Journal whining can be deadly boring

However, learning to journal WHINE can be powerful

Solstice Sunrise at Santa Barbara Mission

“Journal writing, when it becomes a ritual for transformation,

is not only life-changing but life-expanding.”

– Jen Williamson

Early on, I grew weary of journaling because I was doing little more than whining and boring myself. Rather than just trying to stop whining, I wonder if we could turn the normal process of whining into a productive practice around the memorable word: WHINE. Let’s see.

W - WWWWWH

The timeless questions of Who, What, Where, When Why, and How can help you build a solid foundation for your journey, helping you explore all the pertinent aspects of whatever you’re writing about. You don’t have to go into minute detail, however, if you want to review this in the future, it will be a memory assist if you get the basics in place. And, keep in mind, reflecting on your journal is a huge part of the value of keeping a journal, so it should always be readable and detailed enough to help you remember why it was important enough to journal about.

H - HOME BASE 

Your “home base” is a major topic for your journal; primarily in the sense of checking in with the state of your well-being of mind/body/spirit, noting changes in your immediate surroundings, friends and family, projects currently underway or anticipated, as well as other aspects of the foundation of your life.

I - IMAGINED WORLD

Your journal is your safe place to let your imagination run wild. Who would you most like to be and what would you most like to do? What would be a perfect day, a perfect moment, a perfect experience? Feel free to substitute your word of choice for perfect … exciting, memorable, fun, loving … and so on.

N - NATURE

Vitamin N is a critical aspect of our health and well-being and writing about our experiences with nature and beauty is a good way to focus on the world around us. And, since we are part of nature, that could include art, music, architecture, dance, and fashion as well as trees, flowers, oceans, mountains, and goats.

E - ENERGY

The life force that flows through you can be enhanced or drained. Your journal is a great place to record who and what brings you energy as well as who and what drains it.

Life is too short to journal about every moment of your life. Using WHINE as a tool to pick and choose what you journal about could be a major factor in having a more impactful journaling experience.

What do you think? Would this be helpful to your journal practice?

Two weekly posts:

Sunday: focusing on gratitude and each of the thirteen themes of personal development included in Gratitude Mojo. (Reminder: this journal is only available as a printable pdf and is free with an annual subscription to this newsletter. Actually, you can gift a friend with a second copy … just send us their email address and we will send them a copy of the pdf also.

Thursday: dedicated to a deeper dive into journaling with tips, stories and illustrations.

Thank you for reading gratitude mojo. We love your “hearts” and please feel free to share this post if you think any of your friends and family would like it.

And if you would like to see other Gratitude Mojo posts, click here:

In good times and challenging ones, practicing gratitude helps us recognize the good things in our lives and build resilience for the challenges that come our way. Gratitude journaling is one of the best ways to better understand yourself and deepen your practice of gratitude.

Any journal will do … however, we have a bias toward Gratitude Mojo, which comes to you free with your annual paid subscription … including one copy for a friend because having a Gratitude Buddy makes the journey better.

We want to help everyone develop a deeper practice of gratitude, therefore, all posts are always free. … And, we always appreciate paid subscriptions as they help support this work.