Journaling and Planning with Purpose for Teens and Young Adults

The power of writing down our thoughts and feelings in a journal, and organizing our days with purpose, is the confidence, empowerment, and clarity we cultivate by implementing these rituals into our daily lives.

As Life Coaches we are always reminding our clients that our ultimate goal is to get them into the “driver’s seat” of their lives. A place where they feel more in control of the the results and outcomes they’re getting. Two rituals that Chris and I practice daily and weekly are journaling and planning out our week ahead with intention and purpose. And these two rituals alone have been been life changing for our clients too!

When you take the time to write down all your thoughts, feelings, ideas, and inner dialog, you create some distance from them so you can see things more objectively. You’re able to pause and reflect, then you have the ability to recognize that your thoughts and feelings aren’t you, they’re a part of you and you have complete control over how you react to them, which ones you choose to let in, and which ones you let go of. As with anything transformative this takes practice, and there is nothing like daily journaling to implement into your weekly routine. I’ve been keeping journals since I was about eighteen, I recently showed my daughter my huge bin filled with dozens of my old journals! Over the years I have had countless breakthroughs and "aha” moments, worked through many difficult times in my life, and through separating from my thoughts and feelings and gaining a different perspective, I’ve found more compassion and empathy for other people in my life, healing relationships. Most importantly I’ve become by own best friend through understanding myself, all of me:) Journaling is truly the ultimate self-therapy!

Learning to map out your week in a planner is imperative for any level of success. It’s not about creating “to-do” lists, although knowing your action steps is a huge part of the process. We teach planning in a way that is results focused and purpose driven. This means we help our clients first get clarity on what results are important in the week ahead, why these results are important and connecting them to their purpose, and then we focus on the most productive action steps (to-dos) that will get them their results! Can you see and feel the difference between just jotting down a bunch of things that need to get done, and being intentional and purposeful about setting up your week for ultimate success?!