A personal development journal is an essential tool for your growth and personal development.  The interesting thing is that there is more than one way to use...

Your journal to tap into a deeper portion of yourself.

And there are a couple of ways to use a journal for your personal development. 


One way is to document your growth.  That journal might be a part of your personal development plan and be like a doctor's progress report. 

If that's what you're looking for, download my free PDF workbook which has that kind of record as a part of my personal development plan template I've included in the workbook.

Just click here to download (or right-click for PCs) and the PDF will download instantly.



Another way to use your journal is to “write freely” and let your inner thoughts express themselves, which is what I'll be discussing in this personal development article.

Personal Development Journal Introduction

If you journal a lot, you know how wonderful it feels to tap into another “source” within yourself...

A source that gives you just the right answers.

And if you're like me, you look forward to just sitting down and journaling out your thoughts for awhile.  I've done this “cathartic” work for years.

But, one of the newest ways I've learned to used a personal development journal is through a positive thinking course I recently took which posed questions to me to think about and answer.

The program's questions caused me to ponder different aspects of my life from new perspectives...

Perspectives from a more objective viewpoint.  And I've discovered that this is a very important aspect to journaling, and that this aspect is left out many times. 

What the personal development training course I took did for me was actually surprising.

Why? 

Because here I am, a “veteran” at journaling, yet I found a much deeper sense of myself through the program's promptings...

Most people just journal out their thoughts, which is what I've done for years.

The difference is that when you're prompted to journal about a certain subject, you're really asked to tap into your true inner guidance...

And it makes you dig a little deeper to find answers.

So, any time you can find something or someone to prompt you with questions that are outside your comfort zone, you'll benefit greatly.  

Personal Development Journal Sample

Here's a sample journal from one of the best days of journaling that I had in the beginning of the online personal development training I experienced where they asked me a question that was outside my usual sphere of thoughts:

JOURNAL As I sat listening to the music and pondering what was posed to me, at first I didn't know how to approach such an "elusive" question.  Yet, in just a few minutes as I let go of the "routine thoughts" of my mind, new and expanded thoughts came to me at great speed. Ideas were "popping" left and right.  It was like a magical machine was turned on and I was "observing" it work.  I let go and let my mind play.  No expectations and I didn't hold it back.  My mind was simply manifesting new ideas in such a magnificent way that I could only experience the joy of a mind that was functioning at such a high capacity.  It was a very interesting experience.... And an experience that came to me because I let go and let my mind "percolate" and expand on a subject outside of my normal realm of thoughts.

Personal Development Journal Summary

If you're really wanting to gain the most benefit from using a personal development journal, you'll want to also have questions “put to you” that are outside of your normal sphere of thinking to allow your mind to ponder your life from different aspects.

So, does it make a difference how you use a journal?  Yes, you can use one at least three different ways:

1. As a personal development record of growth and improvement in your personal development plan.
   
   
2. In a “free form” way that allows you to access your inner being without any guidance from outside.
   
   
3. In a more structured, “here is the subject, now what do you think about it” way.  Which moves you out of your comfort zone and into a very creative place.

Using a combination of these three methods of journaling allows you to expand your horizons and find deeper insights inside yourself that are just a "new thought" away!

Check out this article, too:

Positive Thinking Course:  Is One Worthwhile?
A positive thinking course is a great avenue to explore if you can find a good one. I found one that was supposed to have been the premiere product in the industry. But as I started, I wondered...

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How to Change Your Beliefs
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What is Personal Development?


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