This Journaling Technique Has Changed My Life 180 Degrees in Just 1 Year
The ultimate guide to getting your life together
Journaling may seem like a habit you have left behind back in your middle school days, but this technique will make you go to the nearest stationery store, and get all excited about buying a new notebook.
The method I’m talking about is growth journaling, and it is a popular concept that is used for pulling one’s life together.
Ever since I learned about it I have been growth journaling, as well as developing my own techniques, and it has changed my life 180 degrees in just 1 year. I went from feeling overwhelmed by “life” to feeling in flow with life.
So today I’d like to share with you the step-by-step guide of growth journaling, and the steps are:
· 1-Get a notebook · 2-Let go of having a fixed mindset · 3-Choose the fields you want to work on · 4-Pour your mind into the paper
1-Get a notebook
This is rather an easy step but choosing the right notebook can affect your motivation for the rest of the practice. So, whether it is a notebook you find at home or one that you get from a stationery store, make sure you like it.
When it comes to the ideal notebook for growth journaling, it can vary from person to person but as a size, it would be better if it is smaller than an A4 one so that you can feel more like you’re journaling and less like you’re doing something formal.
2-Let go of having a fixed mindset
Having a fixed mindset is not necessarily something we choose to adopt, but it can be our response to feeling stuck for a bit too long.
Before I learned what was a growth mindset, I also was a part of the fixed mindset club. I felt stuck and felt as if I was who I was going to be all my life.
But the sense of freedom I have felt after I learned about the concept of the growth mindset is the reason I always talk about it in my articles.
In her article, Amanda Morin describes growth mindset in a beautiful way, that goes as:
“Growth mindset describes a way of viewing challenges and setbacks. People who have a growth mindset believe that even if they struggle with certain skills, their abilities aren’t set in stone.”.
So before starting our growth journal, it is important to change our mindset, and it can be done by choosing to be kinder to yourself and viewing life as a learning experience, rather than a test.
3-Choose the fields you want to work on
When it comes to development, there are many fields one can work on.
Some of the examples you can choose from are:
1-Goals
2-Fears
3-Problems
4-Reflection
In my own growth journal, I started by setting small goals and writing them down. But then I decided to set bigger goals, and wrote down my goals for the year, for the next 10 years. I also knew that working on my goals meant I had to work on the current problems I was facing, and thus I started writing down my problems and brainstorming on how to fix them.
By doing this, I fulfilled many goals I thought were years away from completing and fixed many problems I thought would never leave my life.
4-Pour your mind into the paper
This is the last step of our guide, but it is also where the growth really starts.
After getting your notebook, adopting a growth mindset, and choosing the fields you want to work on, now all that is left to do is to pour your mind into the paper.
Write down your goals.
Write down the issues you are facing.
Write down your fears.
Write down some quotes to inspire you.
Remember, this is where you‘ll take the noise out of your mind, and turn it into a symphony, so let yourself experiment.
Final thoughts
Letting yourself learn and develop is the only way to grow, and growth journaling is the tool that can fasten that process.
Ever since I started growth journaling, I’ve been feeling as if I had an assistant who kept all the things that were bothering me organized and so I no longer feel stuck in my struggles or pressured by life.
Today I’ve shared with you the step-by-step guide of growth journaling, and these steps were:
1-Get a notebook
2-Let go of having a fixed mindset
3-Choose the fields you want to work on
4-Pour your mind into the paper
Thank you for reading.
-E.K.
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