FIVE MINUTE JOURNAL

Hello lovely people! I hope you all are doing wonderful! I am just back from my vacation and I feel so energized! And with this energy I want to share something that worked as a life changer for me! Yes, that is FIVE MINUTE JOURNAL.

Before I dive into praising this journal, I want to thank UJ Ramdas and Alex Ikonn for creating such an amazing product and making our lives better. You can check out what these amazing people think, at following links.

I came to know about the journal through Alex’s YouTube Channel and I felt the need to have one in my life, so I ordered it in the year of 2014.  I am going to leave it to the creator to explain about the journal. You can check that out HERE in a video form. Instead of telling you how this journal works and what’s in it exactly, I am going to share how use of this journal changed my perspective towards life. Before that, I would love if you see the video I have linked above.

After watching the video, you can flip through the journal and buy it HERE. Or download the Fiv minute journal App for your iPhone HERE.

First of all, this journal is very interactive, right from the first page of it. It starts talking to you, explains the science behind the journal, it explains how to effectively answer each question in it. Five minute journal has total of Five questions to be answered by you, three questions in the morning and two at night. Everyday, the questions are going to be the same, just that the beginning quotes are different. Till now, I have loved all the quotes the creators have picked up for us. And yeah! there is a  weekly challenge also! These weekly challenges are some fun things to do, and one can do it very easily, but for that you have to break the stupid barriers we have built inside us as we grow up.

It is recommended to answer the three morning questions immediately when you wake up, even before brushing your teeth, even before you start checking texts on your phone (if that's the first thing you do ;D) Because it is called as toothbrush for your mind, so before filling your mind with any kind of thoughts, brush your mind, clean it, and then start your day. These questions will set the tone for the day or should I say, it will set the "Right" tone for your day. So five minute journal is something that you need to keep by your bedside, within the reach of your arm with a pen of course!

The first thing that you have to write is, 

I am Grateful for...

This question is everything! (Assuming you have watched the video what to write in this section) Writing three things your are grateful to have in your life, have made me realize that, I am blessed with  pretty much everything in my life. Every morning, a sense of happiness surges out of me and brings smile on my face when I finish writing this part. Also I realized that there's a lot we forget to appreciate about our lives. If you are reading this post right now, consider yourself to be lucky because, hey! apart from food and water you have enough money to pay for the device and the internet! and so many people in this world are not even getting enough to eat! you are blessed with education, so that you can read things and choose to change your life. In these two years, I have appreciated for over hundreds of things, sometimes I am grateful  for same things again and again. People in our lives, the country we live in, the food we eat, the teachers we met, fresh air to breath, nice bed to sleep, shoes and clothes to wear, the lessons we learnt... there are n number of things to be grateful for, and you just have to write three of these everyday so that you start valuing what you have, instead of crying for what you don't.

This section, is my favorite because, so as soon as I wake up, the first feeling is happy. :)

The next question is,

What would make today great?

This one totally pushes me to go through my day's schedule and make me think what are the tasks I have to get done today. This question helps your mind to give a command and gives it a direction to act accordingly. 99% of the time, I have found myself getting those three things done. It makes me feel like an achiever by the end of the day ;) :)

and no, it doesn't have to be something BIG! it can be something small like, I am going to smile a lot today, I will drink enough water, I am going to the Gym today...

Achieving even smaller things that you find hard to do, can make a huge difference over a period of time. 

The Last question(not a question exactly) for morning section is,

Daily Affirmations. I am...

This is a part where you have to write things you want to achieve, or to simplify, I would say, you have to write three positive, affirmative sentences. And as you know, what you believe, becomes your truth, that's what this section will help you to happen. I had a hard time being a positive person, I used to stress over things, I used to always carry a fear about a certain task, what if it doesn't work out well? what if the person wont like my work? I used to build more negativity around everything. And later I used to realize that, that stress and negativity was absolutely unnecessary. Yet next time I used to do the same. This part of five minute journal has helped to get over my problem. I became much positive and happy person. In fact, approximately a year later, I got some compliments about my positive attitude. That! was the biggest achievement for me! It didn't just benefited me, but also those who are around me. And that's why FIVE MINUTE JOURNAL is so close to my heart.

 Just like FIVE MINUTE JOURNAL should be the first thing you do after you wake up, It should also be the LAST thing you do before you go to sleep, yes! NO phone after that! 

First question in the night Section is,

3 Amazing things that happened today...

The last two questions help you to reflect on your day, this in turn, helps you to set an aim for the next day. Again, 3 amazing things need not to be really AMMAZZINNGG! Even if nothing really AMAZING happens in your day, the creators want you to find the smaller amazing things, or they want you to find joy in small things. For example, you had a good laugh with your friend, the girl you like; smiled at you, you had a great time with your family, you started working out again, you saved money, you consciously ate healthy for whole day/ week... it could be anything. The point is, we should enjoy small things. And that's what you learn to do with this part. Also you go to sleep with good thoughts, BONUS!

And!!! the last question for the day is!!!

How would I have made today even better?

This journal is designed to work on our subconscious mind, and here, you get a chance to tell your subconscious mind to get done what you didn't do today! and also, to realize that what you should have done. Maybe you could have planned your work more efficiently, maybe you could have been nice to someone, maybe you could have chosen salad over French fries.. there are so many ways you can make your day better and only you know it! nobody's perfect! so here, you go through your entire day and reflect on yourself and make the next day even  better. 

So with this journal, you, without even knowing are working on your happiness step by step. Because, happiness doesn't happen, you have to make it happen and other happy things that occur to you are bonuses! Five Minute Journal is definitely an effective tool to be a happy and better person, and I say it through my experience and feedback I got about me from people around me. 

Last but not the least! I love how creators of Five minute journal stay in touch with after you buy the journal. You get emails from the FMJ team every week, giving you guidelines about how can you make you FMJ experience better. They post tips regarding how to avoid repeating answers to same questions in the journal and how to think deeply and creatively write you journal. That's my most favorite thing about the FMJ Team. 

Make sure you use the journal, you don’t even have to buy one, and you can create your own and get started! You know that consistency is everything! This journal also loves the consistency. So go ahead, and be happy! If you like this post,  make sure to hit that G+ button! Also, don’t forget to recommend it to those who love and care, because Sharing is Caring!

Much Love,

Chitra XOXO