Dear Diary.....

Dear Diary....

I used to think journaling was something for those poetic people. I had a journal as a young girl and got teased about it. My mission as a kid was to not get teased so that sucker went in the trash unused!

After years of counseling and getting to know myself and how I function best, JOURNALING is a TOP priority! I look at it as my daily armor to get through the challenging world we live in. Armor against the negative self-talk that will endlessly rule my mind if I let it. If I don’t get my thoughts down on paper mymind whirls non-stop, and I usually don’t even know about what.

I have mentioned to a few people that I journal and sometimes get a blank stare. So I thought I would break down what works for me and give a few ideas. I spend 15 minutes to sometimes over an hour depending on what is going on in my head.

First I give THANKS! I call this my thanks journal (really creative). My goal is to 5 days a week write 5 things I am thankful for. Right now I am in the 2700s. It isfun to see that number grow. Some days it’s hard and my thanks are for simplethings like a roof over my head and clean water. Other days I could write 40 things down in seconds. This keeps me with a grateful heart for the many

blessing I have. If you dig deep enough anyone can find things to be thankful for even on really HARD days.

Prayer Journal. I am not saying you need a journal to pray. This just works for me. I am easily distracted so if I write them out I can stay focused. For me prayer is open communication with God. I pretty much write what is on my heart. Thanks, praise, protection for my family, tall trainer, concern for others etc. The overwhelming amount of peace and hope that comes from prayer is indescribable. If any one has any questions about prayer I would love to talk with you sometime!

Goal Calendar: Having written goals have CHANGED my life. I have always been a goal-oriented person but I never put them down on paper. Now it is a MUST! I purchased a calendar that has spaces for notes on it. Every January I do yearly goals as well as each month. I set them in the areas of Spiritual, Health, Fitness, Family, Career, Impact, Financial and Social. In each of these areas I usually have at least 3 goals. My yearly goals are often outcome goals like do 20 pull-ups in a row and pay off a certain amount on our home. My monthly goals are often process goals (how am I going to get the outcome I desire). Like doing pull-ups 20 days each month or set up a family budget and coming in $400 under to pay extra on the house etc. I check off the ones I havecompleted and I figure out why I didn’t do the ones that don’t get checked. Hereis the KEY to goals. LOOK AT THEM OFTEN! Our lives are crazy and somedays we don’t even know what end is up. We have to be mindful to achieve whatwe want in life.

Chicken Scribble Journal: This is where the ideas that are rolling around in my head go. Sometimes it is a new workout idea, Christmas shopping list... Other times I spider web an emotion I am feeling. For example, I get anxious very easily. I will write down the word anxious in the middle of the paper and circle it. Then I get quiet and try to figure out where the heck it is coming from. By the end the page is a huge spider web of things that shoot out from that word. Getting it on paper takes away the power that it has in my life. It gives me an opportunity to really understand and feel what is going on inside of me and a specific way to tackle it an pray about it. Most of the time when I figure out what is going on the general feeling goes away. It is usually a MUCH bigger deal in my head then when it is down on paper.

I do a few other journals but these are the MOST life changing for me. I am also constantly reading or listening to a book on personal growth, marriage and parenting to keep me in a forward motion in trying to be the best possible me.
I am not saying this all to brag, or do I think I have it all together. But when I look back at where I have come from there is no denying the growth inside of me. There are things I have overcome that I thought would haunt me the rest of my life. That I see haunt many of you as well.

This may seem like a lot for you. If I had never touched a journal before and read this I might think, “good for her, glad she has all that free time to write down everything. That is not for me”. Here is the deal. I didn’t start with all of this. I started with one (thanks journal) and I saw the huge impact it had on my mental state. I have spent years of my life in a fog trying to hide hard stuff. I have missed out on many opportunities because of my mental state. I gained 100 pounds within 2 years. I ate away emotions I didn’t want to deal with. NOW ICHOOSE to spend that time taking care of me. The rest of the hours in the day are WAY more productive, effective, joyful and peaceful. I believe this is why I am able to maintain my weight loss when most don’t. This isn’t something that isa chore anymore and has become such an integral part of my life.

There is no right or wrong way to journal, no one is going to look at it and correct it!

It may be time to try something new. Baby step your way into taking the time to understand what is ticking inside of you. Why you do the things you do ...thatyou wish you didn’t. It may seem scary but almost everything AMAZING startsout a little scary.

Sarah