This week we’re encouraging you to take a step back and a deep breath in preparation for Spring. Before the rest of the year gets ahead of us--we thought it important to focus on some tips that will help your 2018 be as intentional, purpose-filled, and wildly successful as it can be. We at P&B encourage you to take a moment each day to chronicle your inspirations, emotions, decisions and dreams in a journal of your preference and distinction. You might not need to make this a life-long habit, but we encourage you to give it a go. Write one sentence, write 15, write 300--just pick up a pen. Here are a few reasons journaling can make your upcoming year even better.
Dream Big Without Consequences
Let it fly. Let it rip. Journaling, if anything, is a way to put into words your biggest ideas and let your freak flag fly. Think your biggest thinks on a platform where no one else will ever see them--it’s a great practice in taking pressure off the outcome or even public judgment of your actual thoughts and emphasizing the process of dreaming in the first place.
Set goals for yourself and explore solutions. Develop strategy by even the act of journal keeping and strengthen your self-discipline. The point here is to let it all go and remind yourself of the big picture and define success through your own eyes.
Step Back and Evaluate
Journaling is a self-love and self-care tool that situates you in a place of conscious authority over all areas of your life. The act of making your thoughts, emotions, dreams, and behaviors tangible requires you to synthesize and process all that’s happening in your mind, into a literary fixation of your own choosing. Taking the time to sit and be with yourself in a relaxed, peaceful, and safe place to journal can lower your emotional reactivity to situations, align your emotions with your motivations, and be place of healing if need be.
Journaling increases understanding of your internal self, which then strengthens your ability to empathize or intuit what other people are experiencing and improves your overall skills of effective communication.
Spark Your Creativity
Utilize this time by yourself to focus on bursts of artistic expression. While this practice of routinely showing up for yourself is helpful for your mental health, it is just as important to the things in life you are passionate about. You don’t have to be a creative person in a creative career path to find inspiration through daily expression. The purpose of journaling is not necessarily to sit down with the purpose of being creative or thoughtful but to practice expressing yourself and processing the world around you.
As you work through ways to put your ideas onto paper, you’ll naturally search for new words, methods of expression. Don’t be afraid to discover yourself as you do.
