Pensive Journaling:
You’ve seen Harry Potter? Where Dumbledore pulls out thoughts from his brain and puts them in the swirly liquid held by the pensive. Yep, that’s the one.
Pensive journaling free’s up space in the mind for more information and makes it easier to observe your thoughts….
It works! And it’s not magic!
Your pensive isn’t a swirly liquid, however, it’s a journal, scrapbook, workbook, etc. (swipe sideways for examples)
This was the tool I used most when I was a teenager. I had lots of experiences and thus, lots of thoughts about those experiences; and I discovered I picked up others emotions or got mixed up in the drama.
So, naturally, I bottled up my emotions.
I didn’t know I was doing this, and your teenager probably doesn’t realize it either, but at the end of the day I felt very heavy, confused and upset sometimes.
I needed to EXPRESS those thoughts and feelings (AKA talk a lot at night).
My dad was often the patient listener to my life story for the day. But sometimes it got really late. Then I felt terrible for keeping him up.
One evening I was sitting in bed thinking, “I’ve got to let my dad sleep, AND I’ve got to talk… what do I do?”
The spirit whispered, “Start writing it all in your journal.”
So I began to write in a journal. And I grew to have the most incredible relationships with this personal journal. It was always there for me, I never felt guilty writing late at night, it never judged me or sent me signals that it was tired or bored.
Step 1: Put your pen to paper and write… that’s it. Write, however it comes out… in order or all mixed together, with or without doodles – there is no wrong way.
I still use this tool often. The spirit talks to me and I write. I write questions and answers come in the form of thoughts, quotes, and scriptures. Sometimes, deeper ideas are expounded to me.
BONUS: I get some of my best teaching material as I sit and write, I truly love it! And you’re grateful I do, so I can share it with you!
Accomplishment/Gratitude Journaling:
Have you ever had a day where you wondered if you got anything done?
The to-do list is still there and nothing or not much was checked off.
Then you begin to feel useless, powerless, and lazy. And you don’t want to do anything… why try?
But what if you started to list the things you DID DO (no matter how small)?
- Got dressed
- Did your hair/make up
- Cleaned the kitchen
Suddenly, you feel like you’ve done something. This gives you a little dopamine hit (see more about this on February posts) and you feel like you might could vacuum or go for a walk also.
The more you notice what you’ve accomplished, the better you feel and the more you get done.
On days I’m struggling to get going or feeling like I’m doing any good, I take time to write down what I DID do.
I always feel better, and more motivated; and it BUILDS MOMENTUM for other things I want to accomplish.
Sometimes I even surprise myself with what I’ve accomplished – BONUS!
Gratitude journaling has the same effect…
It focuses your brain on what you are doing right or what you are grateful for…
Which tells your brain, you want to see more of that …
So your brain finds more evidence of what you’ve accomplished or what you can show gratitude for.
This is how YOU get to manage what you are focused on, which influences how you experience life.
