The Five Minute Journal Questions
by Veronica Joce
We brainstormed hundreds of questions of The Five Minute Journal before finally deciding on the 5 precise questions contained within the journal.
Morning Routine Questions
1. I am grateful for…
One of the greatest gifts of being human is the ability to choose what to focus on. If you are perfectly calm and still on the inside, you can handle anything. For those of us without Zen training, the best way you can begin your day is through gratitude.
Gratitude, derived from the Latin word gratia (meaning grace, graciousness or gratefulness) eludes easy explanation by academics. Definitions such as “the willingness to recognize the unearned increments of value in one’s experience” look great on term papers but don’t get the point across.
Quite simply, gratitude is the experience of counting one’s blessings.
Even after cutting through the smoke of Law of Attraction-style belief systems, gratitude has shown to be quite transformative in humans ranging from housewives to nursing students.
A 2003 study by Emmons and McCullough found that keeping a daily gratitude journal leads to better sleep, reductions of physical pain, a greater sense of well-being, and a better ability to handle change.
No matter where you are and what your situation is, your focus can be shifted to something positive.
2. What would make today great?
Have you ever had the experience of buying a new car and seeing the same model everywhere you go?
There is a small part of your brain at the back called the Reticular Activating System (RAS) that turns on and off your perception of ideas and thoughts and determines the lenses through which you look at the world. When you take an action like buy a new car, you have taken a major step in redefining your possessions and your RAS changes to accommodate your new acquisition. Everywhere you go, your RAS will gently remind you of this change by pointing out others who have the same car as you.
When you write ‘What would make today great?’ you are taking a step to influence your RAS to point out and engage in activities that would make your day better. You are building new pathways in your brain that allow you to ‘see’ what you can do to improve your well-being every day.
You are creating a new program in your mind that naturally learns to improve your happiness. Doing this consistently gives you consistently better days. It is that simple.
One study found that people who simply thought about watching their favorite movie actually increased their endorphin levels (the chemical your brain produces to make you feel happiness and well-being) by 27 percent. The most enjoyable part of an activity is often the anticipation.
3. Daily affirmation. I am…
If you have read this far, chances are you are interested in creating something amazing in your life and you are going to achieve it. You have ideas about the person you want to be and the future you want to build.
Let’s consider a study conducted by Dr. Alia Crum and Dr. Ellen Langer from Harvard University. They performed an experiment to study the effect of brain priming on the staff of seven different hotels. Half of the participants were informed about how much exercise they were getting every day through their work—how many calories they burned, how similar vacuuming is to a workout, etc. The other half were given no such information.
Several weeks later, it was found that the first group who had been primed to think of their work as exercise had actually lost weight. Incredibly, these individuals had not done any more work or exercised any more than the control group (their colleagues who had not been informed about how their work was similar to a workout).5
Hence the operative question—how can you prime your brain to cash in on this?
The Daily Affirmation is a simple statement that defines you as you want to be. Every time you write the daily affirmation, you prime your brain to start building this belief in your mind. With consistency, you will begin to create that change from within.
Night Routine Questions
4. Highlights of the Day
Possibly the best moment in the day is allowing yourself to take inventory of special moments—big and small. Highlights of the Day is your personal collection of the expected and unexpected bounty of good things that you experienced in a day.
When you write down highlights of the day, you count your blessings—in reverse. This has the effect of allowing you to “prime” your brain in reverse and can change not just your relationships with your loved ones, but your relationship with yourself.
Slowly, you will start to improve at this. Through the power of discipline, the list will start getting better and better. Remember to review Highlights of the Day every month to see how you are changing by focusing on the good in life.
5. Acknowledging Lessons of Every Day
Most of our days blend into one another, yet continuous and consistent reflection gives us an opportunity to find out that there is always something different, valuable, and insightful in every day. It also encourages us to think about how we can cultivate more intention, joy and meaning in our life.
Finding lessons from every day may be just one of the secrets to your success and emotional wellbeing, because acknowledging daily life lessons, challenges, and setbacks without letting them define who you are is a great act of courage, self-awareness, and mindfulness.
How it works: Review, evaluate and reflect on every aspect of your day. Take a look at your emotional state, at your work, and your relationships. What went right? What can be improved?
This section is your daily reminder to take full responsibility of your life and shape your own reality. L
Letting go of what holds you back and turning it into valuable lesson sets you on the path for a more fulfilling tomorrow. It helps you navigate through the challenging times, recognise the good in every day, and live with the intention and purpose.