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
