Journaling Hints, Tips, Exercises, Prompts, and News

Personal Journaling 06-04-2015, Thursday, 833 p.m.

CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING A METHOD OF JOURNALING

The best journaling method takes several factors into consideration:

1 Permanence. Will it last past our lives? Can it be lost or damaged?

2 Security. Not hackable. Cannot be read by anyone unless you allow them to do so.

3 Versatility as far as what you journal and how you journal.

4 Cost.

5 Ease of use.

6 Can be used and synced across several devices.

7 Simplicity.

8 Searchable.

9 Easy to do a Table of Contents and/or index.

10 Easy to cut and paste.

11 Easy to review.

12 Inspirational.

13 Etc.

Goodness. There are many more factors to take into consideration than what I just listed when choosing a way or method to journal.

MY NEW JOURNALING METHOD

I'm using a word processing program and will keep my journaling in a different document each month.

Then, I will save it in a txt file, doc file, and pdf file onto my laptop, on my tablet, in the Cloud, and on my external hard drive. Hence, I can also access it from my cell as well if I want. So, it's all good.

With my new way of journaling, I will carry my journaling and all of my writing with me 24/7.

Wow. What I just wrote made my heart begin to race. What a precious thought.

What a joy it will be to have all of my journaling and writing with me at all times. How amazing. It's a relief.

I will write more about this later. 

~*~

JOURNALING THOUGHTS

Journaling helps us to put things into proper perspective. After all, it helps us to think, review, and analyze.

Journal about the following.

A JOURNALING EXERCISE OR PROMPT

1 What are your strengths?

2 What are your weaknesses?

3 What have you learned this week?

~*~

A LOUD WORLD VS. OUR JOURNALING WORLD

Have you noticed how loud our world is?

Have you noticed how much noise there is in our world today?

When was the last time you went twenty-four hours without watching TV or a movie, played a game, listened to music or the radio? How about forty-eight hours?

And, the busyness of our lives, the hustle and bustle, the rushing... That is noise as well. It's noise of a different kind.

Also, there is noise in our minds. It's when our thoughts don't slow, or when we obsess on something, or worry or fret.

This world is loud and noisy.

Too much so.

And, then we wonder why we aren't peaceful or content.

This is the polar opposite of our journaling world.

Granted, at first, until we can purge on the page, our journals might be an extension of the world's noise. Ugliness is loosed. It's let go. Therefore, once we get it on the page, purge it, and let it go, then we can settle in to the calm, serene, peaceful quiet of our journaling world. It is in our journals we find peace and calm and quiet. And, this is why we should all journal. We let go of the noise and stop doing. In our journals we can just be. This is where we find stillness and tranquility. Our journals are our refuge.

JOURNALING EXERCISES OR PROMPTS
Journal your thoughts of that last paragraph.

Then, copy and paste that paragraph somewhere so you can read it and re-read it over and over as a reminder of one of the greatest benefits of journaling.

MY RYP JOURNALING BLOG AJD BLOG TO BOOK PLANS

I am changing the titles of the books from "Journaling Stuff" to "A RYP Journaling Guide."
The three blog posts to books will now be called:

1 A RYP Journaling Guide (An introduction to journaling and journaling prompts), Book 1 (which includes some new and old material)

2 A RYP Journaling Guide (More information and journaling prompts), Book 2 (which includes everything I have ever written about journaling through December 31, 2014)

3 A RYP Journaling Guide (More information and journaling prompts), Book 3 (which includes what I have written since about journaling)

I am in the process of writing and editing each of those books. What I write on this blog isn't edited to the point of being one hundred percent error free and I am trying to add additional material than what you read and  learn on the blog. After all, if I am going to charge money for a final published book for the three previously mentioned, you better get your money's worth--and that includes good editing and additional material.

Book 1 will be a combination of mostly new material mixed with some previously shared material.

CAMP NANOWRIMO (BOOK 1 AND EDITING AND PUBLISHING PLAN FOR BOOKS 1-3

In July, I'm going out take part in a write a book in a month challenge. It's called Camp NaNoWriMo. I will write 50,000 words of: "A RYP Journaling Guide, Book 1" which is an introduction to journaling and it has journaling prompts as well. I will share most of the material on the RYP JOURNALING BLOG, but will then add more material as I edit it.

So, I will write the book between now and the last day in July.

Then, I will edit it from August through October 2015 and will publish it in November 2015.

Book 2 I will edit from November to December 2015 and will publish it in January 2016.

Book 3 I will edit from January to March 2016 and publish it in April 2016.

So, there's the plan. Now, pardon me while I start writing Book 1.

~*~

Journaling Exercises or Prompts

What is the purpose, or are the purposes, of your life? Why are you here and why are you here now and not at another time? What do you bring that others do not?

~*~

OVERLOOKING THE OBVIOUS
There are times I overlook the obvious and I am afraid for years I have accidentally made it a habit. I cannot help but shake my head at myself and my foolishness. When I share with you what I have overlooked, you will undoubtedly chuckle. I have lived unknowingly my old childhood nickname of Spacey Stacy.

What have I overlooked? Let provide a little background first.

I have already written a book on an "Introduction to Journaling." However, in the last couple of days, I have decided a newer one is necessary. (All of the old material will be included in another book, though.) After all, I have a different way to explain journaling, and how to do it, than when I wrote the book back in early 2010. I even started to write this book. Or, that was until a thought came to me earlier.

I firmly believe everyone, without fail, should journal--and do so daily.

And it rather shocks me how few do.

If more people gave journaling a try for forty-five straight days, they would see the advantages and how life transforming it can be. Moreover, they would then have their eyes opened to the mighty and numerous blessings journaling provides. So, why don't more people journal? There is nothing in our lives that can come close to the meaning journaling can bring to our lives, for it forces us to live intentionally. Never mind how much perspective journaling offers us. And, never mind how when we journal we capture our lives on the page.

All of this is great. It sounds good. Right?

But, only people interested in journaling would even be reading this blog post, never mind blog or blog book.

Are you catching why I hit my forehead with my palm and said, "Duh!"?

It is my number one goal to coach people and teach them how to journal. That being said, shouldn't I also focus on reaching people who don't journal now?

Shouldn't I share, and address the questions of: Why journal? Why bother and what's in it for me?

If journaling was so incredible, so life-changing, shouldn't I address the people who do not know the importance of journaling?

Needless to say, I am going to address those questions. How have I missed this for so long now? What a fool I've been. How can people want to journal, never mind do it, unless they know the benefits of it and the answer to the question of: What's in it for me?

So, now that my eyes have been opened, this is the book I'm going to write first:

"Why Journal? (Why bother and what's in it for me?)"

~*~

Since I decided to get even more serious about journaling in May 2015, I have been trying to find balance in my journaling life. I have four facets of journaling that matter a great deal to me:

1 My Bible journaling (Bible reading, studying, pondering, and gratitude)

2 My personal journaling... including nature journaling

3 My professional mainstream journaling

4 My professional Bible Journaling

Therefore, I have come up with a plan to focus on each throughout the day and week. It will require my two journaling blogs:

1 RYP Journaling: http://rypjournaling.blogspot.com/

2 Journal the Word: http://journaltheword.blogspot.com/ (Bible Journaling)

So, if you are Christian, you'll want to look at both blogs. 

Balance is critical in order to get the most out of journaling. 

I cannot wait to find balance and share with you on both blogs. 

IT'S YOUR TURN: A JOURNALING EXERCISE OR PROMPT

What matters most to you with your journaling?

How can you find balance in your journaling life? 

What are you afraid of losing?: A journaling exercise or prompt

If you could foresee these tragedies somehow... And if you were to be hit in the head and were to suffer from amnesia, or if you suffered from dementia or Alzheimer's... What are the things you would want in your journal so that they were not lost forever?

These might seem off the wall. But, thousands experience these things each day.

My Personal Journaling Story 05-29-2015

2015-05-29 09:10:40 and 2015-05-29 09:24:29

Greetings.

I hope you and your journaling are well. (I would love to hear from you about both.)

This blog post will share the direction I am moving personally and with this blog. My main objective with this blog is to help us (you and me) capture our lives on the page. It's a how-to journal blog, as well as it is my goal to provide inspiration with our journaling, through prompts or exercises, hints and tips, and stories.

I have been trying to find a place to hang my journaling hat (a focus) for a main focus for personal SOC Journaling and my journaling in general. But, I just haven't found it until now.

Nature and Observation Journaling are a must and I will do some of that. Undoubtedly.

It's me and is who I am.

But, there is another part of who I am.

So, who am I?

I need to provide some background in order for me to answer that question. This will also help explain where I will focus this blog for a while.

My husband ('B') and I moved to Virginia four years ago. About seven months or so after that, my Granny called me and shared how her niece was doing some genealogy on the family. She shared some information we had no idea about. We thought her family came to the U.S. five generations ago or so.

Wrong.

She said D (her niece) had traced our family back to 1670 or so to a Bryan Penny.

The 1670 part caught my attention.

"Do you know where Elizabeth City, Virginia is? That's where he lived."

As we talked, I did a quick search on the internet and found it was present day Hampton, Virginia, which we lived nearby. I told her that.

I wondered, then, if the family could be traced to Yorktown or Jamestown. I told her in would do some searching myself and let her know.

Little did we know where it would lead.

I have an uncanny ability to find information others cannot. Somehow I stumble upon the answers accidentally. This includes my family tree.

With my family tree, there have been gaps people have not been able to find the answers to and fill. In fact, several hired professional genealogists to find the answers. I learned within a couple of days about some of the gaps and learned how several professional genealogists looked for answers, but found none.

Well, I found them within a week. I got the answers, which opened our tree wide open.

My family has been in the United States of America since 1607. I had three go to Jamestown in 1607 and by 1635, I had over thirty or so at or near Jamestown in Virginia, and a few miles from where I lived.

Then, my tree opened up even more. About eight months ago or so, I found out I was a direct descendant of Joseph of Arimathea! And I learned earlier how I am also a direct descendant of Nero and Charlemagne Carolus Magnus Carolingian, 1st Emperor of Holy Roman Empire.

Oh, dear. I just did a search on my family tree and discovered more direct and distant emperors. I had no idea. They are:

-- Emperor Augustus
-- Emperor Claudius Caesar Rome
-- Emperor Heinrich V Dethe Salian Germany
-- Claudius I Tiberius Roman Emperor (is this the same as previous mentioned???)
-- HRE. Hugo "L'Abbé" Emperor Of The Holy Roman Empire
-- Louis "Le Pieux The Pious Le Debonnaire The Fair" Carolingian I Emperor HRE
-- Pierre Capet I Emperor Constaninople (a direct ancestor)
-- Pontiff Tiberius Claudius Nero Emperor Rome

Huh. Who knew?

I hadn't put it together until now.

I have been a research-oriented crazy woman trying to fill in all the branches and leaves, and finding so many, I thought I would come to an end one day and would then be able to research more fully each individual.

But, with over 17,000 individuals so far, three plus years later, I see how many gaps I still need to fill in. I am trying to focus first on my direct ancestors. However, that number is massive and grows by the day.

About a month ago, I was able to, by accident again, trace from one of my direct branches to Abraham of the Bible, then to Adam.

I needed a few weeks for that information to roll around in my brain and am still bewildered.
I also traced another part to King David.

So, letting that simmer... and with doing my own personal journaling..m and with reading my favorite book on journaling, "Leaving a Trace: On Keeping a Journal" by Alexandra Johnson (see this link: http://smile.amazon.com/Leaving-Trace-Keeping-Alexandra-Johnson-ebook/dp/B002OFVNIC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1432916448&sr=1-1&keywords=on+leaving+a+trace+johnson), I read about journaling a family chronicle.

I also read in the book about how there are some family members we wished kept a journal, but didn't. And later, why not write one for them, whether a journaling entry or a journal.

The lightbulb went off two days ago and I decided that was what I would do for my family.

I have several famous, notorious, and fascinating family members, and the everyday variety I cannot wait to explore and learn more about myself, my family, history, and the world. Kings, Emperors, biblical people, and those who are what some would call ordinary fill the leaves and branches of my family tree. I cannot wait to learn about all of my direct leaves and branches first.

Today, I just realized that the journaling I want to do is for the world, about nature, and history, and is not about me at all, other than what I can learn about them and enjoy from learning about them. Not me. Them.

I want to write the journals of all of them. I will write it first as nonfiction, then as historical or contemporary fiction.

And I will journal about what unlearn and how I am.changed from them.

The truth is from this family tree, we can gain an unique perspective of the history of the world,for my family comes from all over.

I am starting with one individual, which I will tell you more about in a moment.

I am starting a journaling series:

"From Adam to Me Family Tree" Journaling Series

I have a family tree of over 17,526 people and I still have a lot of missing branches and leaves. Once I am in our house, and we are settled from our move, and I play a week or two of catch-up... Then, I will spend a month working all day and night (but with 8 hours sleep) to fill in more, and to get more information on the people I have. But, until then, I have what I have.

So, yep. Gulp.

I would not have so many if it wasn't for the fact I have some well documented people in my family tree. So, that sure helps.

I look forward to this journey.

I hope to inspire you with your journaling as well. I will still include journaling how-to pieces and prompts and exercises.

My first relative I will study and journal for is:

ANCESTOR #14 THOMAS CORNELL.

I am generation #1. He is the 14th. Adam is the 154th.

It is with this branch and leaves I begin.

A JOURNALING EXERCISE OR PROMPT

Who do you wish kept a journal, but didn't?

List all of them.

Then, pick one. Who would you want to write a journal for?

Blessings,
--Stacy Duplease
Email:
agodlyvision@gmail.com
rememberingyourpresent@gmail.com
Blogs:
http://rypjournaling.blogspot.com
http://rypstories.blogspot.com
Sent from my Amazon Kindle Fire HDX Tablet

An Open Window Journaling Exercise or Prompt

When was the last time you sat or stood in front of an open window in your house for a minimum of ten minutes and took it all in and observed?

Did you then journal about what you observed?

Why don't you try this with every window in your house? And, when you journal about your observations, make sure to include all of your senses.

These observations may lead you to a spark to journal about now, or later. I guarantee the latter part. What we observe is a springboard to other journaling ideas. Just keep observing and reviewing all of your journaling and you never know what Journaling Gems you might find to mine.

Appreciate: A Journaling Exercise or Prompt

How can I fully appreciate this moment? 

Cold Coffee, Warm Cat: A Journaling Prompt or Exercise

Sinan, my cat, is snuggling with me on the sofa and I have a warm right hip, but cold coffee. Chuckling as I take this in and enjoy all of it, even the cold coffee. This moment is worthwhile. I do not want to skip it or miss it because of wanting a warm-up. 

But, isn't this also indicative of life? We could be living in the middle of a blessing, but may miss it because we focus on the cold coffee--or because of busyness. We focus on the cloud and miss the rainbow, never mind the sunshine in the distance. Never mind that silver lining. 

How many blessings do we miss because we fail to stop and appreciate every facet of the moment, not just the perceived good stuff?

I can live with a little cold coffee. I don't want to miss the warmth, beauty,and tenderness of this moment since it also comes with the cold coffee.

Journal your thoughts. 

How does this speak to you?

Count your blessings. 

Memorial Day: A Journal Prompt or Exercise

Remember those who have served in the U.S. Military and those who have given their lives for your freedom. After all, without their serving, we would have none.

Journal about them, this, and why and how you are grateful.

Count the blessings you have because of them.

Do you know someone who paid the cost? Remember them now. Journal.

If you do not know anyone personally who died, you can still take several moments today to remember, thank God, and journal about what they did for you and how they did it for your freedom.

What do you take for granted about your freedom?

People have given their lives for us and our freedom. This should make us live every moment differently. Shouldn't it?

Remember those families who have lost someone in war. This day is for them. Not for us.

This is Your Best Moment: A Journaling Exercise or Prompt

Journal about this as though it was your voice speaking, "my" and "I."

This moment counts and is my best moment. After all, it is the only one I can control. So, what can I do to live it fully and purposefully? What blessings will I find in this moment?

(Note: And, remember how every moment is sacred.)

A New Personal Journaling Focus (SOC Journaling) and a Journaling Exercise or Prompt

Please forgive me for being so silent on this blog. We are in the middle of helping my dad with a kitchen renovation project, which has meant some long days. However, when I am able, I've been focusing on a new personal journaling focus. I am doing at least a 30 day focus on SOC Journaling.

SOC is short for, Stream of Consciousness Journaling, why change is writing anything that comes to mind, when it comes to mind, without filtering it.

There is a reason why things pop into our minds and there is a reason as to when. If you get it all capture on the page, and keep reviewing the material, and keep doing SOCs from that material, you will answer those questions and start to see patterns.

With this new SOC Journaling focus, it means I did 152 pages of journaling in seven days (before the kitchen reno). It's 152 pages and over the last two days, I did 10 pages. I will be able to keep reviewing this material doing another SOC from what I wrote. I cannot wait to see what develops.

Already, there have been some very special Journaling Gems that I cannot wait to write more about in time.

A JOURNALING EXERCISE OR PROMPT

So now, why don't you join me for the next thirty days and do much the same?

Blessings,
--Stacy Duplease
Email:
agodlyvision@gmail.com
rememberingyourpresent@gmail.com
Blogs:
http://rypjournaling.blogspot.com
http://rypstories.blogspot.com
Sent from my Amazon Kindle Fire HDX Tablet

A Journaling Prompt or Exercise 05-19-2015

1 Sit in front of a window. Journal what you observe, using as many senses as possible, for at least ten minutes.

2 Then, when finished, journal any extra thoughts or observations as you read it through.

3 For the next week, every single day, keep reading everything you journal in this exercise and journaling #2.

A Journaling Exercise or Prompt Link or Resource

Quotes help inspire us to journal.

Take a look at this site for a lifetime of journaling inspiration:

http://www.brainyquote.com/

Journaling Exercises or Prompts 05-18-2015

Journal about the following:

What do you expect from this week?

What do you want from this week?

What do you hope to accomplish this week?

What do you hope to journal this week?

What do you want from your journaling this week?

Sit where you are and journal about all of your senses: sight, smell, sound, touch, and taste.

Count 20 blessings.

Journaling Stuff to RYP Journaling to Journaling Gems

A RYP Journaling Blog Post

~*~

THE WINDS OF CHANGE

Have you ever noticed how quickly things change? Well, this blog and blog post are proofs of this phenomenon. (Never mind my life in the present.)

I have decided to keep things uniform and consistent and move back to this blog. This is a change.

I had moved from this blog to RYP Stories to here to Journaling Stuff. Now, I have decided to KISS it--and Keep It Simple, Stupid. (Stupid refers to me, by the way.)

So, what can you expect from this blog?

I will include several components each day in the blog posts. They will all have the title of: RYP Journaling Gems, plus the day's date. However, most of what I will share is timeless.
I will have a Journaling Prompt or Exercise as the very first part of the blog post, then a Prayer Journaling Exercise or Prompt, then a journaling how-to, some News Journaling links, and followed by some personal journaling.

Stay tuned.

~*~

A JOURNALING PROMPT OR EXERCISE

Where are you in life right now?

How did you get here?

Where did you come from?

Where do you want to go?

~*~

A PRAYER JOURNALING PROMPT OR EXERCISE

Do the previous prompt or exercise again, but now do it regarding your faith.

*~**~**~**~*

Blessings,
--Stacy Duplease
Email:
agodlyvision@gmail.com
rememberingyourpresent@gmail.com
Blogs:
http://rypjournaling.blogspot.com
http://rypstories.blogspot.com
Sent from my Amazon Kindle Fire HDX Tablet

Theme: A Journaling Prompt or Exercise

Come up with a word theme to focus on:
-- This week
-- This month
-- This quarter
-- This year
-- This decade
And, journal about it every day and at several points throughout your day.

Count Your Blessings: A Journaling Prompt and Exercise

Count at least 25 blessings of your past.

Count at least 25 blessings of your future.

Then, make a list of the memories they reminded you of. Then, you will have more memories captured on the page you can turn back to later and journal about.

Five Senses: A Journaling Prompt or Exercise

Stop.

Take it all in, whatever is around you. Catch every facet, big and small.

Write it in your journal.

Catch the five senses:

I see...

I hear...

I touch and feel...

I taste...

I smell...

Then, do this with several moments the last day or two.

Life is built on moments. Don't allow them to pass you by and fail to take them all in.

Thinking and Journaling

OUR THOUGHTS ARE THE MOST POWERFUL TOOL WE HAVE AND ARE THE MOST NEGLECTED

Our lives are so full, so busy, we barely have time to breathe, let alone think. Who has time to think something all the way through? Isn't this where most of our challenges start is in our thought life or the lack thereof?

Our thoughts are the most powerful tool we have in our arsenal for this thing called daily look vintage life. Our thoughts are the very thing that can make us or break us. They are what can help us life a thoroughly enjoyed and blessed life--or a tormented one. And it is our thought life we tend to take for granted the most.

We neglect our thought life, after all. We might become obsessed with a particular thought or line of thinking that we forsake all others. Or, we fail to think at all, never mind think something all the way through.

Our thoughts can stress us out or uplift us. They can strengthen us or weaken us. Our thoughts can help us live the best life possible, or the worst. If we want world peace, it begins in our thoughts and nowhere else.

Want to change the world, change your thoughts. Want to live the best life possible, change your thoughts. Want to distress, change your thoughts. Want to properly grieve, think. Want to make the best decision, think it all the way through from every angle.

Our thoughts are the most powerful tools we have to live, but are the very things we neglect the most and take for granted the most.

THINKING INTENTIONALLY

Since our thoughts are so powerful, we need to control them, rather than allow our thoughts to control us or allow our thoughts to act like popcorn popping in our head. We need to think intentionally and on purpose. However, we need to do more than just that. We need to think things through all the way through to the conclusion and then keep thinking it to remind us of the conclusion and what we are supposed to do because of the conclusion. This is how we live the most blessed, purposeful, content, and productive life possible.

Journaling helps us do this and more.

JOURNALING AND A THINKING LIFE

Thinking something all the way through and to completion, by arriving at a conclusion and a plan for action or inaction, is what separates us from an insect or an animal.

However, how often do we really do that? How often do we control our thoughts, rather than allow them to control us, think through all of the angles, think it all the way through to completion, and arrive at a conclusion we can then put into action or inaction--and keep bringing it to remembrance so we stay on track? How often?

Not very often.

As a matter of fact, our thoughts normally go in one of two ways: We obsess about the unimportant--or our thoughts are like popcorn popping, bouncing in every direction but do not lead to anything fulfilling and often lead us astray.

If we were to think a great deal more, we would not say or do something stupid, and we sure wouldn't reach false conclusions and act on them.

And, how often do we allow someone else to do the thinking for us?

Then, there are times we are lazy in our thinking and don't want to bother with it or just don't care.

None of that is good or helpful, and sure isn't productive and often leads to poor outcomes and mistakes.

Journaling helps us to think.

And not only that, journaling helps us to really think.

And journaling helps ensure we think correctly and think things all the way through.

THE BEST LIFE WE CAN LIVE IS A THINKING LIFE

For all of the previous reasons, journaling helps us live the best life possible: a thinking life in which we make sure to take nothing for granted and count our blessings, as we think something all the way through from every angle until we reach a conclusion or action or inaction.

Thinking makes us live deliberately and journaling forces us to deliberately think.

HOW TO THINK IN OUR JOURNALING: A JOURNALING EXERCISE OR PROMPT

The best help our journaling offers us in living a thinking life is we can write all of our thoughts in our journals, to let some go and to realize we need to think some other thoughts through. It's important for us to do this every day and first thing  in our journals. We need to sort through our thoughts from the previous day, from the night, and what popped into our minds when we woke up this morning. But, get them down on the page in case later you realize there was a reason why you thought of it.

What thoughts are obsessive thoughts that keep coming to mind for some reason? Are they thoughts we need to work through, are silly and nonsensical and need to let go, or a combination of each? Then, do it in your journal: think it through or let it go. But, get them down on the page in case later you realize there was a reason why you thought of it.

Our thoughts can also be our to do list kind of thoughts. Get them down in your journal so you can think of something more productive. But, get them down on the page in case later you realize there was a reason why you thought of it.

If you think of any memories, capture them on the page. Is there something you feel compelled to think about and think through? Then, do so in your journal. Also, something to keep in mind is how you need to get them down on the page in case later you realize there was a reason why you thought of it.

Our thoughts can appear random and not make sense at the time, let me repeat, but get them down on the page in case later you realize there was a reason why you thought of it.
Every day, journal and think about the following:

So, go for it, write all your obsessive and popcorn thoughts down on the page, along with the things you were already thinking through in order to reach a conclusion.

What thoughts do you need to let go and move on?

What thoughts do you need to think all the way through, from all angles, to a conclusion and then act on the conclusion or do not act on the conclusion?

Daily Journaling Exercises or Prompts

WHAT SHOULD YOU JOURNAL NOW?: IT'S YOUR TURN (A DAILY JOURNALING EXERCISE OR PROMPT)

These are prompts to go through each day answer one or all each and every day. Be thorough in your response.

List at least five blessings in your life today.

List at least five blessings from your past.

List at least three blessings you know or think you'll have in your life.

How are you feeling?

What are you thinking?

What have you done and experienced today?

Journal about each of your senses today: hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting, touching, and sensing/discerning.

Answer who, what, where, when, why, how, and what-if questions.

List at least three memories that pop into your mind. Give enough information of each memory you can journal more about it later. Now, journal more in-depth about at least one of these memories.

What are your dreams and goals? How are you going after them and making them come true?

What is an inspirational quote that comes to mind?

Are you focusing on a theme in your life today, this week, this month, this quarter, and/or this year? If so, what is it? How? Explain.

Where have you been?

What have you learned?

What are your favorites? Why? What memories come from each?

List at least five more blessings in your life.

Journaling Exercise or Prompt

AN EXPLANATION OF "A JOURNALING EXERCISE OR PROMPT"

A journaling exercise or prompt is meant to inspire you to journal. This is the definition.

Instruction: The journaling exercises or prompts are optional. They are meant to help inspire you to journal. Therefore, use them if you want, or ignore them until later and when they are needed or if you just want to journal more.

If you are having a good day of journaling, read these and see if they inspire you to journal more. If you need inspiration, use the journal exercises or prompts.

Feel free to come back to the journaling prompts at any time and do them. In fact, you might want to do each prompt several times over time. Your answers will change.

MY GOAL WITH THE JOURNALING EXERCISES OR PROMPTS

My main goal is to give you more information and more inspiration to journal than you could ever use in your lifetime. It is far better to have more options than not enough.

Therefore, I will include multiple journaling exercises or prompts.

HOW DO YOU USE THE JOURNALING EXERCISES OR PROMPTS?

How do you use (or do) the journaling exercises or prompts? Read it and start journaling whatever comes to mind, when it comes to mind, even if it has nothing to do at all with the prompt. After all, the point of a journaling exercise or prompt, is to get you to journaling.

Journal as much as possible. This is the goal.

Make sure to have fun with these prompts. It's meant to be inspirational, not pressuring.

SUNDAY JOURNALING: A JOURNALING EXERCISE OR PROMPT

1 What happened in your life this last week?

2 What challenges did you have?

3 What blessings did you have?

4 What did you learn last week?

5 How was your journaling?

6 What do you expect from this next week? What plans do you have?

7 What blessings do you expect or hope for?

8 What do you hope of expect from your journaling this week?

9 List at least 10 blessings now.

Introduction to Journaling, Part 2

THE ONLY RULE WITH JOURNALING (A RULE OF THUMB, REALLY)

There is only one rule with journaling.

However, with that being said, many journal keepers will disagree with this. I will explain.

The one rule with journaling is this:

Journal every single day. Without fail.

The ideal rule with journaling is this:

That you will journal several moments every day.

Some will say it is okay to journal when you can or when you feel inspired.

Some will even say that one sentence per day is enough. It is when you are just beginning.

The reason to journal at least every day, preferably at several moments throughout your day, is this: After 32.5 years of journaling, I have learned something beautiful about journaling: The more you put into journaling, the more you will get out of it.

Let me repeat that again. Please slowly read each word.

The more you put into journaling, the more you will get out of it.

Period.

End of story.

Any questions?

Journal once a year.

Journal one sentence a day.

Some is better than none with journaling.

However, do you want to live the deepest, most creative, most productive, most thought-full, most joyful, most blessed life you can, and be the biggest blessing you can be to others, then journal at several moments every single day without fail. You will not accomplish this by journaling any less.

If you journal less, you will live a less thought-FULL life. It will not be as deep, full of blessing, otherwise. In fact, you will take your life, people, and things for granted.

HOW OFTEN AND HOW MUCH SHOULD WE JOURNAL?: HOW TO MAKE JOURNALING A DAILY HABIT

I shared the answer in the previous paragraph. Journal every day, at several points throughout your day. And, you should journal as much as possible.

Great. This might seem intimidating or like wishful thinking. In fact, you might not have the time for it. Let me explain how you can.I journal between five and fifteen pages per day, letter size of 8.5 x 11, single spaced, 12 point font/type. I average nine pages per day, but have journals as many as fifty in a day. But, journaling is my full-time job.

When I worked full-time, I averaged five pages per day.

I say all of this not to brag or intimidate, but to make a point.

I started off writing one sentence per day.

That is the secret, folks. Don't start with the expectation of journaling one page or even one paragraph in a day. Start with a minimum goal of one sentence per day for one week. If you journal more than that, score! Extra bonus!

Then, journal the next week one sentence twice a day... in the morning and evening.

Then, journal the next week one sentence three times per day... in the morning, at Noonish, and then in the evening.

Then, for the next week, journal one sentence in the morning, at lunch, when you get home from school or work, then after dinner.

Then, for the next week, journal one sentence in the morning, at lunch, when you get home from school or work, then after dinner, then before bed.

Then, the next week, add one sentence to each of those times.

Keep building until you journal at least a page twice a day.

Then, keep building from there.

I steal times throughout my day to journal. I do my best to keep the appointed times, but also make sure to journal at every down moment. Our days are full of empty spaces and journaling is how I redeem the time, not checking my cell or doing social media. For instance, when I am on hold on the phone, when standing in a line at a store, sitting in waiting room at doctor's office, waiting for an appointment, waiting for someone to get ready to go somewhere, if I toss and turn at night, if I am stircrazy, if I am worked up about something, if I am anxious or stressed, if I am upset, if I am cooking something and cannot leave the kitchen but can journal a sentence or two as I cook, when I pull into a parking lot I journal for a minute before I go in store, etc. I steal time to journal all day long, plus write at the five times per day mark. This is how I have journals fifty page days at times.

My greatest joys are the mornings I cannot sleep in, because I am wide awake. It could annoy me. But, instead I think, "Yay! More time to journal!" And I rush to do just that. I usually have a major insight or A-HA moment those days, like I did this morning, by the way.

Journaling takes time. It is a practice and an art. Don't think you have to start off journaling pages or even paragraphs per day. Build up to that slowly over time. It took me years to get to this point. I wasn't born knowing how to journal. I've learned through lots of trial and error and experimentation.

Journal every day, at several moments throughout your day, the length you can and build up from there. It's really that easy.

Remember the one journaling rule of thumb: The more you put into journaling, the more you will get out of it.

So, if you have never journeyed before, I hope this helps.

For you journal keepers who have journaled before, I hope this helps inspire you to do more so you and your life can be far more deep, creative, reflective, productive, and blessed, so you can then be more of a blessing to others.

JOURNALING IS ALWAYS CHANGING--OR NOT

What I love most about journaling is it can be something you do differently every time you approach the page--or you can do the exact same thing. It's your journal. Be creative. There is only one rule (which we already covered), but all else goes. Experiment. Have fun with it.

If you are doing something that works in your journaling, meaning every time you sit down to journal, you are able to write several paragraphs without thought, where you are writing and are not getting stuck or blocked, then keep doing what you are doing. Don't change.

But, if you find yourself stuck or blocked, or even bored when you try to journal, then change it up and try something different than what you are doing now.

Journaling should bring you peace and contentment in the end and leave you with a new perspective. If it doesn't, try something new or different.

GRAMMAR?

With journaling, it is okay to break every single rule possible regarding grammar and how you write. Write one word sentences. Don't write in sentences. Make lists, mind maps, use bullets, or not. The choice is up to you. Do what works for you in that moment when you face the blank and empty page. If it works, your hand or hands are busy journaling. If not, then you are tapping or twiddling your thumbs. If it's the latter, mix it up and try something else.

So, forget grammar. Do what works for you as you journal.

OOPS. THERE ARE THREE RULES OF JOURNALING

1 The more you put into your journaling, the more you will get out of it.

2 Forget grammar.

3 Never, ever delete something, throw it away, rip it up, or get rid of it. Never, ever.

RULE 3: NEVER DELETE ANYTHING

Part of what makes journaling so effective and so delightful, is also what makes journaling such a powerful activity. It's reflection and self-analysis. It's about learning to live a deeper, more thoughtful life. Journaling gives us proper perspective, where after we deal with out stuff, then we can look around and count our blessings, and then we can be a blessing to others. We learn how to be far less self-centered by looking within and realizing our weaknesses and limitations, along with our mistakes. This brings humility. Then, we can be thankful for what we have and not regret the things we don't. Through this, we count our blessings and can look out at others and see past their warts and bring blessing to their lives. It's a wonderful progression.

We live such shallow lives normally.

Journaling makes us go deeper, where we explore the depths of self, situations, others, etc.

But, we can only do all of this through reviewing our journaling and reading it again, to analyze it and see what themes emerge, where we seem to keep tripping up, how we have grown, how what happened in the past seemed so nonsense but looking back we see how things worked together, we see how blessed we are, and we learn how we need to grow. Journaling it once and not reviewing and analyzing prevents us from doing all of this.

So many times in my life, I have faced challenges or experienced something that made no sense whatsoever. I have wondered why or thought how it didn't seem fair or was pointless. I've thrown a pity-party. Then, later on, more things happen, I do the same. Then, later on, something else happens, I review my journaling, and see how things worked together to bring me to this point. This exact point. How it came together the things that seemed unrelated and challenging. I learn how everything had a point. But, I would never have seen it own known it if I hadn't journaled it in the first place and then reviewed my journaling.

I never would have seen how things came together if I journaled something and then deleted it, destroyed it, or gotten rid of it.

Some will say it's therapeutic to rip up your journal.

Really?

If you fully deal with your stuff, you don't need to destroy to let go and move on. If you fully deal with your stuff, you learn that challenge is one of the biggest blessings in your life.
Why destroy a blessing?

Oh, at the time, it may seem ugly. But, often times, great beauty comes from what seems ugly.

So, never, ever delete. Not one word.

It's okay if your journaling is ugly. It's okay if you feel ugly after writing the ugly journal. Give it time. Beauty will rise from the ashes.

Keep every word, every scratch, of your journaling.

WHAT CAN YOU DO INSTEAD OF DELETING? 

1 If it's too painful to keep using that journal, start a new one. Set it to the side and forget about it.

2 If you feel like you need to rip something up, write as ugly of a letter as you can, purging The ugliness onto the page so you don't keep it within. Then, copy the letter. Keep one copy. Put it to the side. Take the other and rip that one up.

3 Or, just simply rewrite it. Keep the original and on the next page, rewrite it.

WHAT SHOULD YOU JOURNAL?

Truthfully, you should journal anything you want and anything that comes to mind, even if you wrote it before. There is a reason why it comes to mind or is on your heart.

It's true.

But, there are times you approach the page, your journal, and are blank. Nothing is there. Nothing comes to mind. So, what then?

There are many things you can do in that situation, or even just in general and every time you journal.

Journal every day about where you've been, where you are, and where you want to head in life. Then, count your blessings of each and then journal about memories of each. This is the simplest approach to take with journaling every time you approach the page.

There are other ideas as well:

Count your past, present, and future blessings.

Do some journaling exercises or prompts.

List as many memories as you can. Then, expand upon each of them until you have a full journal entry of at least a page per memory.

Ask who, what, where, when, why, how, and what-if questions.

Make lists of different things then expand to a page journaling of each item. For example: What are your favorite foods? Movies? Books? Say why they are your favorites and list at least three memories of each. Then journal a page about each memory.

List the decades of your life then under each decade, list as many memories come to mind.

Look around your house and list items, rooms, etc and the memories associated with each.

Then, expand your memories to one page each.

Every day, count your blessings. I know I ready said that, but I repeat that.

Those are just a few examples of what to journal.

IT'S YOUR TURN: A JOURNALING EXERCISE OR PROMPT

Count your past, present, and future blessings.

Why is each a blessing?

List a memory of each blessing and then journal as much as you can about it.