7-Day How to Journal E-Course “The recording of your thoughts today, for the recollection of your past tomorrow.” Day 1 - Welcome to Beauty by Design Ministries’ 7-Day How to Journal E-course. This course will help you to start the habit of journaling, with any luck allowing it to become part of your daily routine. First things first, you will need to obtain a journal. Any type will do, however I recommend one as we have available on our website. You can find it here. It is a very beautiful spiral bound journal available in a variety of colors and designs. A spiral journal is easy to write in because you can fold it complete back and flip from one side to the other making writing in it easier than a bound journal. Then, you will need to set aside time to write in your journal. This time needs to be uninterrupted, quiet time, preferably when you are alone, alert, awake and ready to write. Finally, begin your writing process. For today and for each following day in this 7 day course I will give you a suggested topic to write about in your journal, however be creative, allow yourself to put your thoughts and feelings on paper, you will find this is both freeing and enjoyable. It allows you to get rid of some of the thoughts that are cluttering your mind and the stress that is cluttering your life. There is something about putting it all on paper that is almost like going to counseling, it just HELPS! So, for your first day journaling my suggested topic is: Goals Write about the goals that you currently have, and where you are in the process of achieving them. Write about what your goal is in starting this journal. Write about your short-term, long-term and lifelong goals. In order to do this you might make a bulleted list, a few paragraphs or even write it out in story form how you would like to see yourself in say 5, 10 or even 20 years down the road. Need more help getting started with this great new hobby??? Click here. <> Day 2 Today, I want to remind you about one of the reasons that journaling can be so important. It serves as a record of your thoughts, your goals and your dreams. It serves as a record of your trials, your tests, and your circumstances, allowing you to look back on your past and remember where you came from, what you’ve gone through and how you came out on the other side. Were you a better person? What did you learn? So today, I want you to write about the topic: Tests and Trials Write about a specific test or trial you may currently be going through or one from your past. Write about how you felt going through that test or trial and what it has taught you. If you are currently going through it just give as much detail as possible so that when you look back upon it you can truly see what these circumstances might mean for you where you sit in the future. It could quite easily reveal a lot to you, as we often don’t know what something means until we’ve come through it. Rediscover yourself through journaling with this 30 Day Journaling Guide: <> Day 3 Yesterday we wrote about tests and trials. Today, switch gears and write about the topic: Your Greatest Accomplishment Everyone likes to bask in the glow of a great achievement; therefore, I am sure you want to remember these achievements in your life. What better way than to write about it. One thing you must remember when journaling is that you are writing to yourself, it does not have to be perfect, it does not have to be any certain length or even grammatically correct. It doesn’t even have to make total sense, as long as it makes sense to you. You will want to say more than, “My greatest accomplishment was graduating from college.” Write about WHY this is your greatest accomplishment. A good key to remember is “who, what, when, where and why”, old English class reminder. You will enjoy reflecting upon something that you succeeded at both today and when you look back to your journal in the years to come. Remember all your life's acheivements when you continue journaling- Here's a 30 Day Guide. <> Day 4 So, you’ve written about your goals, your tests and trials and your greatest accomplishment. You’re probably ready for a topic that doesn’t give you writer’s cramp huh? Well, this one may or may not it depends. One of the things I like to do when journaling is create lists, they are fun, easy and a little faster than writing out in paragraph or story form. Therefore, today’s topic: What You are Grateful For Simply, make a list of things you are grateful for, this could lead to a specific type of journal you can create called a “gratitude journal”. It helps a person to keep a more positive perspective on life and helps them to be grateful for the things that they have in life. Looking back on a list of thanksgivings can do nothing but warm a person’s heart and help them to remember the good times, even in the midst of difficult circumstances they might face in the future. This exercise should be one that you will find easier to do as we all have so much to be thankful for these days. Rediscover yourself through journaling with this 30 Day Journaling Guide: <> Day 5 Sometimes life just gets you and you feel afraid. Do you ever feel afraid? Well, why not journal about just that. Therefore today’s topic: Fear What do you fear? Writing it down can help you to release it and allow God to be in control. This brings up another good way that journaling can be a part of your life. You can use a journal during your quiet times and write down inspirational scriptures, or quotes that help you to get past your fears. Writing down things such as Scripture and quotes also helps you to remember then and have a record of them for use in your life later. You won’t be wondering now what was that verse or what was that quote, you can flip through your journal and find it. Rediscover yourself through journaling with this 30 Day Journaling Guide: <> Day 6 By now you may be in a rhythm of journaling and feel like ”hey I have this down”, but just in case you aren’t you’ll be happy to know that there is a follow-up to this 7-Day E Course. It is the 30-Day Guide to Journaling. It will continue to give you ideas on journaling as well as tips and truths about journaling that you will be inspired by and led by to make journaling a part of your life for years to come. For today I want to suggest that you write about the state of your life right now, are you married, single, with children, without. Today’s Topic: Your Status Writing about the status of your life gives you a reference point to knowing what you currently have and what you want to see yourself to obtain in the future as a part of your life. It also helps when you look back at your journal in the future to see how far you have truly come as a person. You can even write about whether or not you are satisfied with your present circumstances or how you might improve them or change them. This way, in the future you can rejoice that you did! Rediscover yourself through journaling with this 30 Day Journaling Guide: <> Day 7 We’ve made it to the end of our 7-day journey. Have you begun to love journaling? Hopefully you feel that you cannot stop and will want to continue. Remember to check out the 30-Day Guide to Journaling so that you will have ideas and tips at your fingertips for at least another 30 days of journaling. For today, our last day together the journaling topic is going to be easy and fun! Today’s topic: Favorites Write about your favorite things. Use whichever style you’d like, a list, a paragraph, or just merely jot down your favorite things at random all over the page. You might even find that you want to be artistic and draw a few of your favorite things. There are no hard cut rules when you journal this is a place for you to be YOU! So, don’t fee that you have to do this any certain way. That’s what you should remember as you continue your journaling days, allow this little book to be a place for you to record everything about the person you are so that you can hold on to that for a very long time. A journal and its contents are a timeless treasure box that you will want to open many times in the future, so, as you make deposits in it today remember that it is what you will read about yourself tomorrow. Journaling is truly all about the “recording of your thoughts today, for the recollection of your past tomorrow”. Rediscover yourself through journaling with this 30 Day Journaling Guide: <>