Why start a journal?

Journaling is designed to help you set and reach your wellness goals. By planning and reflecting on your healthy or unhealthy habits, you focus on the small changes that will get you to your goals.

Yes, goals! Goals are important to identify as they give direction to your life.

It is important to set these goals and work daily on improving and implementing small habits. This will ease your stress.

In fact, it will encourage you along the way — small daily steps yield long-term results!

Where do I begin?

Every week plan/do/reflect; it’s a journal after all!

1. Plan your meals and weekly goals. (For example, take time to meditate or pray before work, drink a bottle of water during each meeting/class, go for a 30-minute walk after work, resist the baked goods.)

2. Write down your daily habits and the small goals that will become the stepping stones to reaching your weekly goals.

3. Begin and end each day reflecting on your progress.

4. End each week reflecting on your weekly progress. Of course, with these weekly reflections, repeat from Step One for another week.

How will this help me?

A journal will allow you to keep track of your moods, daily habits, nutritional intake and physical activity. Use it to learn which small habits will put you on a positive health journey. Use it to plan, use it to reflect, USE IT!

Use it to get into the habit of gratitude, use it to hold yourself accountable, USE IT!

While this may seem like added work, if you are serious about identifying healthy and unhealthy habits, tracking progress and building a life you are proud of, consider starting a journal. You may not always need to journal but I’m a firm believer in the following: “A goal without a plan is just a dream”.

In order to reach goals it’s important to plan — write it down, make yourself accountable to something other than your thoughts. Bonus: you will always have something to look back on, to use as fuel for the coming week and learn from your past.

Take it with you everywhere. Remain honest with your efforts, remain accountable to yourself and always, always remember that this lifestyle is yours — your health, your wellness, your peace. Be unapologetic about taking care of yourself first!

• Dre Hinds is a retired track and field athlete who is now a personal trainer, aerobic and yoga instructor and fitness “addict” with more than 20 years’ experience. She specialises in nutrition, weight and sprint training, operating out of HindsSight Fitness and Wellness at the Berkeley Cultural Centre. Contact her on: absbydre@gmail.com or 599-0412. Find her on both Facebook and Instagram under @Absbydre