The Journal Prompt

Insightful Journal Prompts Delivered Weekly.

Good morning!

Welcome back to The Journal Prompt, your weekly companion for introspection and personal growth. 🌿

This week, we’ll dive into Inner Voice Quality Check.

Let’s get started!

In This Week’s Issue (6-minute read)

💬 Quote of the Week

🖼️ Framing Your Reflection

✍️ Three Insightful Journal Prompts

🧰 Life Improvement Toolbox

🥰 Featured Photo & Affirmation

Framing Your Reflection 🖼️

I’m guilty of something, and perhaps you struggle with it too, so hopefully my sharing gives you a sense that you’re not alone.

I thought my journaling last week was very productive.

But on Friday, I read a quote by Marie Forleo that gave me pause about the the quality of my journaling.

“The most powerful words in the universe are the words you say to yourself”

So I re-read 👀 my reflections…..

And I was just whipping myself on all the areas that had a gap between who I was and who I wanted to be….and that meant on everything.

Husband. Parent. Friend. Business Owner. Physical fitness.

No life area was safe.

In each entry I charted a path forward and got at the root of where certain issues were coming from, but……not a single word of encouragement, nor taking time to appreciate any progress I’d made.

You would not try to build a child by just constantly criticizing every thing they did, and never praising them when they did things correctly.

Anyone would look at that type of parent and call them a bully (and rightfully so).

So how is doing it to ourselves any different?

And if we practice this critical approach on ourselves daily, how is it a realistic expectation that we won’t do it to others?

Just because it happens in the privacy of our minds - where no one else can see it - does not make it okay to do.

Having a gap between where we are and where we want to be is healthy - it keeps us striving forward.

But we destroy our ability to make strides long term if we crush our spirit along the way with the inescapable criticism that we carry around with us in our minds.

Hold yourself accountable, but from a place a love, understanding, and encouragement - not a tyrannical taskmaster that wants perfection.

Three Journal Prompts ✍️

🔍 Kindness Under Fire

Examine a time when someone was exceptionally nasty or unfair to you, and you responded with kindness and empathy, truly doing your best to understand why that person was behaving that way towards you.

First, pat yourself on the back for this kind of self-control. Then take a closer look….

What gave you the strength to do that? Did you say something in your head while in the heat of the moment that helped you maintain your self-control? Look for patterns.

🧠 Re-read and Reflect

Do the same exercise I did - read through several of your past journal entries - and analyze for tone and word choice.

Is this the type of voice you’d want from someone who had your best interest in mind? If it’s overly critical, where do you think the motivation to be overly critical is coming from?

🔭 “Never” can be Real

If your voice is overly critical, the likelihood over the long term that you will get the results you want from yourself are pretty slim.

So try to bring that disappointing feeling into the present because in the present is where we can make a change.

Ask yourself - how does it feel to never reach the heights you envision for yourself? Is not making a change in that voice worth the short(er)-term effort it will take to get that voice to change?

Life Improvement Toolbox 🧰

📚 Reader’s Corner

One of the best ways to be more kind to ourselves is to be kinder to others (practice works both ways).

The Kindness Journal by Jaime Thurston is an amazing way to add deliberate acts of kindness back into our daily lives, thereby transforming ourselves along the way.

P.S.

While reading is something we pretty much have to actively do, listening is fair game for dog walking, dish cleaning, chores, and driving.

Make more progress on the things you want to learn with audio books from Audible - check out how it works here. 🎧

📝 The Journaling Craft

What is exposed in our immediate environment can serve as constant reminders for our values and the direction we want to go.

If being kinder to yourself is a priority, then this journal may be the right thing to write in and keep on your desk.

🧠 Mind + Body Connection

It’s scientifically proven that acting out what we want to be can beget the emotions that we want to feel (ex. standing with hands on hips can induce feelings of confidence you can use before a board meeting).

The same goes for kindness. Here is quirky and fun way to act out how we want to feel!

Featured Photo & Affirmation 🥰

Affirmation for Inner Voice Quality Check

"I will show kindness to others by starting with myself”

As we dive deeper into understanding ourselves, let’s remember that we are not alone.

Writing is healing and healing can hurt - reach out to friends and family. They are there for you.

Sending Good Vibes,

Ivan from The Journal Prompt Team

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Happy Journaling!