What to journal about.

Writing in your journal is so good for you, in so many ways. It helps you get to sleep faster, it helps you cope with stress, it improves your memory and strengthens your cognitive abilities, and it makes you more beautiful. Okay, I can’t find the data on that last one, but the rest are proven by science.

Also: it’s been proven that having a self-awareness practice like journalling makes your brain biologically healthier and more resistant to anxiety and depression.

Journalling isn’t a way to pass the time, like infinite scrolling. Journalling is a way for you to become who you are.

When you write about what’s happening in your life, you get to make sense of it through processing these events as a narrative.

Journalling helps your brain move the stuff that you’re reacting to every day into a coherent story.

This is the foundation of self-knowledge.

Self-knowledge feels good. It’s calming, clarifying, and powerful.

As you get to you know yourself, you can get out of your own way.

Here are some simple prompts you can use to start a contemplative writing practice.

(These are beneficial for people of all ages.)

Pick a cadence that feels manageable, and start there. That might be once a month, or once a week. If you already have a journalling practice and you’re ready to jump start a project or hit an important goal this year, make these prompts part of your daily, weekly, and monthly check-ins to help you stay on track.

Monthly

Four reflection points to close each month:

1. Something you learned

2. Something you accomplished

3. Something you let go of

4. Something that surprised you / inspired you
   
   

Weekly

1. What worked best this week?

2. What do you want to start doing next week?

3. What do you want to stop doing next week?
   
   

Daily

1. What was the highlight of my day?

2. What will the highlight of my day be tomorrow?

Write about who you are, who you are becoming, what you think, what you want, what you value, and what you’re growing out of.

Write by hand, to slow your thoughts down.

Write to discover what you think, and to hear your own truth without so much noise.