Journal template

As I’ve said elsewhere, I’ve been journaling on and off for over 30 years. In the beginning it was such a novelty to put my thoughts and feelings on paper, I certainly didn’t need a journal template. So why would someone want a kind of journal template?

Journaling requires that what is rattling around inside your head that will allow you to express your inner feelings, thoughts and emotions will now get written or typed out. That may be so uncomfortable for you even though journaling sounds like such a good idea, that you’d want a way to prime the writing pump, so to speak. I mean that stuff has been rattling around for years, most likely. It wants to come out but:

a)      you will have to look at it and acknowledge that it’s there

b)      you will have to make time to do something you’ve been most likely procrastinating about for some time now

c)      you might have to make changes down the road

With all that going on, of course you might want a journal template. That way someone else has given your initial “kick in the butt” to get that pen or those fingers moving on the keyboard.

Here’s an example of a journal template you would run across in our journaling community:

This is the week where you begin to take notice of the existing state of your mind, your body, your emotional state. This is where you really begin looking at you.

Each day this week it is your mission to pay attention to your mood, your emotional state, your level of happiness and your general disposition.  Your goal is to identify the mood or emotion that is present as you are journaling and capture it with as much description as possible.  Identify the things, events and conversations that trigger your mood.  You may choose to journal several times a day, and you may notice that your mood may change many times throughout the day.

Take the time to write how your mood is expressed or displayed in your actions, your body language, and by the response by others.   Here is an example: I am frustrated today.  I am agitated and restless.  I can’t seem to sit still.  I feel nervous and people bug me.  I am hungry and can’t seem to find the ice cream I like – I have to settle for butterscotch when what I really want is double chocolate fudge.  I feel like a mouse running aimlessly on a mouse sized Ferris wheel. People are so impatient – they cut me off while I am driving and show no respect.  My friend Maria thinks I need a vacation – maybe I do.

This is the baseline activity of all your journaling and is by far the most significant.  Your feelings  are an indicator of your thoughts.  If you are not happy with your mood, you can learn to choose different thoughts to create a better mood. You can also learn that learning how to process your emotions properly will lead to a more consistent sense of joy and happiness.

Really take the time to notice how your mood and feelings – the state of you – affects the way you spend your day, the things you do, your reactions to others, or to situations.

What if you were able to actually have tools to make changes and make them permanent? What would that be like?

Do you think having a journal template like the one above might get you past your initial resistance? Try it. I bet you’ll like it. And check out our YOU University Online Journaling Community.