When I was a kid I used to hate journaling. Well, hate is probably too strong a word, but I simply didn’t get it. I was an avid reader and all the young female protagonists in the books I read kept a diary. Whereas when I put my pen to paper to try the Dear Diary approach, it was so pedestrian that I’d grow bored in a day. Why would anyone bother? Who really wants to know about my breakfast? Who really wants to know about my petty squabbles with siblings or friends?

I then continued to ignore journaling for many years despite learning about the alleged benefits such as working through your fears and worries, along with being a great self-awareness tool.  But my rather disillusioned 10yo self who had canned it was getting in my way of really trying it. 

Then when I launched my coaching, speaking and mentoring business, I knew I needed to do something different to stay motivated, and it was then that I started exploring in depth. Not just the benefits of journaling, but different practical tactics that help you journal more effectively – and yes there are many.

Since then I’ve not just journaled extensively, but written about it frequently as well. You can read about benefits of the Worry Reframe Technique at the bottom of this email. I’m still in love with this technique and use it daily – to great effect. Not only does it help you turn your worries and fears into possibility statements that excite you, but it’s incredibly motivating as well.

WHY DO I RECOMMEND JOURNALING FOR WOMEN?

With women often bearing the brunt of emotional housework both at home and at the office – we need tools to let off steam. 

With women having to prove their worth over and over again and even jump through more hoops just to be considered equal with men, it’s no wonder we can all benefit from tools that help us tackle things differently. 

With women being bombarded by hundreds (if not thousands) of negative messages daily from the world at large – too bossy, too fat, too loud, too thin, too young, too old, not confident enough, not assertive enough, not good enough, here’s a cellulite cream, you need this anti wrinkle cream – and the list goes on – we need tools to work with just to stay on an even keel.

With women being worried about our financial future – we frequently not only don’t earn as much as men, but we also have less in our superannuation and this can weigh on your mind like a lead weight as you head toward 50yo where it’s whopping at 24% less which for many equates to $100K+ –  and journaling can help you process your fears and worries so you can more easily create a concrete action plan to rectify.

“There’s a power in allowing yourself to be known and heard, in owning your unique story, in using your authentic voice.” – Michelle Obama

GETTING STARTED

So back to journaling – the trick to getting stuff done is getting started, as the saying goes. And when you’re just starting out journaling, that’s definitely the case. So this is the technique I use to get my journaling journey started – and I use it every single day.

To start my daily pages the first sentence that I write goes like this – Today is the first day of the rest of my life.

And then I pause a moment before writing anything more substantive, just to let it sink in.

Even typing this sentence gives me such a profound sense of relief that I actually feel more relaxed after writing it. Wow!

WHY DOES IT WORK?

Here are five things that writing Today is the first day of the rest of my life at the beginning of your journaling page can help with –

1. The word today shifts you into the present moment really quickly, leaving the weight of baggage from past fears and failures behind – things you wish you’d said, but didn’t, things you wish you hadn’t said, but did. It’s all gone, when you start with today.
2. The notion of the first day helps you start your day with a clean slate and allows you a moment of self-compassion for not being an corporate machine kicking your enormous to do list to the curb every day.
3. It also enables you to more easily see the possibilities that this new day might bring. It’s hard to think creatively when you’re wallowing around in the guilt or worry of not being perfect all the time, or not consistently performing at your 100% best.
4. It helps shift your gaze from looking in the rear view mirror, to a far more future focused and strategic lens – the phrase the rest of my life is a long way in the future (fingers crossed).
5. It helps you more easily move past resentment, jealousy and fear and instead embrace gratitude, excitement and abundance as your emotional state for the day.

IT’S SEEMS SO EASY YOU MIGHT NOT BE BOTHERED

This technique is so brief and easy, that you might be thinking it’s not worth trying. But as someone who has used it daily now for about two years, I can totally swear by it. Don’t knock it til you’ve tried it.

What have you got to lose? Give it a go. After-all, today truly is the first day of the rest of your life. Then let me know if and how it works for you.

I’m on a mission to help women to play a much bigger game – and do so with BIG ideas, BIG impact and BIG, audacious bucket loads of confidence, so that together we can shift the balance of power and create a better place for us all. And if journaling helps women become the best they can be, then I’m all in.

READ MORE ON JOURNALING

• 10 Motivational Game Changers when Tackling Big, Important Work
• Three Tactics To Help Beat Procrastination For Executive Women
• Number One Journaling Technique to Bust a Worrying Mind