Friday, April 12, 2019

The 'Yay Journal"


The ‘Yay’ Journal~
 

Lorraine Carey


I had read about keeping a ‘Yay’ journal a few weeks ago in one of my magazines. The purpose is to find all the good things that went right in your day—be it big or small. This concept is to promote positive thinking by having to list at least three things and building up to as many as you can muster. The end result is that it will cause one to not only see the little things were actually just as important as the bigger things but your list will get longer and longer. And the magic is that positive brings positive and you’ll find that your days actually do look brighter.

Okay—so I thought I’d give it a go and see what happens. Why did I feel as though I needed this? I was in a slump, feeling low and literally no motivation to write. I also was fighting off a bout of depression. I figured this just might be the tool to get me looking on the brighter side and would boost my mood to get my juices flowing.

I have to admit, it was hard for me to start this process. When my husband asked me what I wrote in my journal I had to tell him I couldn’t find anything to ‘Yay’ about.  So with that I went back and really had to analyze my day. I did manage to come up with a few small events. It was hard to even find one. Pretty say, I’d say. As the days went on I began to find more things to list and my mood lifted. I actually began to realize smaller things that I would never have given a thought to before would be the ones I would consider of value to list in my journal.


My daily list has increased from three items to at least 7 or more! I have to say this concept is working—at least for me. My mood is brighter and I feel so blessed to see so many good things that have occurred in my day that I never would have thought were so valuable before.  And the real beauty is going back over the past few days and reading all of the ‘Yays’ from the previous days.


And with that, I can now list another ‘Yay’ now that I have finished this little blog. 


Author Lorraine Carey





5 comments:

  1. A great way to keep everything in perspective and elevate your mood! I haven't written a journal since high-school, I might try this :)

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    Replies
    1. It really helps as I tend to get into periods of a 'negative phase'. I used to have my fourth graders write 2 positive things in their journals years ago.

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  2. You really do learn something new every day. I'd never heard of the Yay Journal but I'm so pleased it works for you, Lorraine. Me? I use humour on the darkest days. My posts are sent by o(Google) Does anyone know why it's changed? Thanks in advance. Rick Haynes.

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  3. I'm glad this endeavor has yielded positive results for you!

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  4. This does work. I once read that you should wake up every day thankful for three things and go to bed every night thankful for three things. It made a huge difference to me when I was in a down period. I like the idea of writing them down, Lorriane.

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