Our brains are designed to keep us safe from harm, therefore we reach a certain age (around 40ish for most of us) where instead of thinking what is ahead, we base our future endeavours on what we have achieved in the past.  Our past provides comfort and makes us feel safe.  As it is the brains job to ensure we stay clear of danger it likes us to stick with the familiar. 

The problem with this is, deep inside there is still that 20 something woman, saying "well, come on what’s next!"  That same person that got us through uni, found our life partner, decided having kids would be an adventure, started an exciting new career – she is still in there wanting to bust out. 

So, what happens is the protective brain kicks into gear and starts telling you things like, you’re too old to start something new, stay safe! You can’t possibly lose weight – you haven’t in the past, stay safe! Don’t follow that dream, just keep doing...

After showing you all my vision journal in my Facebook Live - Many Journals. I have had a few questions about my Overwhelm Page.

This is part of my process of working through my emotions. It allows me to be creative and work out some of my overwhelm on the paper.  As you can see you do not need to be a brilliant artist to be creative. This was done with coloured pencils and pens in my vision journal. 

I have a bit going on at the moment – moving into our new home that took five years to build, co-ordinating all the extra bits that need to be done, working full-time, blogging on The Journal Hub and studying for my Masters Certificate in Life Coaching.  Throw in a burst pipe and flooded lounge room (rental property), add in some family drama and you have a recipe for overwhelm. 

Well actually, I have taken most of it in my stride and it is mainly due to the work I did on this page a few months back when I was feeling very overwhelmed.  This is why...

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Journaling can help you manage your thoughts, achieve your goals and discover things about yourself you did not know.  It can help you change your mind set, situation and the satisfaction level you have with life.  Your Journal can be your guide and companion as you become the person you want to be.

Pick your Journal

Picking a beautiful journal that calls to you will inspire you to write more often.  Designing pages that work for you and what you want to achieve will mean you are more inclined to use it.  You deserve a gorgeous piece of stationery to hold your goals and dreams, a journal that encourages you to write, that gives you pleasure when you pick it up and gets your creative juices flowing.

Try this gorgeous leather journal.

Having said that, you can be just as effective with a notebook...

Journaling has become a popular form of self-discovery; helping people to identify what they want and more importantly how to get it.  Through journaling you can discover more about yourself and your goals than you ever thought possible.  Journaling will provide insights into your mind and thought patterns that you would never notice otherwise.  It then provides you with a tool to help you retrain your mind to help you achieve your goals and dreams.  But you can’t achieve them if you don’t know what they are.

The number one reason to Journal for Self Discovery is to live a fulfilled life.

Helping you identify with your inner thoughts and feelings

One of the main ways journaling helps with self-discovery, is it enables you to identify with your inner thoughts and feelings.  Understanding yourself is key to living a happy, more fulfilled life.

Journals allow you to write freely and openly.  You’re free from judgement, allowing you to...

As we begin the new year and people are preparing their new journals (ahh is there a better feeling than opening a fresh blank page in a new journal!) a lot of you are thinking about what you want to achieve in the new year.  We often like to allocate a word or phrase to the year that gives us some focus and sets our intentions for the 12 months ahead.  This becomes our Mantra. 

What is a Mantra?

The word Mantra is derived from two Sanskrit words—manas (mind) and tra (tool). Mantra literally means “a tool for the mind.”  Historical Mantra’s have been used during meditation to raise vibration through the repetition of the sound or phrase.

Your Mantra should be a word that resonates with you, an affirmation, a war cry or a go-to phrase to repeat when you are not feeling inspired. 

Do you need a Mantra?

Of course not, but once I tell you the benefits of having and repeating your mantra, you may be asking yourself how you...

It’s no secret I love to journal.  It provides a creative outlet, helps me organise my life and my thoughts which in turn, improves my mental health and helps me achieve my goals.  However, those are just a few of the benefits of journaling.

Below are 15 of the top reasons to start journaling today.

Spark your Creativity

Sitting down with pen and paper and just writing whatever comes to you is essential to promote and enhance your creativity.  Writing in a personal journal that no-one else will see, giving you a freedom of expression that does not occur during conversation or writing for someone else.  It will reveal your processes, how you think, learn, create and use intuition.  You will find yourself planting seeds of ideas that will flourish.

Achieve your goals

Achieve your goals and bring your vision to life. Studies have found that you become 42% more likely to achieve your goals and dreams, simply by writing down your goals on a regular basis. I...

Do you ever get to the point in your life when there is so much going on, if one more thing is thrown on your plate you might just scream!  If so, then maybe it is time to take a Brain Dump.

What is a Brain Dump?

When you are busy and you have thousands of things to think about if you don’t have a way to process all these thoughts you can begin to feel overwhelmed and anxious. 

A Brain Dump or download is an opportunity for you to put all your thoughts down on paper, organise them, get things done and move forward. 

The need for a Brain Dump can be triggered by a number of factors:

• A super busy schedule
• A big project deadline – either personal or business (or both)
• Random tasks that build up
• Holidays – that’s right holidays, as much as we all enjoy them the lead up to a holiday can be stressful, there is lots to organise and work to get done before you leave.
• Unexpected Events – when your schedule is thrown into chaos because something...

The most valuable commodity we all have is time, once it has gone, we cannot get it back and we all wish had more of it.  Well I’m here to tell you by changing one simple habit you can get two extra days a year.  Imagine what you could achieve with an additional 48 hours.  So, what is the big secret?

Stop hitting the snooze button!

That’s right, every time you hit the snooze button you lose 9 minutes out of your day.  If you do that every day, 365 days a year, that’s 3,285 minutes, which is 54.75 hours, which is 2.2 days!  So, you are actually getting back more than 2 days.

Getting up when the alarm goes off the first time will give you extra time to do some of those things you can’t find time for.  Journaling could be one of them. 

Not only will you have the extra time, there are other reasons you should not be hitting the snooze button.

Hitting the snooze button can make you feel more tired. 

By waking up and then...

So how do you do find time Journal?  Below are some tips on how you can find some time to write in your journal. 

In our busy lives it is hard to find time to fit in anything extra, let alone something for just you.  I have always struggled with the “I don’t have time” mantra.  However determining why I wanted to journal managed to put it into perspective and made me realise I had to find the time to do it. 

Schedule a time

Scheduling a time to write in your journal will help you build it into your day.  Can you get up a little  earlier in the morning to jot down your thoughts?  It’s a great to get your journaling done before the daily grind starts.  It can help you organise your day, thought and priorities and can help you set your mood.

Maybe you are an evening person and you would prefer to do it at the end of the day.  Spend 10 minutes before you go to bed to reflect on your day.  It is a great aid to...

“Gratitude is the best medicine.  It heals your mind, your body and your spirit. And attracts more things to be grateful for.”

Every time I start a new journal (and it doesn’t have to a be at the beginning of the year) I like to pick one word to inspire me during the time I use that notebook.  This time my word is grateful. 

My daily page layout in my new bullet diary includes a section to write down three things I am grateful for at the end of every day.  Knowing that I will be completing this section in my journal ensures that I am looking for things to be grateful for throughout the day.  It is a way of training myself to constantly be looking for things in my life to be thankful for.  I don’t want to be writing the same things every day – where’s the fun in that.

Gratefulness doesn’t always come easily, particularly if you are going through a trauma or suffering from depression but if you put in a little...