Start Journaling Now to Develop Your Emotional Superpowers
By: Jared R Chaffee
Tags: Writing, Mental Health, Journal, Personal Development, Self Improvement

“I don’t journal to ‘be productive.’ I don’t do it to find great ideas, or to put down prose I can later publish. The pages aren’t intended for anyone but me, it’s the most cost-effective therapy I’ve ever found.” — Tim Ferriss

In part 1 of this series, I talked about the benefits of journaling and shared how journaling has made my life better. In part 2, I discuss the specific strategies you can use to help sustain your journaling habit. Part 3 was all about different productivity journaling methods. If you have not read these yet, check them out under the Journaling tab here:

My last post was all about journaling to increase productivity, but in today’s post, I’m continuing this 6-part series by discussing different journaling templates you can use to improve your mental health. Journaling has enabled me to process past trauma, overcome depression and PTSD, and improve relationships with my loved ones. It keeps me focused on the present moment, forces me to set intentions for my day, and keeps me grounded.

I want you to enjoy these same benefits, regardless of what you may or may not be going through. The methods and templates below are what I use to work towards becoming my ideal self and who I want to be. You can do this too!

One important thing to remember as you’re reviewing these 7 different templates: you need to use what works best for you! Try each one out- combine, add, subtract, and change into whatever form you need for journaling to be most effective. I’m sharing what works for me, but they may not work for you. Keep trying and mixing things up until you find the perfect combination. I still change up my practice from time to time to ensure it’s most effective.

Morning Journal Template

This is the journaling template I use every morning. It’s a combination of several different journaling methods that I’ve refined and adapted over time.

My daily affirmation: This is where I remind myself who I want to be and how I want to act. For example, “I stay focused on the present moment and live my life mindfully and with intention and purpose.” More detail on how you can use affirmations is further down in this article. I will focus on changing my pattern of: This is where I reflect on how I’ve behaved recently and any certain behaviors I need to change. For example, recently I’ve been reacting to my wife but I want to pause, actively listen, and then respond to her. I write this out in my journal to help remind myself how I’m trying to change. The person I am working to become will feel: This is an important step. Reflecting on how you feel when you’re being your ideal person, will motivate you to become that person. I’m grateful for: The important thing to remember here- don’t just list what you are grateful for, but also journal about how it makes you feel and why it’s important. My daily intention: This is similar to a daily affirmation but it is much more specific and targeted for that day. I’ll change up my intention daily to very specific things I want to work on. For example, if I have an important meeting that day I’ll write, “to actively listen to what the presenter has to say, and bring my mind back to the material if I find it wandering.” More detail on how you can use intentions is further down in this article. I will recommit to my loved one today by: This is where I remind myself of my commitment to my wife and everything I want to do and be for her. For example, “I will check in with her and create a space for her to be vulnerable.”

Annual Life Charter

At the end of every year, I draft something I call my Life Charter. I look at my current charter and review how I think I did that year- what I did well, what I could do better. Then I draft a new one for the upcoming year and include things I want to add or change. I type it out, keeping it to 1–2 pages, then print and post it in a prominent place for reference throughout the year. It serves as a reminder of what I’m trying to achieve.

Here’s how I organized my Life Charter for 2020. Feel free to use this as a start or make up your own.

Introduction:

This is where I’ll give a brief description of who I want to be and acknowledge how far I’ve come. It’s important to celebrate our wins this way. Over the long haul of big change, it’s easy to lose sight of the progress we’ve made. So I remind myself of just that.

Here’s a short excerpt, “For the last 5 years, I’ve been on a journey to become a better man and husband. I’ve let go of any preconceived notions about who I should be, what I should think, and how I should act. I’ve struggled and worked to understand how I feel and put my emotions into words…” I hope this gives you some insight into how I use this section.

Purpose statement:

This is a simple sentence where I remind myself how I’ll live my purpose. It’s important to remember that we all derive our purpose within ourselves and is not something we should look to find in external things. If you lose that external thing, you’ll lose your purpose. By deriving your purpose inside yourself, you can choose to live it each and every day.

Here is my purpose statement that I created with the help of Claim Your Power by Mastin Kipp: My purpose is “to develop a connection with myself and others and feeling the motivation that results while inspiring others to do the same.”

Purpose Goals:

From here I’ll decide on three ways I can live my purpose, which I’ll call purpose goals. Under each goal, I’ll list different ways in my daily life where I can live it out. For example, my 2020 Purpose Goals are:

Being Vulnerable: I will be a leader for all by being a calm and peaceful person who deeply listens and empathizes with others. I will make my relationship with my wife my highest priority. Become my Perfect Self: I will live my life mindfully and with intention. I will live my life in accordance with my personal values, discipline, ownership, and resilience. Foster Creativity and Develop My Mind: I will share my story, knowledge, and experience with others so that they may benefit from what I’ve learned myself.

Financial Goals:

I list here 1-10 year financial goals. A small example is that my wife and I plan out travel for the year and save to make that happen. I also write out larger long-term financial goals, and what I plan to do each year to work toward those goals.

Action Items / Practices:

This is where I refine everything I’ve already written out. I list daily, weekly and monthly practices to incorporate into my routines to live out this charter.

For example, to help develop my mind, I read daily. To foster creativity, I write a new blog post twice a week. To live my personal values, I reflect on my actions in my journal. I write all of these things down so I know EXACTLY what I need to do.

Five Minute Journal Template

If my Morning Journal Template and Life Charter seem a little bit much for you or you’re feeling overwhelmed, the Five Minute Journal is a great place to get started. This journal was created as a tool to help “lead you down a path toward an enhanced version of the person you already are” according to the journal’s creators.

The journal has one page for each day, divided into sections for morning and evening. So you journal twice per day. The morning section includes a template for expressing gratitude, listing out what would make today great, and your daily affirmations. The evening section asks you to list “3 amazing things that happened today” and “what would have made today better.”

The Five Minute Journal was one of the things that kick-started my journaling practice into high gear. It’s easy to use and makes continuing the habit a breeze.

“The Five Minute Journal is one of the simplest ways that I have found to consistently ensure improving my well being and happiness. Both in terms of achievement and actual measurable, quantifiable results.” — Tim Ferriss

Future Self Journal Template

I first heard about this from Dr. Nicole LePera (the Holistic Psychologist). The concept here is to rewire the neural pathways in your brain over time by attacking behaviors and patterns you want to change.

Journaling and using a series of affirmations and reminders each day helps you to get there. I’ve found her template to be very effective and have adapted parts of it into my own journaling template. You can find her PDF template on her website here.

Relationship Journal Template

This template is similar to the Future Self Journal template but is adapted to target your relationship with your partner. I first heard of this type of journaling from Marriage and Family Therapist Vienna Pharaon. Answer these questions about your partner and about yourself. Do this every day for 30 days.

This is again, all about rewiring the neural pathways in your brain. It’s important to do this consistently for AT LEAST 30 days, but I usually do it for much longer. I’ve done this together with my wife and then we shared the answers afterward. It helped bring us closer and put us on the same page.

About your partner:

How does my partner support me? How does my partner cause me pain? How does my partner express their love? (Go here for more information on love languages) What am I most grateful for about my partner?

About yourself: