Future Journaling has come to an end; well at least as far as the challenge is concerned. I really enjoyed what it feels like and what it does to my brain and mindset simply by writing as if it’s already done. As a believer, faith is very important for my walk; we’ve all been dealt a measure faith, but we also become responsible for developing it and growing it. Future Journaling has been the thing I needed to reframe my mindset.
Our mindset and beliefs have a lot to do with what we feel about ourselves, our circumstances and everything else in our lives; having a practical way to change those beliefs while releasing the issues that they stemmed from was a huge takeaway. That said I’m sharing what I learned from future journaling.
What Was The Most Impactful Thing I Realized?
Future journaling taught me a number of things, I don’t only have one that was most impactful because each prompt was impactful in it’s own right. I realized that there is still work to be done (which is true for everyone) and being able to acknowledge what that work is, is impactful.
Another impactful thing future journaling taught me is to be honest about my trust in God and where I’m at with it. The level at which I trust is evident by what I wrote on the page. Being encouraged and stretched to write the things that I may actually be afraid to ask for, writing things that I have kept to myself and walking in the belief that those things will show up is very impactful. If I truly am a believer (which I am) and believe what the Word says then I have to walk that out and that includes my future journaling. There is nothing that is too small or too insignificant for God to use. AS HUMANS, we put stipulations on things, we often times put limits and ceilings on things, when that is not how God wants us to operate.
The Bible says “my God can do exceedingly and abundantly more than I can ever ask.” The Bible also says that “God’s thoughts are not like my thoughts, that they are far beyond anything I can imagine.” Using that to be totally truthful during future journaling has been extremely impactful; I’ve been reminded of the discomfort that comes with being stretched but the growth and impact it has on self once you allow it to happen is priceless and so worth it.
Future Journaling brought impact to things that didn’t seem like they would be impactful at all and I’m grateful that my perspective about those things has changed and will continue to change.
What Will I Take With Me Moving Forward?
Moving forward future journaling is definitely going to be something I continue to do, whether it’s simply just writing in the present tense or finding new ways and new prompts to start with. Who knows maybe I’ll create my own prompts in the future, but I do know that this gave me a new level of confidence and a new ability to tap into another part of my mind.
Moving forward I will also take the discipline that came with future journaling; learning to constantly show up for the challenge and myself daily takes work. I enjoy pushing myself to do things and do them consistently because consistency can fall easily. It is very easy to fall off, it happens all of the time in a lot of our lives, but now I’m pushing myself to stick through things. Why? Because I want to know what happens if I don’t quit. If I foster these positive habits, how will it translate over into my life?
So far it is has pushed me to be consistent and show up daily for other things I’m working on and that is the discipline I wanted and needed even if I felt uncomfortable.
What Would I Tell Someone Who Is Interested in Future Journaling?
If someone were to tell me they were interested in future journaling, I would tell them to try it. I actually enjoy the fact that before there was an official challenge, we practiced and exercised our ability by simply just writing in the present tense as if what we wanted/needed/desired was already present.
Starting there made the process of doing the actual challenge easier. I would also tell someone interested in future journaling to follow through with the whole thing because what you will release and uncover will push you into wanting to write more. You’ll become even more excited about all of the possibilities if you keep going and don’t quit.
Another piece of advice I would share with someone interested in future journaling would be prepare to experience resistance, fear, sadness, anger, whatever you need to feel in order to get to your space of being free to write. I don’t want to paint this as a rosey, perfect, nothing bad will come from this type of experience because any type of self reflection, any type of heart check, any type of discovery involving yourself will have you feeling all kinds of ways about all kinds of things. I would even encourage the discomfort as a bigger reason to go after it because you are now working through that and learning how to move forward.
Lastly, I would tell someone interested in future journaling to challenge themselves to do it. You literally have nothing to lose, but have so much to gain. You might lose a few things during the journey, but only because you’ll realize they aren’t needed anymore for your continued growth.
If you’re still catching up or still trying to digest it, head to @cookayemonster page and check her story highlight for 21 day challenge.
