfying and you will be more productive. If you don’t know what an affirmation is check out this post.

Success Journal

A success journal will combine many aspects of the journals mentioned before. To use a success journal you are going to want to make goals, plans, checklists, affirmations and then take action. The reason for using a success journal is to get your ideas out of your head and then follow through. You want to use a success journal to give you a reason to take action. Make sure every time you use a success journal you feel inspired to do more.

Goal Setting Journal

A goal setting journal is a place for you to write down your goals. Start with the biggest goals you can think of and then break them down. You want to make goals that are hard to achieve but not impossible. The best way to do that is starting big and then taking actionable steps. If you want to be a millionaire you probably can’t go out tomorrow and make a million dollars. What you can do is go out tomorrow a make ten, fifty, or even one-hundred dollars to put towards you goal. If you don’t think making small amounts will make a difference go out and read a book about starting a business in something you are skilled at or maybe even learn to invest. A goal journal is there to help you find the next actionable step.

Build a Habit Out of Journaling

Now that we’ve mentioned a next actionable step, let’s talk about building the habit. Journaling everyday is not something that most people will be happy to jump into and do everyday. To make it easier you should build a habit. Habits are those things that you do without thinking about. How great would it be if you could journal on autopilot and get the same effect? Creating a habit can be difficult but it is not impossible. Every time you repeat something you are training yourself to have a new habit. It takes time but eventually you can do things without thinking about it. Here are a few tips to creating your new habit of journaling daily.

1) When Will I Write My Journal?

Ask yourself when you have time to write out a journal. If you can’t think of a time to do it within your current schedule you are going to have to make changes. The best times of the day to journal are usually right when you wake up and right before you go to bed. Those are the times when you have the most new ideas or are most rested.

2) Schedule Out Writing Time 

Create a schedule for writing in your journal. By now you should know what time works best for you. Now mark it on your calendar or set a reminder on your phone telling you to journal. Make sure this is a repeating reminder. Until you can journal daily without a reminder this should always be active.

3) Accountability 

Hold yourself accountable, you are the only person that can control your life. If you want to create this habit you are going to need to be consistent. If it comes down to it take away something you enjoy every time you mess up with your new habit. You are trying to benefit your life so keep yourself accountable.

4) Reward Yourself

You managed to keep going with your new habit and stay accountable. That means you get to reward yourself for a job well done. This reward is for you so have some fun with it. Maybe you go out for a nice dinner, go out to a movie, or buying something you’ve had your eye on. Whatever it is make sure you feel like it’s a good reward for creating a habit that will improve your life.

Continue to Journal Even When it’s Tough

Journaling can be a hard thing to get started. It can even seem like an impossible task if you don’t like to write. Once you get started though you will realize the benefits almost immediately. Don’t give up on writing once you get started. Later in life you will be able to look back at all the progress you’ve made. Not only that but if you decide to write an autobiography or something writes a biography about you they will have all the information needed. You might think this is outlandish but remember you are journaling to become more successful. If you reach your goals someone will want to write about you. Never sell yourself short, especially when it comes to improving your life. Journaling can be a hard thing to get into. If you found this post useful for getting started on your daily journal, take some time to subscribe to our newsletter. We send out weekly updates to make sure our community is ready for the next step in creating their own success. If you think others would be helped by this post don’t forget to share it on your favorite social media. Thanks for taking the time to read about journaling!

Fear, The Great Motivator

Fear as motivation isn’t something you hear about often. Sometimes you will hear people say to face your fears. Most of the time people just try to avoid being scared. This is a problem because when you are pushing yourself you are going to be scared. This is completely normal. You shouldn’t hold yourself back because of an idea. Take action and use fear as motivation!

Why Fear is a Great Motivator 

Using fear to motivate yourself makes sense because it is a natural response to danger. At one point in human history we used fear as a way to keep ourselves from being injured or potentially killed. That’s not the same as modern times. Most of the things people are fearful of won’t actually cause any problems. If you look at the most common phobias (heights, spiders, and snakes), most of them won’t actually hurt you. Yes in very specific circumstances they can but it is unlikely. So when you are thinking of fears you should think of them as a way to push yourself to new limits.

Fear is Something That Can Either Push You or Hold You Back

When you are fearful of something you have 2 choices. You can embrace the fear and push forward or you can continue to be scared and hold yourself back. It is a mental game and I know which side I’m going to choose, what about you? Pushing yourself with fear will give you a chance to grow as a person. You’ll have the opportunity have new experiences that will create new ideas. Going outside of your comfort zone is the only way you will ever achieve more than average. Don’t let yourself fall prisoner to an average lifestyle!

Look at The Success of Others

Success comes to those who are willing to push the limits of what they believe is possible. The most successful people in the world have been fearful of something. Look at what they have achieved and know that it is possible for you to do the same. One of the best ways to learn about the fears and success of other is reading biographies. A biography is like a mini mentor that will help push you to the next level. Many people back down from fear before they should because they don’t want to fail. You must push through that fear just like all of the successful people before you!

Fear of Failure

People are scared of failure because we are taught from a young age that failure is bad. The problem with that is failure is one of the best ways to learn. If you look at babies they learn how to walk by failing. The stand up and then fall until they eventually learn to balance and quit falling. Over time learning from failure gives you a chance to turn failure into success. Failure gives you a chance to develop skills that would have been missed if you immediately become successful (not that this is bad but it’s uncommon. If you can push past the fear of failure you expand your comfort zone. Once you realize your comfort zone is larger than you originally thought you have already taken the first step towards success.

Fear of Success 

Success is a weird thing. Depending on who you ask you will get a different definition. What matters most is that you define your own success. This is where people get scared of success. It is hard to be successful when you compare yourself to others. The success someone else has may scare you and make you think you can’t achieve more. This is untrue. Don’t let peer pressure and the belief that the success someone else achieved is the only right way. Success is what you make it. Your success may be having more friends or earning more money or maybe spending more time with your family. No matter what you choose, push yourself as hard as possible to achieve your goals. The scariest part of success is that you don’t know what it feels like until you have achieved it. The fear of success is really just the fear of failing to achieve your goals. Don’t let fear decide how successful you can be!

Success Comes to Those Willing to Face Their Fears

No matter what you do the next step will always cause you to be fearful of something. Don’t let this fear hold you back. You are living your life for you and you can push yourself to do anything you set your mind to. You’re the only limiting factor in your life. If you struggle with pushing yourself, you may want to find a friend or family member that will be your accountability partner. Someone that is there to push you when you’re scared to push yourself. It’s time to face your fears! To help you get started on facing your fears we want to you find 1 thing that you are scared of and write it down. Next you should make a list of 5 reasons why you are scared. Then you will want to write down at least 5 reasons why facing your fears will make your life better. Share this list with your partner and let them work through why facing your fears will benefit your life with you. Your partner should ask “What’s the worst that can happen?” this question will open you up to the fact that most of the worst case scenarios aren’t that bad.  Last you will want to get out there and use your fear as motivation! If you have any trouble finding an accountability partner feel free to contact us. We’re always happy to help someone achieve more!