Since Thanksgiving is around the corner and final exams are coming up, I thought this would be an excellent opportunity to start creating journal entries in order to practice gratitude and reflect on life. From my experience, it’s important to take this time for yourself because it shows the progress you’ve made towards achieving your goals and how those events have shaped who you are today. It also gives you the opportunity to use those experiences as an opportunity to learn and grow. Here are some ways you can express positivity, growth, and gratitude in your journal entries!
1. Write the biggest lessons you’ve learned from this month and why it was important. This can be anything from your personal life or something you’ve learned while at school or at your job. I fully believe that each experience happens for a reason and it’s up to you what you do with that knowledge.
2. Write a list of 10 things that make you happy. I love doing this because it makes me feel uplifted and grateful for everything and everyone around me, especially if I’m stressed or not having a good day.
3. Write about the top 5-10 people that you are grateful for and why. This list is essential to your journal entries because it makes you think of the people that have been there unconditionally to support and love you. It makes you reevaluate who your genuine friends and who are the people in your life that make you grow.
4. Create a motto for yourself to stay goal-oriented and on track. This is one of my favorite things to do for myself. I write this motto somewhere that I could see every day and say it out loud and in my head. This not only shapes your mindset for the day, but it shapes your mindset for the rest of your life to believe in yourself and stay motivated.
5. Write about your favorite memories this month. I love doing this because it makes you reflect on the big and small events that made you happy. It also makes you look forward to experiencing new journeys.
6. Write about your top three goals and some ways to achieve those goals. This type of journal entry is a great way to stay on track while creating productive habits to complete them.
7. Create a bubble chart with your name in the middle and then branch out with adjectives to describe yourself and why. This not only builds confidence, but it teaches you to appreciate who you are and how far you’ve come.
8. Create a goal life chart where you list your goals for one month, five years from now, and 10 years from now. It doesn’t have to be exact because things change, but a general idea of what you want to do and the steps you’re going to take to achieve it.
9. Write a list of things you are looking forward to and why. This helps build a positive mindset overall. I do this type of entry often.
10. Write the top three people you look up to with one person you know well, one in modern-day society, and one person in the past and why.