So you feel like journaling would benefit you but you would like some support getting deeper?
Welcome. I’m thrilled that you decided to step into the world of journaling and I am honored to support you on your Journey into Journaling.
If you’ve already been putting pen to paper and you want to get a little deeper, then this is a great place to start.
You can also check out my last post for some great journal prompts to begin witnessing ourselves. Or if you still need to gather your supplies, check out this post.
Journaling is a fantastic practice to increase our ability to be with ourselves and to self reflect.
This practice can lead to more self awareness, self compassion, and self acceptance. Over time journaling can help us come back into relationship with our full selves.
As we move down the path toward self acceptance and self compassion it is likely there will be aspects of ourselves that emerge that feel challenging, scary, or difficult to be with. As we become aware of our thoughts we may realize that we spend a lot of mental energy on judging or attacking ourselves and others. We may notice we spend a lot of our energy afraid or worrying. Or we spend a lot of time comparing or belittling.
Do not worry. You are not alone.
Anyone who is deepening their relationship with themselves and becoming more self aware has come up against thier own problematic thought and behavior patterns. There is no reason to be ashamed. This is part of the journey. Our awareness holds so much power.
So much of this work is about witnessing ourselves, being aware of ourselves, and then making the most uplifting choice. This is where the power reclamation comes in. So often we act without realizing or without noticing. This give our power away. When we are aware of ourselves, our decisions become more empowered.
We cannot change what we are not aware of and so from this deepening awareness we have all the power in the world to change our perspective.
If we hold too tightly to the “think positive” mantra, we may deny ourselves the opportunity to witness some of our thought patterns that are not seen as positive (like anger, sadness, judgement, blame, fear, confusion). However, if we deny that we are thinking or feeling a certain way, that does not make it go away. The thought will still be there, only now it has more power. Our fear of the thought and effort to deny it will deplete our energy if we let it.
If we do not have space to witness our negative, harmful, or hurtful thinking patterns we will not be able to rewrite those beliefs and they will continue to guide our behaviors from the unseen realms of our minds.
Through a regular journaling practice we can begin to deepen into relationship with our thoughts and beliefs. From this deepened awareness we can begin to notice what thoughts are lifting us up and what thoughts are diminishing us. When we become aware of problematic thought patterns, we give ourselves the power to change.
If we are willing to change and aware of what needs to change we are perfectly positioned to transform our lives.
Affirmations are a powerful practice for any of us working to reprogram our beliefs. The point of affirmations is not to avoid the bad or deny the bad but it is to give ourselves more space to focus on what we want instead of what we do not want.
Journaling affirmations is one of the most common things that I use my journal for. I will often just affirm what I want to see or what I choose to believe instead. I find affirmation journaling to be really helpful for fostering hopeful feelings and for rebuilding myself after feeling down, or reorienting myself after sitting with despair. Affirmation journaling is one of the quickest way to change my mood and uplift my spirits.
This gives us space to focus on what we want to create, instead of what we don’t want.
It can be really easy to stay stuck in the yuck. But we can never find our way out of the yuck, if we do not shine some light. This is where affirmation journalling can help to pull us out of the mud by affirming what we want instead.
What we focus on expands, so giving ourselves space to proclaim what we want is a powerful way to call it into being.
Affirmation journaling can be both trying and expanding. Trying in the sense that not all affirmations will resonate with us all the time. And expanding because the more we use affirmations, the more we begin to expand our beliefs of what is possible.
Affirmations may be hard to access in the beginning. Like anything new, it can feel awkward. When we are rewriting our beliefs we will probably have to fight with ourselves at first because our old beliefs will likely call B.S. on some of the new beliefs we are affirming.
This is all a normal part of the learning process.
I learned from other trailblazers like Louise Hay to help me anchor into affirmation based thinking.
In the beginning I could not find affirmations that resonated because I was so trained to see only lack, limitations, and impossibilities. Many affirmations made me feel very uncomfortable in the beginning. And that was a great space to get curious with myself.
And ask myself, “isn’t that interesting that that statement makes me so uncomfortable.“ Often i had to work with affirmations for a while before they really felt expansive.
So give yourself some grace if in the beginning as the affirmational reframes may seem like a stretch.
This is an expansive imaginative practice where you give yourself space to affirm what you would prefer to be true, what you would prefer to see, what you would prefer to feel.
let’s get into it!
4 Practices for Using Affirmation Journaling to Change Our Perspective:
1) Notice How an Affirmation Lands
Read through the list of affirmations below. And notice how they land.
We are going back to basics here. This a not about whether you intellectually “agree” or think it is “right” or “wrong.” This is about getting in touch with how they land in your felt sense of reality.
Notice how you feel when you read the affirmations below. In your journal:
Name what you are experiencing in your body when you hear the below affirmations
You may also wish to just write one or more of these affirmations in your journal.
There is no right or wrong here. This is just a practice of witnessing.
Read through this list and notice how you feel.
- I am worthy of loving.
- Forgiveness is a gift to myself.
- I love and accept myself.
- Everything I need comes to me in the right space/time sequence.
- This world is our heaven on earth.
- Wherever I am, there is a healing atmosphere.
- My inner peace is essential for my health and well-being.
- I am in the right place.
- I trust myself.
- I love being me.
- I am who I say I am.
- My authentic self is needed in this world.
- I am willing to change.
- I am perfect just as I am.
- Growing and changing is exciting
- I see myself as being free.
- I create wonderful new beliefs for myself.
- My thoughts and words create my future.
- I am connected to all of life.
- I am open and receptive to all guidance.
Dose your body feel expansive? Constricting? Uplifted? Resistant? Where do you feel tight or open? Does it spark joy? Do you start holding your breath? Do your shoulders relax or tighten? How does your jaw feel? Your gut? Does another voice flare up to combat the thought? Does it feel good? Do you feel lighter, freer, more aligned?
If an affirmation feels like a stretch you can add: “I am willing to believe…..” or “I am ready to believe….” or “I choose to believe….” in front of it. Sometimes that can drastically change how your body feels.
Move through the list again, this time adding the “I’m willing to believe” does this change anything for you?
Often when trying to anchor in a new belief I will just repeat the new affirmation over and over on a page. This moves me into a more rhythmic and meditative writing space and that opens me up to integrating these beliefs further.
With every new and uplifting affirmation that we anchor into our being, we expand our perception of what is possible.
2) Redefining who I am
When I am trying to affirm something that still feels a bit unattainable for me it can be helpful to just do a stream of consciousness affirmation writing. Literally just pick one uplifting affirmation and repeat the same thing over and over.
Make a stream of consciousness list of empowering adjectives to describe yourself.
If you only have a few, that is just fine. Repeat those over and over until you fill a page.
I am:
(make a list of all that which you are or long to be)
If this feels like a strech, you can also use these alternatives:
- I am willing to believe I am:
- I choose to believe I am:
- Every day I am becoming more:
- I am __(pick a word) __ when:
For example: “I trust myself. I trust the universe.”
May become: “I am willing to trust myself. I am willing to trust the universe. I am ready to trust myself. I trust myself more every day. I am ready to trust the universe. I trust the universe more every day. Today I choose to trust myself. Today I choose to trust the universe. I trust myself. I trust the universe.”
If you are feeling writers block and nothing is coming then use this list as inspiration.
I am: (choose words from below that resonate)
Passionate. Soul-led. Oceanic. Cosmic. Imaginative. Light. Organic. Anointed. Graceful. Liberated. Aglow. Emergent. Tenacious. Centered. Inspired. Prosperous. Ready. Graceful. Openhearted. Strong. Clear. Vast. Impactful. Powerful. Realized. Sacred. Ignited. Brilliant. Epic. Seen. Driven. Worthy. Lovable. Original. Lively. Creative. Unique. Overflowing. Unwavering. Soft. Flexible. Safe. Seen. Exquisite. Outrageous. Spirited. Jubilant. Optimistic. Influential. Fierce. Empowered. Whimsical. Cherished. Boundless. Supported. Magnificent. Shining. Intentional. Ignited. Dedicated. Ethereal. Divine. Love. Zen. Visible. Perfect. Radiant. Supported. Guided. Potent. Tender. Adored. Primal. Joy. Grounded. Real.
Really celebrate yourself here. This is about uplifting yourself. This is about acting as you are these things you say you are. Name yourself into being. You belong here.
3) Choosing a New Perspective
I think it is pretty common in our society to feel bombarded by self critical, self doubting, and self deprecating thoughts. Thoughts that are tied into how others perceive us, thoughts that are hyper critical of how we exist and show up, thoughts that knit-pick at every little thing we do, say or think. These thoughts can be so loud sometimes that it seems insurmountable.
Many of us are skilled at ignoring or avoiding our attacking thoughts by hyper doing: if i just distract myself with cleaning or with gossip or with work or with substances I don’t need to deal with the fearful voice in my head telling me I am not good enough, not worthy enough, not ____ enough.
But sadly we can never hide from the voices in our own heads. Our inner dialogue is one of the few things we have the power to change in this life.
I find journaling to be really helpful for mitigating and moving beyond fearful and attacking thoughts and all other limiting beliefs like scarcity, and imposter syndrome and insecurities.
Journaling gives us space to witness the thought, to give the thought containment, to tangible it and to begin to reshape and redefine it.
When doing work on rewriting beliefs make sure you are in a safe space to dive into this. Don’t dive in when you only have 5 or 10 minutes, don’t dive into this if you are about to go out or getting ready for work. Save this work for when you have time and space to sit with, and get curious about what comes up.
I find that before bed or in the evening is a great time to do this work. It gives me time to metabolize old and integrate and anchor new beliefs while I sleep.
Do what feels right for you. Trust yourself.
But let yourself witness that which you would rather turn away from.
Make a list of the unkind or limiting things that you have said to yourself or thought recently.
(if nothing comes to mind, then step back from this activity and begin to witness your thinking. If you notice you are judging or attacking yourself, make note of it so that you can revitist it here)
Make your list, maybe you have only one or 2 things you want to focus on right now and that is just fine.
When you are done: Move your energy! This is important please do not skip this!
After you are complete, set down your pen and shake out your hands. Take 3 deep breaths, breathing out loudly from your mouth. Stand up and shake your body. Jump around. Stomp your feet. Yell or sing a song you love. Eat something. Drink some water or tea. Walk around your living space. Go outside. Gaze at some art. Look out the window. Do anything to move your energy.
You did it! This is big work you are doing!
then let’s Re-affirm something new!
Then when you feel ready write: Even though I have these beliefs, I am still willing to: (Pick one or more from this list)
- Love myself
- Accept myself
- Forgive myself
- Change my perspective
- Release this thought
- Believe I am (choose words from your first list)
You can do this for each belief or just in a general way after your list. This is an subtle but important step. This is the affirmation so please do not skip this step.
Using the prompt: Even thought I ________, I am still willing to ____________. & Instead I choose to believe______
are very powerful ways of subtle shifting our perspective away from harmful thought patterns and toward new and expansive thinking.
For example: if the thought is “I am so dumb”
I might affirm:
- Even though I feel like I am dumb, I am willing to release this thought.
- Even though this feels true for me, I am willing to change my perspective.
- Even though I keep saying I am, I refuse to believe that I am dumb.
- Instead, I choose to believe that I am in a constant state of evolution, always growing, ever learning.
- Instead, I choose to believe I am brilliant.
- Instead, I choose to believe I am thoughtful, and considerate, and kind.
- Today, I choose to believe I am doing my best, and I let everything else go.
- I forgive myself for these unkind words.
- I love myself. I accept myself.
If you would like to move through each belief separately and you are willing to change your perspective, then let’s get a little deeper into what you would like to think instead.
Your journal is here to hold you. you can move at whatever pace feels good for you. There is no need. to rush ahead. Trust that you are exactly where you need to be right now.
4) Dreaming New Beliefs into Being
Let’s enter the world of imagination.
Whenever we come up against problematic thinking patterns it can be easy to stay stuck in them because that is how we have learned to be. It feels safe, and familiar. Maybe the belief kept us safe. But if we are wanting to change our thinking then it will require us to tap into our imaginative side. For if we are to recreate beliefs it requires us to imagine a new way of thinking, being, seeing, perceiving.
Let this be a lofty, imaginative and dreamy as you like. The process of affirmations can be very imaginative because we are imagining new ways of thinking into being. There is no wrong here, even if a part of you tells you that what you are dreaming or affirming is silly or unrealistic, still put it down. This is a space to dream a new way into being.
Choose a belief/thought from the last activity that you are ready to rework.
Set your intention to rework this belief by writing the following:
Affirm that you are ready to release this thought/belief.
I am ready to release: _(thought/belief you are reworking)___
Affirm that you are willing to change your perspective.
I am willing to change my perspective.
Ask for support from the highest aspects of yourself.
Inner guide/higher self/inner wise one, please show me a more uplifting perspective
Then, make a stream of consciousness list of what you would prefer to believe.
Let yourself dream the world into being here. Let your imagination run free. Set your logical rational mind to the side and invite your wild, creative, childlike, wonder, curiosity and joy to emerge. This is not about what actually can be based on logic, this is about imagining in infinity limitless ways.
What would you believe if there was not one to tell you otherwise?
If you could build it anew, what would it look like, be like, feel like?
What would you prefer to believe instead?
You can also use this list to get things moving out.
- Instead I choose to believe:
- Even though I believe ______, I am willing to ___________
- Just because I believed ________ for so long, I can still believe ________ now.
- I now accept _______ to be true.
- I am willing to change my perspective to include:
Maybe you want to write this like a story, or a list of wishes or dreams, or what ifs. maybe you like lists too. Do what feels right for you. There is no wrong here.
This is space to begin to expand our perception of what could be.
When you feel complete: Move your energy! This is important please do not skip this!
After you are complete, set down your pen and shake out your hands. Take 3 deep breaths, breathing out loudly from your mouth. Stand up and shake your body. Jump around. Stomp your feet. Yell or sing a song you love. Eat something. Drink some water or tea. Walk around your living space. Go outside. Gaze at some art. Look out the window. Do anything to move your energy.
You did it! This is big work you are doing! Celebrate your progress!
There is really not limit to what you can do with affirmations in your journal. In the beginning this may feel challenging. But let yourself move through the beginners discomfort.
Remembering journaling is here to help us feel better, but sometimes we feel worse before we feel better. But really you always have free will. This is your choice. If this does not feel good or resonant, they try something else.
Jouranling is about the experiences of reflecting, metabolizing and integrating.
Journaling is about the creative release that comes through doing.
Journaling is about the experience of putting pen to paper and letting what comes out flow.
Journaling is about the experiences of letting ourselves poar our thoughts, emotions, and feelings on the page without judgement. It is about the process of letting ourselves say what our soul needs to say. It is about entering into a state of flow. It is about giving ourselves space to process and reflect.
There is no right or wrong. There is no need for judgements. There is no space for should.
It just is.
I hope this makes you feel excited.
Anytime we give ourselves more space to be expressed, more space to be authentic, more space to tell our truth, it is exciting!
Let me know how this goes for you. I’ll see you next time to get a bit deeper into our Journey Into Journaling!
Until next time, Happy journaling!
