"A journal isn't so much a reflection of your life as it is a reflection of your focus"- actually went and wrote this down in my commonplace. Thanks for these really thoughtful insights!

I like how you said balanced journaling. I’ve learned I need to avoid toxic positivity too. I used to only try to write the positive things in my life in my journal, and when I look back now, it’s not an accurate depiction of what I was feeling at the time. I love the idea of balanced journaling, and the reminder to write the positives too.

With much due respect, I have journaled for decades. I wrote down the negative things in my life to get them off my mind. It helped greatly. As I read back all my journals last year, the life lessons I learned from them were priceless... And all that negativity? Wasn't really negative at all. It was just life. Peace. 🙂

I quit journaling for years because I found myself using it to wallow, not only spending extra time living in my most depressive thoughts, but also recording them as though they were my natural state of being for weeks and weeks. It’s really validating to have this video fed to my recommendations. I’d never heard anyone else address this problem.

This is a great thing to talk about. I initially tended to write when I was upset, and the association I had with journalling became very negative. I wasn't quite cognizant of this because I'd begun journaling with the intent of being more aware and keeping better track of negative influences in my life. Ironically, as mentioned in the video, the journal became an express tool of negative reinforcement. When I began intentionally including positive things - what I did well that day, kind things people did for me, things that made me happy or grateful - journaling actually became far more appealing and routine for me. I had more reasons to reach for it. As a result, that negative reinforcement largely dissipated; there are actually far fewer negative than positive things in my life. I wouldn't have become nearly as aware of this had I not made this change, and it marked a substantial shift both in my journalling practice as well as my perception of my life in general.

I used a journal to help me through a bad breakup which left a lot of damage. Reading it back some time later it made me angry and very sad. I saw no good in keeping it as it reminded me of a very bad time so I burnt it and let the bad times go. Very cathartic.

I’ve started putting :-) in the margin of some entries. It makes the positive stand out when I’m reflecting. Took me three years to come up with something that simple.

Great advice. I have a whole journal filled with complaints about the same issue. It saddens me to re-read it; first because it is a journal filled with sorrow. Second because I didn't write about good stuff at all and I'm sure my life at that time was not only sadness. Third because I'm not even sure my problem was really that big.

Takeaways i took from this. Thank you. Rapid log 2 things everyday 1 thing i am grateful for 1 victory (something i am proud of myself for) Tracking the good in our lives ♥ Not an inventory of sadness Long form journaling once a week Expand on it at a later time Written reflections Write about the good and bad things that happened that week. Approach what i wrote with “what am i observing” Is there any action to be taken?? If you sense sadness - optimize the coming week for connection If you sense greatness - what is the source? How can i cultivate more??

The worst thing I did is probably writing the negative about other people. I escaped communicating with them when it was hard (not for me to talk about my feelings, there are people who just suck at talking, get defensive and offensive etc). So I created an image of them and how I feel about them in my journal. When it was written day by day I didn't really see it. I moved everything to notion database and divided into categories and saw everything I wrote throughout the years (signed with emoticons) and I was devastated. I had to question my relationship. And then I realized this bias, talked with my partner and although I still have these patterns in my thoughts, I can see that he was demonized. I learned to be more compassionate and to stop judging. In fact it's really hard to stay sane. Is there even an intuition or these are feelings we were trained to feel in certain situations in our life?... I think feelings are a compass but not what to do in life and for our decisions but to understand ourselves. After all it's just a body reaction showing up to save us but from any change to the system it learned to keep being alive. Well, it's very smart of the nature, but not really smart for our current lives... So I'd add to this video: anything you write is only and always about YOU.

Can confirm that writing about good things too helps the journaling practice a lot! When I started I was only focused on my frustrations and trying to "fix" myself. Once I started rapid logging the events I enjoyed throughout the day, my whole practice became an enjoyable, expressive process that I look forward to.

I know all about negativity bias! I can seemingly remember every unkind thing that anyone has said to me, but rarely the compliments or encouragement. I can list a multitude of things I did wrong, but have a hard time listing even a few accomplishments. A number of years ago, I started focusing on the things I DID each day, more than the things I failed to do. No matter how overwhelming my to-do list is, at the end of the day I can see what I DID accomplish.

Combining a quick, rapid log-style note and then journaling more about it later sounds like an interesting way to go about it. Thanks for sharing 😊

One way I have balanced out my journaling is by having a second notebook I refer to as my “messy brain.” In my bujo, I note down what I’m proud of, what I’m grateful for, and what I’m working on in therapy each day. Once a week, I do a weekly reflection as described in this video. I write a small, concise summary of the entry (1-2 sentences) that I review at the end of each month. My messy journal is for when my thoughts are coming in fast and I feel the need to purge them. The reason I use a separate journal for this, is because it gets really dark and they aren’t things I want to necessarily come across when I’m casually flipping through my Bujo. The entries in my messy journal are less about reflection/gratitude/observations and more about getting thoughts (whether they’re true or not) out of my head and onto paper. My Bujo is so reflective, that it’d be hard for me to scribble down the random thoughts flying around my head, if that makes any sense. The separate journal helps me shift my mindset, so I feel free to just write whatever is there. For example, I may feel very angry and think, “I hate my brother,” or something. I know deep down this isn’t true, but it’s what I’m feeling intensely in the moment, and my messy journal gives me the space to scribble that thought down without judging or analyzing it. After a session in my messy journal, it feels like I’ve purged some heavy weights that were holding me down, then I can move on with my life (after a nice nap 😂). Having a space that can represent my messy brain separate from a space to observe and reflect gives me a balance between the two.

This is why I added the following to my agenda (planner in English): Mental Health Activity (MH-A): something I did that day to improve my mental health - or at least keep at the same level. And This Made Me Happy Today (TMMHT): self explanatory. I am going through a lotttt and this reminds me of that I'm working hard on myself - and that there still are moments of happiness/to be grateful for. Also, I do this in the morning (about the previous day). I am a morning person, like to look at what I've planned that day and reflect a little on the day before. Choosing my timing prevents journaling from becoming a chore (at night). All these combined I really mended journaling to my needs (and don't feel guilty about not journaling at ė end of the day, but the next morning). I also have a "daily bujo", where I write about events, small and big, whether they're positive or negative. And at the last day of the month, reflect on certain things (I rate certain things, such as friendships, going outside, etc. 0-10) and write extensively about the past month. And I have a separate "self-care" BuJo. Every week on Monday I choose a day + self-care activity I will do on that day (ranging from taking myself out to dinner to simply light candles for myself and watch a movie). Every Sunday I write about what I did - and add a picture of the activity (with a Zoemini). I also keep track of it with a bingo card :) Lots of honest reflecting, knowing where there's room for improvement and trying to implement taking actions. And keeping track of all the good work I've already been putting in. Maybe these different ways of journaling are of inspiration to anybody :)

Thanks, Ryder. You just articulated what I’ve been doing so far. Simple sentences for my gratitude in a day. I even created separate journal for all small celebrations to reinforce good feelings. Honestly, my life changed dramatically by doing this. It lead to incredible blessings far more than I can imagine. Also, whenever I am upset, I use desktop notes to process my emotions for the venting. Once I get the clarity of the emotions, identifying triggers, I close note pad without saving it. Then I turn into my journal to capture new emotional insights about any triggers so that I can manage my emotions if similar events arises. This is how we grow as individuals.

I so needed this!! I began journaling several years ago and really enjoy it. However, looking through my journal from a year ago just yesterday I realized I was mostly just writing the negative. It was a broken record over and over! I can't believe I just happened to get your video today! I want to go back to what journaling was for me in the beginning! Thank you!

I can only say (or shout) THANK YOU!!! Your video was meant to find me today. I was wondering what I did wrong in my journaling- I tried the method everyone on YT is so keen on: Just write what comes to mind first thing in the morning. So I wrote down all my sorrows and fears as they are the loudest voices inside my brain, and this daily collection of The Worst didn‘t exactly make me feel better. You have given me a very appreciated guide. I feel better already!😊

I like to write down fun conversations I have with my bf and jokes we make. I also like to draw sketches from cute animals doing fun things, mostly the squirrels in our garden. I even sketch the nonsense we make with our plush animals. It really helps me to remember funny phrases and to re-live the joy about certain moments.

So funny, this is something i was thinking a lot about recently! I was never a journaler, but from time to time i wrote down my thoughts. When i looked through my notes recently, i was shocked to see that over the years i was having the same negative self doubt thoughts - it was like i only sat down to journal when i had these self doubts. It gave me a negative feeling when i looked back at it. I now gave myself the rule to only do rapid logging about events that happened on a certain day without putting any emotional value to it. If i want to write more, i will only write down things that made me happy or that i am grateful for. It probably depends on the character of each person, but for me, journaling as a means to cope with emotions did not work at all, because - as you beautifully explained it in the beginning - i used it as a negative biased outlet, which does not help and makes me sad when i look back at it. When i have negative thoughts now, i do not bring them down to paper, but i stay with them and focus on doing value driven actions that make me happy and bring me closer to my goals. I came back to bullet journaling 5 months ago and i love it so much, the liberty it gives me for my plans, to dos and ideas is incredible!!💖

Journaling regularly has shown me that I am prone to phrase things very negatively - I've been trying to give my phrasings a positive spin. When I write 'I haven't managed to do xyz', I'll try to stop and think about what I did do, and add that as well. A lot of the time, I end up surprised with the progress I made, when before making myself write it down, I felt like a failure, because my brain was empathising the negatives so much.

Your speaking voice is soothing. Just listening to you talk reduces my stress.

i do use my journal to vent, but sometimes i use my journal like im talking to a person, and i tell them(journal/pretend person) other stuff too. like if something interesting happened. or even something good/surprizing. or new changes in my life. it sort of helps me process how i feel. other times i use journal prompts when i feel like i need to journal but dont know where to start and once in awhile i will use a quote as inspiration and that usually inspires some kind of hidden feelings to come out that i wasnt aware of.

This is so timely for me. I had recently come to the realisation that my journal was skewed negative and started what I called the “work it and reverse it”. What’s the issue, be self-aware and intentional after the rant! You say it much more eloquently! Thanks

Great topic! I journal for the last 5-6 years with only one rule - only write down positive moments. And if I need to write about something negative, then I end with what I can learn from this situation, so that I see the positive in the negative. This way of journaling was a gamechanger for me and my mental health. Thank you for the video! Greatings from Germany, Ana

Thank you. I also prioritize logging the things that I'm grateful for and something I achieved (no matter how small) for the day. The 3rd one that I log each day is something new that I've done.

Thank you, Ryder. The last October I bought your book in an internacional book fair because I was tired of not keeping a proper bullet journal... so I find this kind of content so educative in this journey 💕

I often find that when I am ruminating, I need to make sense of the thoughts stuck in a cyclical pattern and get them flowing in a healthy way again. When I write them out, it helps to get the thoughts unstuck, and I can see where the thoughts are and reflect on how to move forward. It doesn’t always mean I have a solution, or that the reason for the rumination is any easier. But, it does give me a more hopeful and empowered outlook, rather than feeling trapped by my thoughts.

Journaling for focus and balance are the most important messages from this video for me. Started journaling a few months ago and I can confirm it helps a lot for my focus and balance on things in life. Thank you Ryder!

I most appreciate the guidance to write a note of gratitude and a victory. I also like the idea of a weekly reflection on the weeks entries and journaling when we are happy. Great advice! Thank you!

Excellent! I remember a troubled time in my life, when I journaled regularly to get through what I was going through. I do periodically go back and read through my journals, and as I read back through one particular journal, I thought oh my goodness - if someone were to read through this journal after I'm gone, they might be led to think I was miserable and unhappy, or perhaps whiny. I was writing to get through the difficult times, so I wrote about difficult matters. That revelation helped me shift my focus, and what a gift that's been. As you recommend in this video, I began to include more writing about positive things, like gratitude. There's always something to be grateful for! I began to make more of an effort to include happiness in my journal instead of just misery all the time. Seems like someone said once, "You become what you think about most of the time," and I definitely prefer happiness. Sure, awful stuff still happens. I acknowledge it when it does, but I don't dwell on it now. What a gift to be reasonably happy most of the time. Thank you for making this video.

Thank you so much for emphasising the need to reflect on my negativity bias - it is always there in the back of my mind. I'll try your suggestions and see whether I can more rationally value the small daily victories.

Weekly reflections quickly became my favorite way to use the information in my bullet journal. I try to start with a positive reflection from the week, even if the majority of what happened seems, at first, negative. Often I find that there were just as many, if not more, positive experiences from the week and the negative parts finally get put into perspective.

Ryder and all, this is more than selling a technique or a practice. This is practically helping to be self improving quality of life. Purpose! Thank you

I did follow an advice of writing gratitude once a day years ago. It didn't feel honest to me. It felt like forcing myself to feel better, and it only made me feel the opposite. I kept writing what is honest to me, and most of the time it was all negative. After years of journaling and reading my old entries, it made me realize my problems and decided to make changes for myself. I started seeing things better and actually starting to feel real gratitude towards my life. It's something I would never see years ago. I think we naturally balance ourselves as we mature. Journaling helps us see our problems and it's us who decide to make changes. I don't think there's toxic journaling. It was ourselves that reflect that toxicity. And it is up to us to improve them. Sometimes we just couldn't get out of our heads and sometimes it takes years for us to realize that especially if we're all too emotionally clouded and have too many thoughts to untangle. Journaling should be personal, and it should differ from person to person depending on where they currently are on their life.

Thank you for making these videos, Ryder. For those of those who may be unable to obtain the course, and even those of us who can and have, these videos provide amazing insights and direction for our practices!

I'm grateful for bullet journal, this channel and you, Ryder. Thank you for everything you do, BuJo helped me a lot and I can't imagine my life without journaling.

I'm using a "things I'm grateful for" collection in my Bujo. I force myself to find something positive everyday even when I'm veeeeeery sad or things didn't get well... It's life saving. It doesn't solve the problem but it help so much to stay stong... My congratulations page exist in two ways. The first one is for each week. The second one is any time I succed in big project or challenge. I can write 6 or 8 of them each year. It's a good way to improve my self estime. What I miss is a reflexion page... The way I set up my Bujo is not useful to get it... Something I want to improve... Thanks for your advice Ryder!🤗

Thank you for this insight. I am going through a rough patch right now and am going to keep this in mind. I also want to stay away from toxic positivity, but a little more balance in my journal is indeed welcome.

Oooo. I love this. I rarely write about negative times in my planners/journals and I could never quite put into words why other than “I don’t find it helpful” but “a journal as a reflection of focus” is a beautiful way to put it. I choose to focus more so on the positives and “forget” the negatives that my brain makes me feel without my consent.

Interesting points! I've always used my journals to work *through* my thoughts about something, whether they're positive, negative or neutral. For me, it's always been the time and physical involvement of longhand writing that helps me focus and then get through to the other side of whatever's on my mind. The fact that it ends up being a record of my times is sort of secondary, but never the main focus. I have a calendar to record what happened. That's not what my journal is for. Right now I'm working through a lot of grief--impending death in the family, frustrating relationships, and my first real examination of how my unrealized childhood traumas have affected my life--but I'm not wallowing. I'm working through my feelings, and figuring out what I can do, what I have control over, what I need to let go of, and what my intentions are/where I want to work toward from here. It's messy, but that's the point. ^_^

This video was very enlightening. I started a journal a couple of years ago and I tended to only write in it when I felt tired or just sad or regretful. I somewhat knew that the journal wasn't a realistic view of my life, but the way the obvious tends to completely pass by my face astounds me sometimes. Thank you for this.

Every single video of yours I've seen has made me go, "Oh shit, I didn't think of it that way, that makes so much sense." They're like little concentrated bombs of wisdom and thoughtfulness. I picked up your method for tracking my to-do lists and keeping organized, but looking back now I realize that I don't want to only be focusing on my work and responsibilities. I'm going to try implementing some more of your tips on balanced journaling. Thank you for putting your excellent ideas out here for all of us. You're making the lives of so many people so much better and more fulfilled, and that's some of the highest praise I can possibly give.

Finally someone talks about this. I always felt bad because everyone else could write and "get things out of their chest" and feel better and i didn't, once it got to the paper, my feelings got worse every single time, to the point i felt overwhelmed by my own emotions, because everytime i wrote something and read it back the next time i picked up the journal, it was like living those potent feelings all over again. I felt like something was wrong with me, and not actually with my way of journaling. Thanks for talking about this and give advice, i really needed it.

I really enjoyed this video Ryder (and team), thank you. It touched on something for me. So, about me: I am new to Bullet Journaling (~ 6 months). Recently, I have noticed that I do do a surprisingly large amount of long-form journaling in my BuJo. I have been thinking about this and trying to determine the 'Why' behind this 'What'. I think I am doing this because: 1) I am new to a disciplined practice of journaling, and 2) I have high-energy personal relationships that require me to process things. In this way, the BuJo has instilled some new, really really great habits and patterns and I can see some really positive outcomes emerging. But, there have been times when my BuJo has been little more than my brain dump of negativity, complaints, yeah-buts, and the like. While I know that writing about these topics isn't wrong and actually has been helpful and cathartic, I also know that it's not been sufficiently balanced. Based on your suggestions here, I will work on improving that because I do have a great deal to be grateful for. I really like your advice on making periodic "Written Reflections" within your video. That was really powerful, and I will begin doing that. Thanks again.

Love You!! Thank you. I have a few boxes of journals from many years past, that I need to burn! They are focused mostly on negativity and sorrow! I realized a couple years ago that I needed to Stop doing that and focus on the good. Balance is a helpful reminder. I did it for the same reason you mentioned---to get all that Off my mind. Did it help relieve my mind chatter--yes and no. It became an obsession, I think. I love your videos, they are helpful. Now, I need the courage to begin my bujo practice . I've had your pretty pink bujo journal for 2 years. I am afraid of messing it up. A perfectionist, I am afraid so. I feel I don't know what I am doing when it comes to bujo practice. Journaling is easy for me. I have watched many of your videos--I just need the courage to begin-haha!

I do long form journaling a lot and it seems to have a balance of negative and positive. For me the negative parts are used to get whatever is bothering me out of my head so I can move on. Since I usually journal about everything it naturally includes any good stuff. I haven't been able to shorten my journaling, maybe it is because I journaled as a child, teen and now an adult.

nice. i am keeping it as simple as possible. i journal spontaneously within each day in the form of longer notes. i don't do anything weekly. i noticed writing more in times i talk to less people, when i am around people a lot my daily logs might have no notes at all. probably the things i am excited about are shorter than the things i really have to think about in search of a solution. but often i actually do find solutions or things i want to try to see if it makes a situation better. so i think i am always trying to follow my thoughts to get to a new perspective on a situation. a new perspective can change everything. ps: i am bujoing since 2018 and i never looked into any of my previous journals and read things again. so i am surprised people actually do that.

You are so well spoken! Thank you for this! ❤️

I just came across this video and I find it very interesting. I’ve been keeping a long-form journal off and on for most of my 46 years. I often write about positive things, but I go through periods of writing about mostly negative things. I’m in one of those negative periods now, and this video has reminded me how much better I feel when I choose to write about all the little (and big) things in my life that have made me happy and grateful. You are so right that a journal is not a record of our lives but a record of what we paid attention to. Somehow I never thought of it that way until now. Writing about our problems can be cathartic, but we shouldn’t ignore all the good things that are still happening. We can still find joy and beauty in our lives even in the midst of struggles.

I love how practical these videos are to me. My takeaway is BJ-->reflect-->action. I've often wondered why I journal - is it productive?? This tells me how to make it so. Thank you!

This video is honestly so inspiring and insightful at the same time. I love the way to talked about journaling and I could feel that you were being truly genuine with what you said. Thank you for creating such awesome content. The internet needs more people like you 💛

Absolutely awesome! Thank you so much for your spot on analysis!

I'd been dumping all my depression for 10 years because I didn't really feel anything good at the time. I thought that people pretend to see positive or they're stupid not to see all this hardship. Today I understand why it was like that and it makes sense. But what I wanted to tell, it began to shift about 5 years ago when I started to write every day, asking myself how I really feel. And I discovered I can't even say I feel good. I couldn't feel happiness or gratitude. I wasn't letting myself feel it. I still feel a bit awkward with this but it was a really huge mindfk to discover this. I'm ashamed to say I'm happy. This was a huge door to open.

Thank you so much for this well-balanced view on journaling. As someone who struggles with expressing feelings with a strong negativity bias and defaulting to to-do lists (these are safe, but emotionally disconnected), your suggestions on balanced journaling practices help with honest and levelheaded self-reflection. ❤️

When i first started journaling I used to write what was bothering me. It almost ended my realationahip because I was focusing on the wrong things. Once I started rereading everything, I noticed the patterns and how I was trying to push into others some problems of mine. Today I changed to a more phylosophical approach and is changing my perspectives on life. Thanks so much for your video!

I started journalling in my latter high school years, more than 10 years ago. My first book was a gift with writing prompts, asking me what happened today, what I learned, what I'm grateful for, and plans for tomorrow. I kinda kept that same idea when I had freedom in future books. If things aren't going right, I do try to analyze the problem and share the root of it, along with my emotions at the moment, how it made me feel. Though, if things are really bad, I may not even write until things clear up a bit as I do want to be a bit more objective in my storytelling. I have had a lot of goals and things on my bucketlist, and I managed to cross all of those off last year. Journalling certainly helped remind me mentally that, where I am at the time of writing isn't where I'll always be. I would focus on the future and keep track of my progress. I always made notes of milestones, along with happy moments on the journey.

This was one of the most important videos from Ryder that i've hear. Thanke you so much Ryder for taking and invest your time to help us. I was in a deep part of my live where, i almost let to write in my Bujo because of the negativity bias. I love the sentence what you explain "Bujo is not a reflection of our lives as much as it is a reflection of what we are putting our attention". Thanke you again Ryder!

LOVE THIS!! I used to write about my sad moments but then i realized - there was also exciting and happy moments in my life so i need to change it and am happy for how i journaling now ❤❤

This is so timely. I just purchased a Leuchtturn 1917 for a little journaling fun and then I realized but I have nothing to write about right at this very moment and it dawned on me all of my blessings and joys. I’ll be starting with the things I feel immense gratitude towards and just let the time flow.

Thank you very helpful, this will really help me to focus less on the negativity and more on the positivity of life.

Just subscribed :) This is actually a rather helpful video. I have a lot of journals, but I’ve stopped using them for journaling because it kinda seems like I’m always writing about stuff that’s made me sad or angry, at worst depressed and then some, and whenever I look back on those entries, I find that my mind was just everywhere based on the words that were written and how I was writing. Not to mention it really shows how much I forget about there being positive moments in my life. I generally just use my journals to write stories or worldbuild. I message my friends about what’s on my mind, what’s going on throughout my day, and what I’m feeling and why I’m feeling that way, so they’re kinda my substitute for journaling in a way. And fortunately not everything I message them about is negative so it’s definitely a good journaling alternative for me

Wonderful video. I love the idea of one win and one thing you’re grateful for. It’s easy to get lost in the negativity when times are tough. It’s all about perspective. Also, you have the most beautiful voice and manner of speaking. It’s a nice bonus to the great content!

I decided to write only the VERY positive things into my journal. I have a lot of negative thoughts, self-doubt and a very low self-esteem. But when I have a "high" (like once a month or so) I write everything I did good in my journal. Just like a letter to myself. Now that I did this for about 2 years I have collection of great or small events and achievements written down. I read this over and over again go collect arguments against this mean voice in my head and it had worked great so far. Nothing negative makes it into this book. Thank you very much for this video!

Super insightful video! I'm honestly bad at keeping up with journaling, but I was told I should do so in therapy. However, I always felt so sad and angry when doing it, because therapists exclusively told me to do it when life was overwhelmingly negative. Whenever I didn't have anything to write down, especially if nothing bad happened recently, I was treated as if I wasn't trying hard enough to get treatment. It made me & my struggles feel inadequate, as if I didn't really need or deserve help if my life wasn't constantly traumatizing me. Except whenever my life was that bad, it was harder than ever to focus on therapy or the stuff I was supposed to do outside of it. In that sense, therapy was having the opposite effect on me. For me, it's very hard to see the positives when I'm being encouraged to only dwell on the negative & write it out. While some of my forgetfulness to journal is definitely related to my adhd & asd, I'm starting to wonder if I subconsciously developed a negative association with it. I love this concept of balanced journaling. I'll do my best to take it to heart.

Brilliant video, thank you so much! I have 'failed' a couple times at journaling over many years, but noticed that I recently started using my weekly planner to a point that resembles bullet journaling, but without any long form writing. I am at a point where I could use some proper reflection and wanted to learn more about how others journal. In the past I'd only journal when I was sad and as you explained beautifully, I don't think that's good for me. Thanks so much for all this, it will help me so much in starting my new journal.

I feel like I've said 'I thought I was the only one!' About 3 times this past week. This is reassuring: thank you!

Thank you for guidance as I daily journal and write in 3 different journals daily ❤

I agree with your points. I always try to write down what I read in the Bible that day or write something i'm thankful for. a danger of journalism is perfectionism for me and It made journalism toxic for me because I just felt more stressed. now most of my journaling is just sloppy writing and scribbling and I am finally mature enough to come to the conclusion that's ok . I tried for the longest time to make it neat and pretty, but it started to stress me out and I did not find joy in it. My messy journal is more therapeutic.

i have a journal and i mainly use it as a venting space. i’ve tried to focus on some good things too. thanks for speaking on this and i will try to be more aware of what i’m writing. i can obviously write about what i’m sad about but i think i need to focus on other things as well

THANK YOU SO MUCH for finally saying it!!!! If I had a nickel for every time a professional has suggested journaling as the solution to my problems I’d be filthy rich. I have an endless inner dialog. I DO NOT WANT the words to just come pouring out all the time. It literally makes me sick after while. I want to read the words of others to heal. I want to be filled with music, fitness, creativity, & connection to nature, other people, & animals & I want to take care of my family & friends.

When I journal I write aa bit about what happened in the day and how I feel about it. This part is mostly negative, but to counteract that I answer the following three questions every evening: What do I not want to forget what happened today? What did I learn today? And How do I want to wake up tomorrow and approach the day? This helps me stay objective and also focus on the positive. Its an alternative to the gratitude prompt for me.

I'm grateful for your videos. It doesn't even matter what the topic is, they're like a warm lullaby 💕

Thank you sooo much for this video! Yesterday I learned that journaling can be harmful to a few people that are „overthinking“, so it‘s not the best and overall solution for everyone, and now your video tops this by „not having to journal evry day“ (what a relief). So I continue my journey of journaling by trying not to overthink it plus not to load another burdon on my shoulders to „have to do it every day“. This positive message I will write into my journal, and maybe only tomorrow 😉 thank you again 🫶🤗🙏

When I used to keep a diary as a kid I only used to write when I was upset - and it was almost everyday because I was a hormonal teen going through puberty. I never re-read those entries but one day my sister found my diary and read the entries leading upto her birthday which is in January. The entries were terrible because I was always upset about something or the other. She ended up crying and apologizing to me because she did not know/notice that I was having such a bad time - that I had a terrible childhood. I did not. I only logged the bad emotions. I did not have any entries for the week of her birthday because I was out enjoying myself with her so I had nothing sad to write about. I am glad I found the concept of affirmations and gratitude, I make it a point to include those in my daily journal as well as when I journal about what I am feeling.

I actually have a few different journals, so things remain separated and not tossed in together... A regular journal for things I want to remember A FML journal... Self explanatory A "common place" journal A Bible study journal A 3-6-9 Journal Of course I only write in one or two of them daily, but the others are there for when I NEED to get something out of my head. I've been keeping a regular journal since high school, and even though I don't have every journal I've ever done, there are times I did wish I had them to see how much my life has changed over the last 28 years 😊

At the beginning of the year I started writing a monthly reflection and base it off of all my entries in my journal, and I’m finding it really helps me see the good as well as the bad, because the good comes with the bad I think. Sometimes I do think that I try to write positively too much and there are negative things as well that need to be talked about.

I was surprised to see this topic. I think the topic is worthwhile. Thanks.

Thank you for this video. It came at a time when I really needed it.

i'm happy that someone said this in a very cohesive manner. It took me a while to learn this by myself and though I do consider journaling a "chore" sometimes (i do daily journaling), i still find it wonderfully cathartic since i consider it a summary of my day as well as a means to keep track of key memories that i have trouble keeping in mind (i have bad memory). i hope others take well to these tips because i know it did for me even if i had to learn it the hard way.

Thanks alot for making us pay attention to what we write..🖤✨

Ryder is a wise guide to follow. Bullet Journal goes beyond anything anyone has created in the productivity space BECAUSE it is not a productivity tool. That is just a disguise. His words, not mine.

Recently, I discovered the concept of 'one line a day' where you will write one sentence about basically anything. It could be a quote, a highlight of your day, something you're thankful for, et cetera-anything under the sun! Also, recently, I learned the concept of recalling the worst as well as the best part of the day. So now I am combining these two concepts, and this is how I call it a day. It helps to keep me grounded and aware that both good and bad things happen in life.

I used to journal everyday with the exception of break when becoming a mother. Not a lot of consistency because the kids come first❤. But in my last marriage my journal stopped when my husband started reading them. Yes I write bad things but I also write good things but humans with tend to dwell on bad things. So that stopped to prevent further fighting. Since our divorce 11 years ago I haven’t been able to get back into it. That relation ship was a toxic one and that was a traumatic experience in that my privacy was violated and not respected. I felt betrayed just as he may have been hurt by me not talking to him instead of journaling my thoughts and feelings. Needless to say my health has had ups and downs and this video has given me a little motivation and great hints to positive yet constructive writing. Thanks again!

I’ve been really trying to make a lot of small changes in my life over the course of the past year or so, and journaling has been one of those. It’s something I thought I’d hate but I definitely am getting the patience and enjoyment out of it as time goes on. But I definitely went on a weird spiral after doing it for a while, and now I’ve finally started to get back to where I’m not writing out every emotion like I’m scrawling on a brick wall. It’s helped a lot, and I’m glad that there are so many people that feel the same!

Thanks @Ryder Carol this was Sooo convicting! I totally (over past few years) have only been journaling during the bad, drowning or heavily stressed times in my life. I did this because Bujo helps bring me back to the safe shores of organization. Then I forget about it again until next time. WoW time to make a change and add in some good times or my productive less stressed times! We’ll see what fruit comes from it over the next 2 months! Excited to layer on a new “Atomic Habit”!🎉

Great advice! I'm going to try it out for myself.

thank you for this video. i've had a lot of struggles in maximizing my growth with journals, not knowing which direction to take and what real benefits goes with it (writing pages after pages just to feel temporary relief, but not sure what to do with these hundred of pages afterwards). this has helped me redirect & refocus in actually helping with step by step direction with my journaling. Godspeed

This is such a wonderful and helpful video. I've definitely found certain kinds of journaling to be toxic/damaging for myself personally. After reading a few articles about toxic positivity and when affirmations don't work, I decided to change how I do gratitude in my journal. I start off writing 1-3 things "that sucked" during the week. Then I write 1-3 things that I'm grateful for or were good that week. I really needed to be able to acknowledge what was difficult or what sucked that week, especially since indeal with disabling chronic illness. Kinda similar to what you suggested to write 1 thing you're grateful for and 1 victory, albeit daily. I personally have found weekly gratitude/in-gratitude journaling to be more effective and beneficial for myself personally. Daily just felt like way too much of a chore and felt too forced. Thank you very much for this video though. Truly helpful!

I've been journaling for 8 years and I noticed this problem of drifting towards writing about negative things, since they're placed in "problems to solve" cathegory, so this advice is helpfull.

Thank you so much for the video. Now it makes more sense to me. Sometimes It's because of the negativity bias I'm not able to enjoy the process of journalling. Now I'll be more intentional and balance my journal. Thank you once again for throwing light on many aspects that we usually ignore!

This was very helpful this morning… thank you

I tried to journaling a whilw back and decided to quit when I realized that the practice had became just a repository of sadness, grievances and negative experiences. However, after watching this video, I will have it a go.

You look like a very balanced person. I like you, my man! God bless!

The problem I had with journaling back when I tried it is that every page looked exactly the same. My life was monotonous and repetitive. There's only so many times someone can write "Woke up, ate breakfast, went to work, ate dinner, went to bed" before they realize that journaling is completely useless.

This is actually an educational video for me. I related to many things in this video. Really thank you for making this video. So much grateful for posting this ✨

This has made me realise that my journal is full of woes rather than the reality of my life. Thank you so much. Time to stop dragging myself down!

I bought your books before covid, and can’t seem to follow, but watching these videos, I will put this info to work, I was afraid exactly about getting caught on negativity, great video

I had the opposite problem - filling my journal with only positive things. Toxic positivity was a thing. Reading the books from my time in an abusive relationship ten years prior made me feel so weird and prickly. You could eat between the lines that I was an “unreliable narrator”. They were soon destroyed 😅

I love the editing of this video