The Journaling Framework
How to get the most out of your journaling practice.
In the article “The Demons Won’t Destroy Themselves,” we explored how fear and potential are intertwined. This aspect of human nature keeps most people from building the life that they truly wanted, only to realize it way too late.
Hopefully, you completed the work at the end of the article, and you have the perfect little place to journal. If it’s not perfect, well, who cares? Work with what you have now and improve it later.
This article lays out the framework I have used for over 15 years. It’s brought me more clarity, self-discovery, peace, and empowerment than any other practice. I hope the same for you.
The Journaling Framework
Okay, so you have your schedule blocked off, your perfect setting, and you’ve decided on your format. Now, what do you write about? The following describes the framework that I use every day.
The framework is broken down into key sections. I write the date at the top, then I dive into free-thinking.
Free-thinking
The most important part of my system is the block where I’m allowed to explore whatever is on my mind at the time. This is what most people associate with journaling. If I’m excited, anxious, worried, eager, whatever... I just write about what’s on my mind.
There’s no intention or purpose to this other than to explore what’s on my mind.
Now, this can be a freeing experience. It’s also prone to a lack of constraints. If we’re told we can write about anything, we often react with thinking of nothing.
If you find yourself in this spot, there are some ways to counter this. You can apply some constraints by using some questions to guide you. There are some journaling guides out there that help you narrow your focus if you have nothing specific on your mind.
I also recommend that you take notes throughout the day. Notice when you feel excited or anxious about anything at all, and make a note of it. You can come back to these as starter topics next time you journal.
Gratitude
I have a section where I express gratitude every day. I simply write out what I’m thankful for. This section requires some thought. It’s also the section that is most prone to repeating the same things every day. I recommend picking just one or two things to be grateful for and expanding on them a little. I’m intensely grateful that my wife and kids are happy and healthy. I could write that every day, and often do. But, I also try to find anything else I can think of. Today, for example, I’m grateful that my wife bought me another bulk container of mixed nuts, as she noticed I was almost out. I’m so very grateful for her ability to manage the household and provide such a stable foundation for our family.
You might be thankful for the sunshine, a great meal, your favorite shirt, or the opportunity to chat with a friend later. Whatever you’re thankful for, take a moment to really feel why you’re grateful and log it. Gratitude is most effective when you pause to emotionally process it.
Current Affirmations
Most of us are our own worst critic. We wear it like a badge of honor. But, have you ever considered being your biggest cheerleader? Personally, I have found that “I’m my own worst critic” is just code for “I’m an asshole to myself.”
Most of us would never talk to someone else the way we talk to ourselves.
An affirmation practice helps us reprogram our internal code from one of identifying limitations and shortcomings to one that identifies success and potential. I’m begging you to read this a few times and really think about it:
Your beliefs find their limit way before your potential does.
Affirming your current and potential resources is a very powerful ritual. You can start with your current assets.
Maybe you’re creative. Write “I’m creative.”
Maybe you’re smart. Write “I’m smart.”
Maybe you’re willing to work harder than anyone else. Write “I’m a hard worker.”
Write them all out! Re-affirm your strengths!
If nothing else, by virtue of taking the time to journal, you could write, “I take time to care for myself.” If you find yourself struggling to come up with things at first, just remember:
It’s not that you lack strengths. It just takes some practice to sit down and think about your life. As you get better, you’ll see your strengths more clearly.
Most of us weren’t taught to celebrate our strengths, lest we become arrogant pricks. Fight this programming. Recognizing and understanding your strengths has nothing to do whatsoever with how you treat other people. In fact, I think it’s weak, insecure people who do the most damage to others…
Aspirational Affirmations
Now, time for the fun part. I’m unlikely to write an article where I don’t mention this fundamental fact about being a human:
Your mind is your core asset.
Everything flows downstream from your mind. Practice thinking about this as often as possible. You must practice protecting, empowering, and strengthening your mind. Here’s the thing about your mind:
If you think it, it’s true.
Your mind doesn’t necessarily associate between “reality” and what you tell it. In fact, your reality is almost entirely what you routinely tell your mind. So, use this to your advantage!
Affirmations become most powerful when you use them to feed your mind what you want.
I call these “aspirational affirmations.” These are the things you want in your life. If you want to have these experiences in life, then you have to do the things that will make them real. In order to do those things, you must first see yourself as someone who actually does these things. You start by seeing yourself as this person, then you act, then you can have the outcomes.
Do you want to be creative? Tell yourself you’re creative. If you’re creative, then you act the way a creative person acts.
Do you want to be healthy and strong? Tell yourself you’re a healthy and strong person. If you’re healthy and strong, then you act the way a healthy and strong person acts.
Do you want to be wealthy? Tell yourself you’re wealthy. If you’re wealthy, then you act the way a wealthy person acts.
See the point? If you tell your mind that you’re creative, then it expects you to act as a creative person does. If you don’t, then you create cognitive dissonance. Your brain does not like cognitive dissonance. It will pressure you to act in accordance with what it thinks to be true.
Think about this. This is how self-limiting beliefs become so destructive. When you think, “I’m just can’t get things done until I feel the pressure of the deadline,” then your brain goes, “Yep, you just can’t get things done until you feel the pressure of the deadline.”
Flip the script. Take control. Use this to your advantage.
Set Intentions
Welcome to the most woo-woo part of my journaling practice. I’m not here to scientifically defend anything about this. I can only say that once I started doing this, I could directly tie it to my life improving.
I list out what I want and I state that it flows effortlessly and often to me.
It looks something like this:
Creativity, opportunity, joy, and wealth flow effortlessly and often to me.
I picked this up years ago from Jack Canfield. Maybe I’m sending signals out the “Universe” or whatever, putting in my order like it’s a Venti black coffee, no room for cream or sugar (silly goose!). Or, maybe it’s aligning my mind to focus on the things that I actually want while simultaneously telling my mind to get out of the way and let them come to me.
If I had to lock it down, I’d say that we live in such an immensely abundant, creative existence that literally anything is possible. If that’s even remotely true, then we are certainly destroying our own potential with any thought that tells us we can’t have what we want in our lives.
Setting intentions helps us remove any notion that there are forces working against us. Instead, they’re constantly working FOR us, if only we’d get out of our own way and start receiving them.
List out the things you want in your life. Create a statement like my example above, ending it with confirmation that these are flowing effortlessly and often to you.
You have nothing to lose. Try it for a while and see what happens.
If nothing else, you’ll find out just how much you pretend you don’t want things that you really do...
Goal-setting and Tracking
The most recent addition to my journaling practice is the addition of goal-tracking. I count down to the date I set as the target for completing my goals. These are longer-term goals that are easy to push off to the side as urgent tasks pop up in life. Logging the time left to achieve the goal assures that I think about these goals each day.
Here’s an example for how I use this:
Let’s say I wanted to save up $2,500 over the next 6 months to provide a financial cushion. I would add the number 180 to the top of my journal entry, right next to the date to represent the 6 months left. After I complete my other journaling tasks, I will write something like this:
I have 180 days until I save up $2,500, which starts the foundation of financial peace for me and my family. Today, I will contribute to this by completing tasks X, Y, and Z so I can wrap up the project and bill it.
This template sets:
The amount of time I have left to achieve my goal
What it means to me
What I’m going to do TODAY to contribute to the goal
I recommend using this system for goals that you have direct control over, and that you can contribute to each day. It may take some practice to find the right balance for a particular goal and timeframe. Perhaps start with a 30-day goal to practice the routine.
What I like about this, other than the progress tracking, is that it solidifies the outcome in your mind each day. After writing that you’ll save $2,500 every day for a couple weeks, your mind comes to expect that you’ll have $2,500 by the date you said. It helps you visualize the reality you’re actively working to achieve.
Wrap-up
After working through your journaling routine, you may open up a few other thoughts. Don’t be afraid to go back and add to your free-thinking section. I do this all the time. I even make bullet-point lists of thoughts so I can come back and work on them later.
Exploring your mind should know no bounds!
Final Thoughts
I'm not sure I’ll ever get over just how few people really take the time to understand themselves. Without this, it’s not even worth discussing their own power and potential in life to really make a difference. My hope for you is that you can use a journaling practice that helps you get the most out of each day.
Take control over your days.
Set yourself free from vague fears and self-limiting beliefs.
Start a journal today!
I even created a 20-minute Journaling playlist to help guide you. Simply cue it up and write until the end of the music. You’ll probably be on a roll and won’t want to stop, so just put it on repeat.
Feel free to follow me on Spotify, where I’ll drop a new one each week.