Guest blog post: brought to you by Amber Louise of the Lady Boss Nomad blog
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One of the greatest lies we tell ourselves is that we’re stuck in a rut. However, did you know it’s not only possible to change your situation but to also change yourself too?
The mind is a powerful thing. It can be our greatest ally or our biggest enemy. The key to reinventing yourself is to gain control over the mind and start living the life you want to live. One way you can do this is by keeping a journal.
Since my mid-teens, I have kept some form of a journal whether it be an art journal, a diary or a bullet journal. Now I keep a journal for creative brainstorming in both my business and personal life and I keep an A5 journal for all my mixed media art.
being 100% honest about your thoughts and feelings can be difficult to start with. You need to remember that your journal is a safe place. It’s a non-judgmental space which enables you to say exactly how you feel with no repercussions or judgements.
It’s a wonderful outlet especially for me as I suffer from GAD or Generalised Anxiety Disorder but, the high functioning kind which can easily go undetected by others. So you see it’s extremely important for me to have a creative and reflective outlet as a busy boss lady that runs her blog.
Here in this post, I want to share with you my best tips for creating a daily journal practice that can reduce your anxiety and stress. These are life-saving tips that can improve your whole mindset and is a form of self CBT Cognitive Behavioural Therapy technique.
Tip number 1: Choose the right journal for yourself
Ok, so this one may sound a little silly, but the journal you choose can have a significant impact on how effective it is. Your journal is supposed to inspire and motivate you to use it. So, if you don’t love it, you’re not going to feel very inspired.
Take your time to choose the right journal. Think about its design and how the pages are set out. Do you love it? Can you see yourself writing in it every day? It may sound a little ridiculous, but the right journal will pick you.
Tip number 2: Start by writing about the things you’re grateful for
Once you’ve got the right journal, figuring out how to start it can be pretty tough. So, if you’re struggling, start by writing a list of the things you’re grateful for. This can either be done first thing in the morning or last thing in the evening. There are advantages to doing it during both times, so it’s all about what works for you.
All too often, we spend most of our time focusing on the things we don’t have or the things we wish we had. This makes us forget about the positive things we do have. Journaling helps you to focus on the positive things in the here and now, rather than wasting time and energy wishing for something more.
So how can this help you to reinvent yourself? Well, the more positive you are, the easier you’ll find it to make a change. It’s often our negativity which sets us back in life so anything which makes us more positive can help us to reinvent ourselves.
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Tip number 3: Be absolutely honest in your journal
Journaling isn’t going to help you if you aren’t 100% honest. The trouble is, you may find you spend so much time hiding how you feel, that being 100% honest about your thoughts and feelings can be difficult to start with. You need to remember that your journal is a safe place. It’s a non-judgmental space which enables you to say exactly how you feel with no repercussions or judgements.
Once you’re honest about your thoughts and feelings and what you want from life, you’ll be able to see what you need to do to change.
Tip number 4: Write down your biggest goals
Use the journal to write down what it is you want to achieve. This can be done in the form of short term and long-term goals. It’s important to see the big picture. Where do you want to be in 3-5 years and how could you potentially get there?
Writing down your goals and identifying the steps you need to take to make a change, will help massively.
Tip number 5: Make it a daily routine if you can
It’s important to use your journal daily. Set up a daily routine where you write in your journal at a specific time. Once you’ve gotten used to writing in the journal, it will become an automatic habit you carry out each day.
As with anything, to reinvent yourself, you need to be persistent and committed. So, be sure to write in your journal every single day.
Summary
These are just 5 ways that you can reduce your anxiety daily through journaling practice. The more you do it, the more chances you’ll start to see – both in how you feel and how you act. I am 100% certain that a journal will help you to reduce your stress and anxiety if you make it part of your daily routine.
It can also improve your focus and generate creative brainstorming which is crucial for busy CEOs and boss ladies. Often I will use my journal to brainstorm blog post ideas or even a whole product launch. If you too a busy boss lady who has high functioning anxiety then definitely give this a try. Other ways you can use your journal are brainstorming recipes or jotting down positive affirmations. I just know you’ll love this practice as much as I do!
Download and print your own 74-page Anxiety Journal here: https://ladybossnomad.gumroad.com/l/zapvj
About my guest blogger
Amber Louise is the busy CEO and Founder of the Lady Boss Nomad. She inspires women with useful tips, resources, motivation & encouragement to help their digital businesses thrive. She helps female entrepreneurs launch a digital businesses. This service is for those who already have digital products but just need a robust platform or for newbies needing ideas on which digital products to sell, she goes through ebooks, eCourses, printable’s etc. She can offer guidance on the best tools and resources for digital businesses and blogs about product launching, marketing and sales page creation.
Social media links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ladybossnomad
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Thank you for sharing the nice information this blog is more helpful for me.
I am glad you found this post useful.
Thanks for sharing the best information this blog is more helpful for me.
It’s great you found the post helpful 🙂
Thanks Lisa, I’m so glad you found my guest post helpful. I can’t recommend journaling enough, it’s a wonderful self CBT technique & reflection tool.
I find that journaling is cathartic. It helps me calm down and also focus on the good things in my life
It’s such a great way to take stock of your feelings and get them out onto the paper.
I loved the first paragraph that started with my mind! I liked the positive and productive points you mentioned to write. And yes, writing down personal thoughts is great for lightening up the mind and heart. It’s nice that you like Journaling, a perfect one suiting the personalise also a must to go back to it. Spot on! Xx
Isa A. Blogger
Thanks Isa 😉 yes, journaling is close to my heart ♥️ and very therapeutic. Great for soothing some anxiety.
These tips are all fantastic! I really want to get more into journaling but I have to make a conscious effort to remember to get back to it.
Willow I’m so glad to hear you want to get back into journaling. I am considering starting a journaling FB group. I will be sure to let Sam of this blog know when I do ♥️🙌
This is awesome, I’m improving my journal habit nowadays, These are awesome tips. Thank you for sharing!
It is worth putting the time into journaling.
It was great to read this post written by a blogger I do not know. I always love learning new bloggers.
I was introduced to journaling in the form you describe just few years ago and found it really beneficial for my mental health also.
I think the tips shared here on how to take the most out of the habit of journaling are great! Thank you!
Thanks Eri 😉 I’m glad you enjoyed this post! .
Ooh fab tips! I’ve been trying to get more into journaling recently so this was really helpful. I love the idea of writing lists of what we’re grateful for – you’re completely right, sometimes we do tend to get bogged down by what we don’t have – and I also think being completely honest is so important, although that’s something I’m still struggling with. Thank you so much for sharing x
I’m glad you enjoyed these journaling tips 😉
As much as I absolutely love the idea of daily journaling, it has always been something I struggle with! I can’t seem to stay consistent with it no matter what I try, because I never seem to know what to write. However, my husband has been doing this lately and I know it has greatly helped him. He mentioned that sometimes he starts with something as simple (and funny) as “I hate journaling” but then it takes him into greater depth and discussion with himself. I know that it would benefit me a lot and I’d really like to make a habit of it. So I appreciate your thoughts and tips here!!
Stephanie I’m happy to hear you want to make a more consistent habit of journaling. I am hoping to open an FB group soon. You guys will be the first to know when I do ♥️
Being a 100% honest in journaling is really important. I don’t know why but i do hold back sometimes and then remember that this is just for me and I can’t help myself if I can’t be honest with myself. These are really great. Thanks for sharing.
Glad you found this so useful Jeannie ♥️