One of the best ways to start the day is by journaling. It's a form of reflective and grounding practice that connects you deeper to the truth of who you are. But for many who struggle with overwhelm, stress, and worry, taking the time to slow down and journal feels difficult.
Interrupting the constant chatter in their mind may feel triggering and can bring up a lot of self-judgment. It may bring up thoughts like "I'm not good at it," "I don't have the time," I don't know what to write," "I've tried it in the past and in wasn't helpful," or "I have nothing to write about."

None of these thoughts are actually true, it's your mind coming up with ways to make it complicated and task oriented.

The key is to get started even if it's one sentence, a few bullet points, or even drawing. It can be anything you want it to be and there is no wrong way to do it as long as you're doing it.



​What are the benefits of a journaling practice?

• It declutters your mind
• Helps you make sense of your thoughts 
• Connects you to your desires, wishes, likes, dislikes
• It grounds you in the present moment
• It brings inner peace
• You don’t need to be “good at” writing in order to journal 
• You just need to be willing to give yourself the time and space
• It helps you generate ideas you didn't know you had

 
What to write?

• Literally anything that’s on your mind
• You can bitch and complain
• You can speak to the Universe and ask for guidance
• You can write about your likes and dislikes
• Share your desires and goals you’re afraid to share with anyone else
• Write about your fears
• Again, literally ANYTHING!

Accomplishing one thing is moving you forward more than wanting it all but doing nothing.

All or Nothing thinking is one of the biggest mindset traps and obstacles to growth and progress.

All or nothing thinking is a cop-out from trying. It is lazy thinking. It lacks flexibility and nuance. It pretends to be useful (“I want to do it the right way”) but it’s leading to self-sabotage and stagnation.

It may sound like…
“I don’t have time to workout an hour a day, so I’m not going to work out at all”
“If I can’t succeed the first time, I never will”
“I messed up one time, so what’s the point of continuing”
“One bad thing happened, now my whole day is ruined”
“I don’t have time to do it “the right way” so I’m going to wait.”
Or any variation of giving yourself only two options. Remember that completed is always better than perfect.

All of nothing thinking loses its power when we decide to focus on doing what we can do (no matter how small the step seems) instead of thinking about doing big things, but never acting on them because we’re waiting for perfect conditions.

Forget about doing it all, just do something. 

As we move through life, it is natural to change and evolve. We will feel that change needs to take place when the way we navigated life isn’t working in our favor anymore. Changes can be abrupt and unexpected or subtle and predictable.

Our natural reaction may be to resist these changes and fight to preserve the consistency of who we know ourselves to be, as long as we can. This is who we are as humans. We like predictability because it gives us a sense of control. But resistance can cause more suffering, grief, frustration, anxiety, and panic, than the change itself. Simply tweaking a few things can work miracles, and before we know it, we feel skilled navigating this new season that wanted to unfold.
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At other times, we are required to undergo a major shift in life: learn new skills, challenge old beliefs, and embrace new behaviors. How do you know if a change is knocking on your door?

Pay attention to: when things that once brought you joy don’t do so anymore, when activities you engage in don’t feel adventurous anymore, when you wake up every day dreading the day ahead, when relationships don’t feel fulfilling and supportive anymore, when you are dragging yourself through the day from one thing to the next, when there is something you keep dreaming about and wanting, but can’t make yourself do it.

You don’t need to have all the answers.
Welcoming change is not a final destination. It’s continuous learning, trial and error, letting go of the old, falling and getting up again, not having all the answers, and oftentimes just having a blind faith that the best is yet to come!

Making decisions is one of the most important things that attributes to us feeling as a creator of our life. Even though a lot of us are not aware of it (mainly because we do it subconsciously and on autopilot) we make many decisions throughout the day. Many of these decisions do not feel empowering. The reason for that is that they don’t help us get to where we want to be, they don’t help us create experiences that feel joyful, and they don’t bring us close to our goals and desires. More often, the opposite is true – they make us feel us stuck, powerless, and lead us to recreating more of what we don’t want.
 
One decision is all it takes to get out of the rut, start creating momentum, and change the dynamics of what is currently not working. Anyone can start making better decisions. Ones that will make us the creator of our circumstances rather than a victim of them and ones that will bring us closer to our goals and towards embodying the person we want to be.
 
Traps to Watch Out For:
 
1. Swimming in Futile Questions

Notice whether you’re asking yourself questions that can’t possibly be answered in the present. For example:
-Will it be worth it?
-What should I do?
-What’s the right decision?
-Will it turn out the way I want?
These kinds of questions at first may seem like they are productive, but they are not. They will keep you spinning in circles, they lead to nowhere, and will take up a substantial amount of energy and time. Swimming in useless questions will create thoughts and feelings of overwhelm, worry, fear, and powerlessness, and will not give you any answers because they are not designed to bring you answers.
 
2. Being Attached to the Outcome

When making decisions, we are wanting a specific outcome. But when we are overly attached to the outcome, there is a tendency to overanalyze all the options and become paralyzed in non-decision. Many times it is not because we simply want a specific outcome but because we feel like we NEED it. Needing something (attachment to the outcome) happens when we identify our worth as a person with an external accomplishment - we make the result mean something about who we are as people. We turn our result into supporting evidence for a general statement about ourselves. For example, “I need this to happen, because if it doesn’t, it will mean I am not capable,” versus “I would love for this to happen, but regardless of the result, it has nothing to do with who I am as a person.”
 
Better Questions to Ask Yourself:
-Does this decision support my best self?
-If I could be happy regardless of my decision, what would I choose?
 
 
3. Focusing on Certainty Instead of Probability

No matter how logical and sensible you are in your decision making, no one can guarantee you a certain outcome. And while there is no certainty of an outcome, there is a high probability of what might happen. For example, if you decide to invest in yourself by going back to school because you want a better job, no one can guarantee you will actually get a better job, but there is a high probability that you will have more opportunities then if you don’t take any action.
 
Better Question to Ask Yourself:
-If I chose this, what might be the best case scenario in a year, two, three?
-What’s the best case scenario if I don’t make a decision?
-What decision might I regret not making?


4. Labeling an Undesirable Outcome as a Mistake

Any outcome is simply information. If things don’t turn out the way you hoped or you keep getting stuck over and over on the same thing, this is an invitation to evaluate what needs to be changed. Oftentimes, what we label as a mistake, leads us towards something else, many times, towards something better.
 
Better Questions to Ask Yourself:
-What would I choose if I’m not scared of making a mistake?
-What would a person who love themselves do?
 
5. Urgency to Decide
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This happens when we are scared to fail, so we make decisions wanting not to fail versus to succeed, which leads to attempts to minimize the risk and make a “safe” decision. By asking yourself what is the intention behind your decision, you can notice whether it is coming from a place of fear versus authenticity. Mind you, there is nothing wrong in making the “safe” decision, because as long as you are consciously choosing it, it is an authentic decision.
 
Better Question to Ask Yourself:
-Will this decision help me become more of myself?
-If I was the person I long to be (courageous, authentic, compassionate, ambitious, peaceful, etc.) what would I do?
-Is this decision coming from a place of fear or authenticity?
 
Keep in mind that these questions don’t need to be utilized only when faced with big, lifechanging decisions. They are perfect for tackling daily decisions. The more you practice asking yourself why are you doing what you’re doing, the more you are practicing conscious, authentic living that’s based in the present. Notice if you get into any of these traps and challenge yourself to come up with your own “better” questions.