Do you have a journaling practice?

I write a page a day in my journal most mornings, although there are lots of spurts or months when it is everyday, and I recommend that best.

It started for me as Julia Cameron’s “Morning Pages” many decades ago, but since thankfully I don’t have much angst to work out, it has organically more turned into something else. I record a bit of the news and lessons from the previous day, and my hopes and challenges for the current one, together with a dash of gratitude and some prodding of myself toward self improvement.

I love the journaling framework discussed here and I thought I’d share it with you, since it is so close to my own that has morphed naturally over the years.

I encourage you to set yourself up to answer these prompts each morning before the day overtakes you, in this order:.

• Great moments yesterday (three things)
• Yesterday I learned…
• I am grateful for…
• What would make today great…
• I affirm…
• I might feel better if…

Do this regularly and you will be hooked!  Start with a goal of five minutes every morning for consecutive 30 days.

All these years, I’ve written in black ink, but since reviving my fountain pens and taking a deep dive into ink last January, I’ve been enjoying choosing a different color each day, with which to do this exercise.

(For me, this morning writing practice is an integrated component of a more thorough journaling practice I stay regularly close to: my Bible Lesson Journal, my artist journals and sketchbooks, photo journaling my life, and this written journal page each morning. Yes, this blog counts in there too.)

After all, Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

I hope you give these journaling prompts a try.