Mindful Journal Prompts for the New Year
When practiced regularly, journaling is a simple activity with extensive benefits for your mental health and well-being. Studies indicate that journaling can help reduce depression and anxiety as effectively as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) by increasing your self-awareness about your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.1, 2
Journaling is also a form of mindfulness which can decrease stress and the incidence of intrusive thoughts by bringing you back to the present moment. According to Zindel Segal, a psychology professor at the University of Toronto, the act of writing transforms your fears and worries by externalizing them. Once these thoughts are expressed in language and seen “on the page,” they are typically experienced with less of an emotional charge than when they were held in the mind.3 This can be especially helpful if you struggle with anxiety, depression, or stress.
Helpful Journal Prompts Heading into 2024
The New Year offers the perfect opportunity to reflect on the past year and set intentions for the year ahead. To help you get started and take the practice of journaling into the new year, consider using the following mindful prompts.
1. What Were Your Most Significant Accomplishments & Challenges in 2023?
Reflect on your proudest moments and the toughest hurdles you faced during the past year. What did you achieve, and what obstacles did you overcome? Consider how these experiences have shaped you and what you've learned from them.
If your year did not go according to plan, or you struggle with anxiety, you may find yourself feeling some disappointment or regret during this reflection. It’s important to remember that no feeling is a bad feeling. Allow yourself to reflect honestly, hold space for your emotions, and then find the opportunities therein. What can you change in the upcoming year to see different results?
2. List Five Things You’re Grateful for in the Past Year: How Have They Enriched Your Life?
Identify five things or people that you're grateful for from the previous year. Explain how they have made your life better, brought you joy, or provided support. Gratitude can help you appreciate the positive aspects of your life.
Even more, researchers have found a link between gratitude and mental health; the more you appreciate what you have, the happier you feel.4 According to the Anxiety & Depression Association of America, practicing gratitude taps into a treatment approach called “habit reversal training.”5 To break a habit like rumination, you should employ a competing response, which is an action that is incompatible with the habit. When you catch yourself starting to worry, practice gratitude instead. When you do it enough times, your brain will eventually practice gratitude automatically.
3. What Self-Care Practices Have Nourished Your Well-Being? Which Ones Do You Want to Bring into 2024?
Think about the self-care habits that have benefited your well-being in 2023. How have they improved your life? Do you see any room for improvement? In our busy lives, it’s easy to let self-care fall to the wayside. Even our most basic needs — sleep, proper nutrition, exercise — can become compromised when career, family, and non-stop errands demand our attention. When brainstorming your ideal self-care practices, you may want to get creative with spa treatments, gym memberships, retreats and more. But don’t overlook the lifestyle habits you practice every day.
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4. Identify Your Core Values & Priorities: How Can You Align Your Goals in 2024 with These Values?
Identify your core values and priorities. What truly matters to you? How can you ensure that your goals and resolutions for 2024 align with these values, allowing you to live a more meaningful and fulfilling life?
Whether you are looking to switch careers, learn a new skill, lose weight, or you have another goal in mind, be sure that you have identified the “why” behind these goals. Does it reflect your most authentic self?
5. What Thoughts, Habits, or Relationships No Longer Serve You?
Examine any thoughts, habits, or relationships that have become burdensome or no longer contribute positively to your life. Consider how you can let go of or change these aspects to create space for personal growth and well-being.
In many cases, identifying these kinds of thoughts, habits, or relationships may lead you to consider talking to a therapist or another mental health professional. These experts can teach you specific strategies to help you reframe negative thoughts, replace negative habits, and improve (or break) negative relationships. Mindfulness practices like meditation can also be helpful here in changing how your brain processes thoughts, feelings, and emotions.
6. What Skills or Qualities Do You Want to Develop in 2024?
Think about the skills or qualities you would like to develop or enhance in the upcoming year. Whether it's improving your communication, learning a new skill, or becoming more resilient, outline your aspirations for personal growth.
The skills and qualities you want to develop can also be internal. Maybe you want to change how you deal with stress, to become more mindful, or to practice more self-compassion. Maybe you want to be more patient or adaptable. Personal growth is not always visible, but the effort you invest in nurturing these aspects of yourself can lead to a more fulfilling and balanced life.
7. How Can You Infuse More Creativity and Self-Expression into Your Daily Life in the Coming Year?
Explore ways to bring creativity and self-expression into your daily routine in 2024. Whether through art, writing, music, or other means, consider how these outlets can add joy and fulfillment to your life. Such activities can also help reduce stress and anxiety. According to the American Psychiatric Association, Americans who rate their mental health as very good or excellent typically engage in creative activities more frequently than those who rate their mental health as fair or poor.6 Engaging in creative activities has also been shown to have a protective effect against cognitive decline.7
8. How Can You Deepen Connections & Create More Meaningful Bonds in 2024?
Reflect on your relationships and consider how you can strengthen them in the coming year. How can you create more meaningful connections with friends, family, or new acquaintances? Think about ways to deepen these bonds.
After all, the positive effects of deepening your relationships are both physical and mental. According to the CDC, social connection with others can help improve your ability to recover from stress, anxiety, and depression.8 People with strong social bonds are also more likely to make healthy life choices and contribute to their communities.
9. Explore Ways to Create a Daily Routine that Promotes Mindfulness & Wellness
Delve into the idea of crafting a daily routine that prioritizes mindfulness and wellness. How can you incorporate practices like meditation, exercise, or gratitude into your daily life to promote mental and physical well-being? In fact, writing in your journal at the start of the day is one potential practice to add to your routine. It sets the tone for a positive day and helps to replace other morning habits you may already have that contribute to anxiety and stress, such as looking at your phone or hitting the snooze button. Brainstorm ways you can tweak your usual schedule to make room for mindfulness practices. This may include a short meditation in the car before you enter the office, a short mid-day walk around the block to clear your mind, or a gentle stretch or gratitude practice before bed. Creating a daily routine also helps to banish stress by implementing a sense of predictability.
10. What Small or Large Acts of Kindness Can You Commit to on a Regular Basis? How Can You Contribute to Your Community or World at Large in 2024?
Consider the ways in which you can incorporate acts of kindness into your daily life. Whether they are small, everyday gestures or larger community contributions, brainstorm how you can make a positive impact on the world in 2024.
According to the American Psychiatric Association, engaging in acts of kindness has helped individuals with anxiety and depression divert their attention from their symptoms to the people around them.9
Bringing Your Prompts to Life
Use these journal prompts as a starting point to make 2024 one of action, engagement, and connection. You can even use these prompts as a way to brainstorm your New Year’s resolutions and make mental health a priority throughout the year.
If you are struggling with symptoms like anxiety, stress, irritability, or poor focus, consider taking non-prescription Brillia for more support. Consisting of antibodies to the brain-specific S100B protein, Brillia helps to control symptoms of emotional dysregulation and executive dysfunction by improving how your brain cells communicate with each other. It also helps to stabilize various monoamines (like dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine) without making you drowsy, affecting your appetite, or leading to dependency. Along with the 5 Pillars, Brillia offers a science-backed approach to achieve mental balance and clarity for lasting change.
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References: 1https://positivepsychology.com/benefits-of-journaling/, 2https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17007812/, 3https://www.mindful.org/how-to-start-a-mindful-journaling-practice/, 4https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_gratitude_changes_you_and_your_brain, 5https://adaa.org/learn-from-us/from-the-experts/blog-posts/consumer/gratitude-mental-health-game-changer, 6https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/apa-blogs/creative-arts-enhancing-mental-health, 7https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1232357/full, 8https://www.cdc.gov/emotional-wellbeing/social-connectedness/affect-health.htm, 9https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/apa-blogs/mental-health-benefits-simple-acts-of-kindness
