ideas+to+get+you+journaling

= Stream of Consciousness. = = With this technique, you first clear = your mind then begin to write whatever may come into it, with no  conscious thought at all. Don’t edit, don’t worry about spelling or  punctuation or sentence structure. Just put down whatever you think. It  may be useful to set yourself a time frame in the beginning, perhaps ten minutes a day. Of course, if you want to keep writing after ten minutes, go ahead; but commit to writing for the ten minutes, no matter what. After a while, as you look back over your daily entries, you may see patterns emerging, and you may find those answers you were hoping for. = Question and Answer. When you use a question and answer = format for your journaling, you will usually ask yourself the same questions on a regular basis and record your answers. Sometimes, depending on the reason for your guided journaling, these questions will be given to you. For example, Alcoholics Anonymous may suggest <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">that members use guided journaling to keep track of their progress and assess themselves regularly. <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">AA provides a set of questions for you to  <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">use in this situation. Or you may be able to create your own set of  <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">questions, and seek your own answers to them daily, weekly, or   <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">monthly. = <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">Periodic Reflection. You can keep a regular diary or journal, = <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">writing something in it daily, and then look back on your writings at  <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">the end of each month. Your reflection on these writings enables you to  <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">evaluate your state of mind over time, your progress in any area, or   <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">anything else you want to review. Studies have shown that interactive <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">journal writing – you, having a dialogue with yourself – stimulates both <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">the process of reflection and the personal learning process. <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">Dream Journal: Some people say they never dream, others say <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">they never remember their dreams. The fact is that everybody dreams. <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">Keeping a dream journal can not only make you more proficient in  <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">remembering your dreams, but can reveal patterns in your dreams over <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">time that can lead to interesting self-discovery. One popular way of  <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">keeping a dream journal is to have your journal next to your bed with a   <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">pen handy. If you wake up after having a dream, write it down <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">immediately, as much as you can remember. If you don’t wake up  <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">during the night, in the morning you can record whatever you recall of   <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">your dreams. Some individuals who habitually get up several times in  <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">the night to use the bathroom keep their dream journals on the counter <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">there! <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'MelanieBT-Roman','sans-serif'; font-size: 20pt;">The Affirmation Journal: It Can Change Your Life! <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">An affirmation, according to the Merriam-Webster Online <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">dictionary, is “a positive assertion.” For the purposes of your <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">Affirmation Journal, let’s make that a little more personal. The <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">affirmations you create are positive things you tell yourself, phrased <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">positively, preferably written down as well as spoken out loud and <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">repeatedly. They are concrete references to specific persons, beliefs, <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">feelings, or thoughts. And each affirmation reflects a particular <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">emotion. <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">Affirmations can help you change the way you think about <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">situations that are difficult for you, or people who are part of those <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">situations. If you deliberately change the way you think, you will <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">automatically change the way you feel, and the way you react to the <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">situation. You will feel differently about issues affecting you, and that <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">will change the quality of your life for the better. The future is in your <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">hands: affirmations state that the future is, in fact, already here. <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">Affirmations are always phrased in the present tense, so when you <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">repeat them, you are telling yourself that things are as they will be. <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">Choose your affirmations to be relevant to you. In your Affirmation Journal, you will be working through various issues that <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">are important to you and your life. You may wish to identify these <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">issues by using the “stream of consciousness” writing technique. Clear <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">your mind and just write, without thinking about what you are putting <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">onto the paper. Don’t edit, don’t worry about punctuation or spelling or  <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">grammar. Just let it flow. When you read back what you have written, <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">you may discover that certain issues have presented themselves. You <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">can then form your affirmations around those issues. <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">The trick to creating useful affirmations is using your own <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">negative thoughts, beliefs, and feelings to find what you want to change <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">in your life. You take a negative statement – let’s use “I always have <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">trouble getting to know new people” – and figure out how to state the <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">exact opposite. It might be, “I always find it very easy to get to know <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">new people.” And then, you practice. You say the new affirmation over <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">and over and over, out loud, several times each day. You write it in  <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">your journal, over and over. It will feel strange at first because you <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">have believed its opposite for so long. But it will eventually change the <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">way you think and believe about your capacity for getting to know new <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">people. You will perceive yourself differently after repeating the <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">affirmation over time; and then you will find yourself making new <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">friends without even thinking about it. That’s how affirmations work in  <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">your life: by changing how you think, believe, and feel about yourself. Journal: <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">Self-esteem. Most people, even the ones who seem to be quite <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">fond of themselves, are actually lacking in self-esteem! Perhaps when <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">you were a child, your parents, or other adults, made you feel a lack of  <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">confidence in your own abilities. To be completely happy as an adult, <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">you need to restore that self-confidence. Affirming that you are a strong <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">and capable person may need to be one of the first items on your list. <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">Relationships. Perhaps you need to work on some of your <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">relationships to improve them. Perhaps other relationships ought to be  <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">discarded. It’s your task to figure out whether a particular person is  <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">good for you, or whether that person has a toxic quality that should be   <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">eliminated from your life. Then you’ll need to discover the reasons why <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">that person is with you, and create some affirmations either way. <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">Outlook. Many people have a negative outlook, but just as  <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">many people have a positive outlook. If general negativity is a problem <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">for you, you will be able to figure out why through journaling. Create <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">affirmations that will allow you to change your outlook to a realistic <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">one, neither pessimistic nor too optimistic. Optimism is always <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">anticipating the best possible outcome, and we know that cannot <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">always be the case. However, no matter the outcome in a particular <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">situation, you can always react to it in a positive way, if your <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">affirmations focus on that. <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'MelanieBT-Roman','sans-serif'; font-size: 20pt;">The Affirmation Journal Jump Start <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">Begin your Affirmation Journal by thinking about one thing <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">you would like to change in your life. This should be very specific, and <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">should relate to how you feel about something. For example, have you <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">been feeling upset because your boss has been very crabby and short <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">with you lately? <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">Write it down: “My boss has been really crabby with me  <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">lately.” Then write some more, describing what has happened, why you <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">think it might have taken place, how you feel about it. Write until you <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">end up with a statement describing those feelings: perhaps, “I feel <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">afraid when my boss is crabby.” Whatever you feel, just feel it, and <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">write it down. <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">Now try to make a general statement from what you have <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">discovered. It might be, “When someone is angry with me, I feel <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">afraid.” Then turn it around to its opposite. Be sure not to use negative <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">words; for example, “When someone is angry with me, I don’t feel <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">afraid.” Instead, use positive words, like “I feel calm.” And there you <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">have your affirmation: “When someone is angry with me, I feel calm.” <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">Write it several times; say it out loud several times. <span style="font-family: 'FootlightMTLight','serif';">Create three affirmations using this technique and this pattern.