MY Journal Tips
Colouring Pens to Use
Our Journal paper quality is unlike no other. It’s 3 times thicker than your average paper so you don’t have to worry about any bleeding, smudging, or mess when writing and colouring. You can use different types of pens, colours and paints. I want you to experience the full benefits of colour therapy and visualisation, so here are some recommendations for tools you can use on our 50+ hand drawn illustrations:
We do not recommend you use marker pens as these are not designed for colouring or journaling.
How to prepare before you start using your journal
Having the right tools is just as important as staying consistent. To experience the full benefits of your MY Journal, it’s key to set up non-negotiable, regular journaling sessions every day. We can plan a ritual, even if it’s a few minutes in the morning or evening or during your lunch break. This helps you make journaling as fun and inspiring as possible, to encourage you even on those days where you don’t want to get out of bed. The trick is to make it as fun as possible. Try:
- lighting a scented candle
- making your favourite drink
- playing your favourite playlist
- sitting in front of a window with a good view
Setting Intentions and Practicing Affirmations
As more and more people realise the lifelong benefits of mindfulness, affirmations and intentions have become popular buzzwords. But what do they really mean and how can you use them to change your life?
Let’s start with affirmations. They are positive statements that can use and practise to challenge and replace that discouraging, negative voice in our head that causes us to self-sabotage. Across all your Journals and in Positive Affirmations pages of your MY Journal Planner and MY Journal Planner II, I’ve given you some examples, such as “I am stronger, wiser and more confident with each new day” and “I will not worry about things I cannot control”. These affirmations re-train your brain, overriding the self-doubt and fear that holds you back from making those life changes.
When we say it, we believe it, and even without realising we start to make the changes that bring the affirmations to reality. It’s that out-dated fight or flight mechanism built into our DNA that convinces us that we’re in danger or everything will fall apart when we try something new, even if it’s something beneficial. So if you’ve let go of writing in your Journal or any other habit you really wanted to pick up, don’t fret, try a few affirmations and start stepping back into things.
So what about intentions? Intentions are the driving force behind your goals and dreams, and setting them daily establishes who you are and who you want to be, and shapes how you approach situations you encounter in your everyday life. On your MY Journal Planner and MY Journal Planner II, your Inspiring Intentions pages have examples such as “to be open to success and abundance”, “to respond first, and then react” and “to forgive others and then myself.” Our weekly and daily pages across all our Journals also include space for you to define your intentions.
Like all things in life, it will take time to see the positive impacts that daily practise of these techniques will make. Stick them up on a wall, set an affirmation with your alarm, or use the I AM dotted journal where you can free write using the intentions and affirmations on each page!
Gratitude
“Gratitude is an antidote to negative emotions, a neutralizer of envy, hostility, worry, and irritation. It is savoring; it is not taking things for granted; it is present oriented.”
― Sonja Lyubomirsky
Gratitude is the act of being thankful, and gratitude practices can improve sleep, reduce aggression, and build self-esteem. To help you feel these benefits, the MY Journal series encourages you to begin and end each day with gratitude.
In a study by Berkeley University, a group of people were told to write letters to one person each week expressing gratitude, another group was told to write letters describing how they felt about a negative event in their lives and the final group did not have to write anything. Findings showed that the group who wrote letters expressing gratitude reported significantly better mental health than the other two groups. They also reported that the more they wrote the letters, the better their mental health became, and these feelings even lasted months after the writing exercise ended.
Gratitude practise shifts your attention away from toxic, negative, discouraging emotions such as resentment or envy. Identifying your blessings in life builds your confidence and sense of self and makes it harder for you to ruminate on your negative experiences or thoughts. I incorporated this practise throughout your MY Journal Planner II, encouraging you to write down what you are grateful for each day and incorporating it into your illustrations and affirmations because I want gratitude to help you shape the best version of yourself.
If you want more help, why not check out our 30 Day Gratitude and Mindfulness Challenge Cards. Our Cards will go great with your MY Journal series and will help you master gratitude in 30 days with daily affirmations, colour therapy and mindful tips and tasks.