“Being Mindful” is a blog series for anyone curious about mindfulness and meditation. Feeling stressed, anxious, or overwhelmed with life? Mindfulness and meditation are powerful tools for improving your mental health. In this series, we'll explore the basics of mindfulness, how it can help you, and how to implement it into your life.

Mindfulness isn’t just sitting cross-legged with your eyes closed and mind empty (see my post on Common Misconceptions for more). Mindfulness simply means “the awareness that arises from paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment and nonjudgmentally.” 

Mindful Journaling

Journaling is a perfect way to pay attention to the moment. If you want to incorporate journaling into your self care routine, here are some tips for making it more mindful:

• Don’t judge yourself. Every time you have a judgmental thought (I’m so bad at this, my handwriting is terrible, that was stupid, that didn’t make any sense), simply label it a thought and let it float away. The goal is to remove the attachment you have to your thoughts. 

• Be a beginner. This may be your first time trying to write since you were in school, or maybe you’re Stephen King. Whatever your expertise and comfortability with writing and journaling, aim to adopt a beginner’s mind. By trying to be an expert, you’ll focus on the quality of the writing and making it sound “well-written.” But that’s not the goal with Mindful Journaling.

• Trust yourself. You are the expert on your life. Trust whatever comes up for you as you explore the journal prompts. You know more than you give yourself credit for. Whatever you’re feeling is important and valid. 

• Remove distractions. You want to put your full focus into what you’re writing, and to notice the experience of writing itself, so turn the TV off and hide your phone if you can.

15 Journal Prompts for Mindfulness

Try out these journal prompts to incorporate mindfulness into your life. You may be surprised by what you discover when you express your thoughts in writing. 

Describe five things you see in front of you right now in great detail.

Write about the last meal you ate (taste, texture, smell, appearance, etc.)

Do a body scan and identify an area of pain or tension. Write about what it feels like.

What’s the strongest emotion you felt today? Write about how it made your body feel, what thoughts arose from it, and how you knew you felt that emotion. (The Feelings Wheel may help.)

Write down three things you’re grateful for and why you’re grateful for them. 

What’s the weather right now? Describe how it looks and feels, and what emotions come up with this type of weather.

Play a random song, then describe how it sounded and what it made you think about.

What’s a reality that you’re resisting right now? How would it feel to let it go?

What’s your favorite emotion to experience? Why do you like it so much? (The Feelings Wheel may help.)

Consider a recent experience where you judged yourself. Write the narrative of the situation but from a nonjudgmental perspective. Don’t attribute any meaning or blame to the events, just state them as facts. 

What is good about this exact moment you’re experiencing? Why is right now a good place to be?

Make a list of things you would consider yourself a beginner at, and are interested in learning more about.

What’s a time recently when you trusted yourself?

How would your life be different if you focused more on the present moment?

What activities make you feel most alive?