February 10, 2022
Journal for Positivity
A negative outlook on life can have lasting effects. According to an article put out by Marque Medical titled “The Damaging Effects of Negativity,” people who spend months or even years thinking negatively can experience numerous mental and physical effects, including hostility, anxiety, depression, social withdrawal, headaches, fatigue, problems sleeping, and eating disorders. Living with positivity can lead to better self-confidence, good habits, and a healthier body. But how can someone go from a negative outlook to a positive one?One method that can help is journaling. Journaling for positivity is about forming habits that lead to a heightened awareness of one’s own mood changes, enabling them to slowly change their negative outlook into a positive one by focusing on the good occurrences present in their life. How It’s Done:
- Choose a method of recording (notebook, computer, audio recorder, etc.).
- Watch closely for moments when your mood transitions (happy to sad, mad to angry, and so on). Reflect on why these moments happened. Write down your thoughts and review them often. This will make it easier to identify similar occurrences.
- In addition to changes in mood, write down one thing that made you feel regret and how you might change it, so you can begin to catch yourself before the mood comes on, thereby altering your outlook on the situation. Also, write down something that made you feel happy, encouraged you, or caused you to feel at peace. This will help you to keep sight of how you want to feel more often.
- Answer each of the prompts above once daily. If or when you find that more things happened and you want to write about them, feel free to do so. If you can’t remember to write in your journal, setting an alarm can help you until it becomes habit.
- Realize all of the positive experiences and opportunities that come to you. Don’t forget, life is worth so much more when experienced with positivity.