Rewire Your Brain for Your Best Life: Holistic Journaling Prompts

“Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to be grateful for.”- Zig Ziglar

The brain is a plastic organ, meaning that it can adapt and change over time, depending on what you nourish it with. If you nourish your body with unhealthy foods you know that the outcome is poor health...the same is true for the content that you feed your brain. If you feed your brain a constant stream of negativity, it is analogous to living on fast food. The plasticity of the brain makes it much like a muscle that can be trained for improved fitness and performance. By actively training your brain to consume and produce more positivity you can live a fuller happier life.

Gratitude is the kale of human emotion...and practicing gratitude is like a whole-body strength and mobility routine for your brain to help you cultivate happiness. At Rugged Running, we look at the whole human and provide a holistic approach to training. We prescribe strength, daily cardio, provide nutrition support, help with mindset, balance and beyond. The intention of this post is to further that holistic approach to include specific exercises in gratitude practice that you can add to your training routine.

You can use these journaling prompts as a way to challenge yourself to lead your best life by exercising your brain to be thankful for the goodness and abundance you already have in your life and within you!

1. What have you accomplished that you didn’t dream possible?

2. Write about a specific occasion that your body did something that you were proud of? (Giving birth to a child, finishing an ultramarathon, overcoming an injury)...

3. Write about a time that you got out of your comfort zone and achieved something amazing?

4. Write a thank you note to yourself for everything that you have done to care for yourself.

5. Write a thank you note to someone that helped support you in your dreams.

6. Write about a time you failed at something and how you are grateful for what it taught you.

7. Write about something that made you feel confident.

8. Write about how you feel when you have a great workout and the gratitude for specifically what your body did.

9. Write about how you feel after eating a healthy meal and how eating well is an act of self-love.

10. Write about how you feel fortunate to have a body strong enough to exercise with.

11. Write about feeling grateful to have the financial means to eat enough food and to eat healthy nourishing food.

12. Write about 3 stressors in your life. Write about what you can do to balance and change them for the better.

13. Write about how you feel after a good night’s rest and or rest day, soak up the feeling of rejuvenation.

14. Write about 3 things that you have not liked about yourself or your body, now list positive counter thoughts and gratitude for them.

15. Write about a time that you helped someone in need and how that made you feel.

16. Write 3 ways that you can serve others and help make the world a better place.

17. Write about the most beautiful run/hike that you have ever done, and relive that moment. Note the feelings of joy and gratitude for that experience.

18. Look around you and note three things that catch your attention and why you are grateful for them.

19. Write about 3 things that make you laugh...and how humor and living lighter makes you feel.

20. Write a list of 10 things you love about yourself.

21. Write a letter to one of your role models thanking them for the positive influence in your life.

22. Write about 3 things that you are looking forward to.

23. Write about a difficult situation in your life and how you can be grateful for the person that difficult situation is molding you into.

24. Write about how you can take a painful moment in life and transform the pain to help someone else.

25. Write about how you can take pressure/stress and transform it to power.

26. Play a song that makes you feel good and write about the positive emotions it brings.

27. Pick a friend or family member and write a note to them telling them how special they are to you.

28. Go into nature and write about 3 things you see, hear, smell and how those things feel and how the gift of presence makes you feel.

29. Write about your biggest, most exciting dreams and how you can make them come true instead of thinking self-limiting thoughts about how they are not possible.

30. Imagine yourself telling your grandchild about your best life story...what that story is and how you want it to be.