30 DAY JOURNAL TO ACCEPTANCE

Writing goals is an important part of manifesting your vision. Often having something written down can be the first step towards change. It also forces you to dedicate energy to a particular idea or thought to find a way to overcome it.

Benefits of Journaling

• Identify and prioritize problems, concerns, and fears to ultimately find a way to tackle the issue head-on.
• It helps track daily symptoms and mood, so you can recognize what provokes negative thoughts to eventually avoid those triggers
• Writing about stressful or traumatic events can help decrease distress and depression. It can often be the first step towards positive change.
• Inhibition of emotion is considered a chronic stressor that can lead to declines in emotional and physical health.
• Expressing emotions allows for more control over the situation.
• Anger, sadness, and other painful emotions can be intense. Writing helps release the intensity of these feelings.
• Writing removes mental blocks and allows you to use all your brainpower to better understand yourself, others, and the world around you.
• Improves communication skills, memory, and quality of sleep.

How to get started

• Dedicate 20 minutes each day to reflect on your thoughts and journal.
• Allow yourself to write freely, do not worry about penmanship, grammar, or punctuation.
• Maintain a private space to write without a censor.
• There are no rules. This is your space to write and process.

Authors: Soneet Dhillon, Chidubem Okeke, Marta Taye, Haley Fulton, Minal Reddy, Pavane Gorrepati, Erica Mark, Paige McKenzie, Sarah Pourali, Karina Grullon Perez, Sara Ragi, Jessika Sanz, and Akber Sheikh.

Acknowledgements: The 2021 – 2022 Journey to Acceptance Medical Student Working Group would like to thank Jean Pickford, the Executive Director at SAF, who organized this medical student working group and provided guidance. We would also like to thank Kris Wharton and Andrea Furgala for their executive review, feedback, and oversight in this project.

Funding: None to disclose. All work was completed voluntarily by the Journey to Acceptance Medical Student Working Group Cohort 2021 – 2022.

Tip

• If you feel uninspired, change your surroundings. Try going to a park or cafe.
• Schedule journaling into your day to maintain consistency.
• Do not feel like you must use pen and paper. There are many secure electronic options such as the notes application on an iPhone, word document on the computer, or emails to yourself which can all be password protected.
• Start small with realistic expectations.

Habit Changing

Your life essentially results from your habits. In other words, the mundane repetitive behaviors you do, day in and day out lead to the person you become. This is true for thoughts as well. How many times have you heard; your thoughts create your reality? It is true, your thoughts do create your reality!

If only it were easy, a one-size-fits-all formula, to change habits, then everyone could do it. However, people are different, habits are different, and for every unique habit, there needs to be a unique solution. However, researchers have identified in the Power of Habit (2012) that habits are identified as loops that are broken down into cues, routines, and rewards.

The cue is a trigger that prompts a certain action to take place. The routine is essentially the habit itself, the action or behavior that you want to change. The last step is the reward, which reinforces the habit. Sometimes identifying cues, routines, and rewards can be difficult. Especially for habits that are largely internal, such as negative thoughts. Recognizing negative thinking can be easier with tools that help identify intrusive thoughts. Characteristics of negative thoughts include:

• Automatic intrusive thoughts: that just pop into your head, and you do not choose to have them.
• Assumptive: Assuming others might be thinking negatively of you by thinking things like, ‘Everyone thought I was wrong,’ ‘Everyone thinks I am not good enough’
• Self-put downs: Viewing oneself negatively with thoughts such as ‘I can’t do this,’ ‘I deserve bad things to happen to me,’ ‘I am weak,’ ‘I am not good enough. ’

So, let us get started!

Motivation plays an important role in driving change. Those days that you feel like you want to give in are the days you need to remind yourself of your why. So, let us take a moment and identify our why:

Great, now that you have identified your why, remember you can do it. The days you feel tempted or feel yourself losing motivation, come back to this. Read your why, gather your strength and break down this habit.

Try to keep track If you have completed your goal, simply check off that box, and at the end we can see how long your streak is going! If you are doing this electronically (using a word doc, notes app on the phone, etc.) try adding “completed” in all caps to the end or another word that you can reference back to!

Now that you are ready to go, let us get started on the next 30 days!

DAY 1-

Write a letter to your body, talk about things you love about yourself, acknowledge the complaints and apologies you have with yourself.

DAY 2-

Describe a time when you were at your worst emotionally but got through it. Talk about what you did, what were your coping mechanisms. What happened at that time, talk about your emotions and how they changed.

DAY 3-

Reflect on a time when you were going through a difficult situation and ponder on things you did during the time which helped you and actions that were not productive. How might you have switched those actions to help you cope with the situation?

DAY 4-

We all experience situations of general anxiety, list out and reflect on different steps you take when you feel anxious and to calm yourself down.

DAY 5-

Self-care is very important! Please list out some things and actions that you follow on a regular basis to reduce your stress and care for yourself!

DAY 6-

Support systems are vital in our lives! Please list out members of your support system and reflect on difficult situations they have supported you in!

DAY 7-

How have you shown resilience before? When was a time that you 'powered through' even when you did not want to? How do you channel little bits of resilience in your daily life?
(p.s. one week down!!)

DAY 8-

What kind of energy do you have today? A lot of our mood and disposition is based off how we choose to respond. How will you choose to spend your energy today and cultivate a better version of yourself?

DAY 9-

Sometimes it becomes so easy to focus on the bad, that we forget about the good. So, it is important to remind ourselves about all the amazing things we love about ourselves. Take this moment to list three things you appreciate about yourself and the work that you put into maintaining or improving these.

DAY 10-

What is one thing you would tell your teenage self if you could? Why this? How has learning this at a later age been beneficial? What could you have changed?

DAY 11-

Picture yourself 10 years from now, what do you want to have achieved and experienced? What stands out to you about your future self? Reflect as to why is this important to you, and what you can do to reach your goals.

DAY 12-

What is something that you wish others knew? Why do you think others do not know this? Reflect on your behavior and habits, what steps can you take to share that with others?

DAY 13-

How would your closest friends describe you? What do they love most about you? What do you love most about yourself?

DAY 14-

Write a phrase of encouragement that you would want to refer back to when you face a challenging time or situation.

DAY 15-

Describe the moments of frustration you felt today. How would your day have changed if those moments were different?

Halfway there!! Congratulations for making it this far! Now we have a small task for the next day. Read the following techniques and see if there is anything you can incorporate into your life going forward. For the remaining days there will be an additional checkbox that you can check off next the day title.

Wellness techniques to incorporate into one’s life to maintain a healthy mind, body, and spirit:

Morning:

• start your day with water to rehydrate and energize your body.
• proceed with some form of exercise, a small win can set the pace for the day and help keep you stay focused.
• listen to your favorite podcast to start your day on a positive note.
• eat a healthy meal, to feed and power your mind and body well.

Afternoon:

• take a moment for mindfulness to refocus your lens, possibly with meditation/yoga.
• go for a short walk, not only to stay active but to get a breath of fresh air.
• eat a balanced meal to refuel your body with necessary nutrients to maintain a sense of wellbeing.
• tell someone meaningfully that you appreciate them, an act of kindness can go a long way.

Evening:

• distance yourself from the phone to prevent blue light from interfering with a good night’s rest.
• create a to-do list/agenda for the next day to have a better sense of control over your day.
• focus on your breathing and open a book to unwind from the day.

DAY 16-

What is something that makes you unique? Why did you pick this trait in particular and what does it mean to you?

DAY 17-

Describe a moment in which a significant person in your life made you feel loved. How did you feel at that moment? What did the significant person do or say at that moment? How can you do the same for yourself today?

DAY 18-

Where do you want to be this time next year? What would you like to be doing this time next year? What are 3 personal goals you would like to have accomplished by this time next year?

DAY 19-

What advice would you give to someone else who is struggling with similar obstacles? Is this advice that you follow yourself? Why or why not?

DAY 20-

What things did you do today that made you happy? What did you do today that made you feel a sense of adventure? Try to reflect on the routine things that make you happy, which we can often forget to appreciate (ex: a warm shower, a freshly made bed). Hair loss can be anxiety-provoking. The simple act of gratitude can help keep some of that anxiety at bay.

DAY 21-

What are some ways that you have shown yourself compassion recently? Try and reflect on some hard times where you were able to treat yourself kindly as you would a close friend or family member. What are some ways you can be more compassionate toward yourself on hard days?

DAY 22-

Describe a moment where you have stepped outside of your comfort zone. What about the situation was challenging and/or rewarding? Is there anything you would do differently?

DAY 23-

What are you most afraid of? How do you think your fears have evolved throughout your life? What does the phrase “facing your fears” mean to you and how can you put it into action?

DAY 24-

What are ways that you can address your fears? Is there anything that may help to assuage your fears that are within your control?

DAY 25-

What are sources of anger? With many things that are completely out of our control, anger is a normal reaction. Are there times where your anger has been triggered? Reflect on these triggers and possible ways to cope with feelings of anger.

DAY 26-

When was the last time you surprised yourself with something you did? It could be as big as learning a new language or as simple as saying no. Write out “I surprised myself” and let the words flow. If you have not surprised yourself lately, try something different today. Give yourself a pat on the back because doing great!

DAY 27-

Do you get enough rest weekly? Do you feel like you use rest as a reward? If so, think about why and set some time to relax today regardless of what you accomplish. Sometimes we forget to take time for ourselves and only think we deserve a break when we have hit our max. Remember, you do not have to earn rest.

DAY 28-

We do not wait until our car’s gas tank is empty to refill. Same goes for us. Where would you place yourself on a meter today and why? If you are on low remember it is okay to reset. What things support you when you are feeling low?

DAY 29-

Music can affect our overall mood. Studies show that good tunes can reduce anxiety and boost our happiness. Share a line from your favorite song and let us know how it makes you feel. Think about the line throughout the day and see where the day takes you.

DAY 30-

You are at the end!! Congratulations!!

Tally up the score! How many days were you consistent with your habit? _________

How many days were you consistent with your newly incorporated wellness technique?

Were you as consistent as you had hoped? If so, how has this change impacted your life and what steps can you take to continue this going forward? If you were not as consistent as you had hoped? Try to take this moment to identify a few things you can change going forward that might have impacted on your success and the steps you can take to overcome those challenges going forward.

Closing Statement

You have done it! You have reached the end of this journal. You have shared your struggles and voiced your concerns. Expressing our emotions is always a bit difficult, but finally letting them out can be cathartic for not only you but those around you. We hope that as you move forward, you continue to find ways in which to challenge yourself and work through the things that life deals out to you. Through work like this, you become a better version of yourself, and we know that now you have taken that first step, your light is shining that much brighter. We are proud of you and hope your heart feels lighter.

Reflection Statement

Use this space below to reflect on this process and evaluate if you are one step closer to where you see yourself. How has this last month impacted your well-being and goals? If you have completed this journal in the past, take a moment to reflect on how things were different this time around? What things were the same? What can you change and what do you hope to achieve the next time you complete this journal?

One Liner Take Away: