One of the important parts of the FasterEFT system is using a Happy Journal. It can be easy to underestimate the importance and power of this journal; so, here’s why you need to prioritize it in your life. The purpose of the Happy Journal is to help you to get into the habit of feeling good more often. Since we tend to remember bad events and situations more easily, and feel bad emotions more powerfully (to find out why this is, read: Why are We Better at Remembering Bad Memories?) it is important to make a conscious effort to remember the good stuff.
For many people, the bad stuff may be so intense that it seems that there is no good stuff at all. However, it is there, it’s just not prominent. As soon as you start to use the Happy Journal, you will surprise yourself with the amount of good you really do have in you!
What is a Happy Journal?
A Happy Journal consists of five different parts:
- Positive Emotional States
These are good memories and happy thoughts, including the memories you’veflipped. In other words, when you flip a memory from a bad experience to a good one, write the new good memory into your Happy Journal. This is what helps to make it more real, more secure. Remember, the new memory is now the new record your subconscious is referring to — which is what will result in different experiences in your life. Writing that new flipped memory into your Happy Journal with your other happy memories makes it all the more real — and therefore, all the more effective!
2. Positive Affirmations
These can be phrases, photos, pictures and anything else that symbolizes what you want your life to be like.
3. Gratitude List
A list of everything in your life you appreciate. Gratitude is a very powerful state; and the more you find to appreciate and be grateful for, the better your emotional, mental and physical state — and the more you will have to be grateful for.
4. Goals and Dreams
Write in your Happy Journal, your goals and dreams for each area of your life. Make a note of what you would like to achieve in your health, relationships, career or business, finances, spiritually, and any other aspect of your life that is important to you.
5. G.E.M.S
These are little “jewels” — things you hear, read, or think of that resonate with you. Things you want to remember because they’re useful, insightful, inspiring, or profound.
How to Create a Happy Journal
Choosing the Journal
Choose a journal that is special. Although you could use an ordinary notebook, it is best to use something that your mind recognizes as special. You are more likely to make the most of this tool if it’s beautiful and makes you feel good just looking at it.
There are plenty of special journals to choose from available; however, if you are really unable to invest in a special journal financially at the moment, use an ordinary notebook — but find a way to make it special! Cover it with nice fabric or photos that mean something to you and make you feel good; decorate it in a way that makes it special.
The more you put into this journal, the more benefit you will gain from it.
Getting Started
Once you have a journal that feels special, it’s time to start filling it in. There are a couple different ways of doing this: You can divide the journal’s pages into five sections, and put a heading at the beginning of each one for the five different parts; or you can get yourself some colored markers in five different colors.
You could then assign each color to one of the parts, and stick them onto the relevant pages. In other words, you would then simply start writing into the book, as you go, starting a new page for each part, and use the colored markers to identify the different parts.
For example, you’ll know that if you’re looking for your G.E.M.S you’ll find them on all the pages with blue markers; if you’re looking for Goals and Dreams, you’ll find those on the pages that have a red marker. This means you can just start writing, without needing to divide the book up, and you’ll still be able to find the different parts.
Start thinking about what makes you feel good, and write these things into your journal as you remember them. It may seem difficult at first; but as you continue, it will become easier and easier. The more you practice thinking of what feels good, the more you’ll be able to access those memories and thoughts.
Try to keep your Happy Journal with you, and as you go about your day, whenever something happens that feels good, or that is fun, or you think of something good, write it into the journal. If you cannot have your journal with you, make a note of these things, and create a ritual for yourself of writing them into your journal when you get home.
Why Bother to Write it into the Journal?
This is not an empty exercise — every time you write something down that feels good, if you pay attention to your body, you’ll notice you start to feel good. This is because your body is reacting to the thought.
As you focus on that good thought or memory, your brain produces endorphins and other “feel good” chemicals. The knock-on effect of this impacts your health, your mood, and everything you do.
How to Use Your Happy Journal
When you’re feeling less than good, use the FasterEFT technique first — then, once you’ve cleared whatever was causing the bad feelings, and you’ve flipped them, go to your Happy Journal. Write into it the new, flipped memories or feelings, and then browse through the journal to remember and enjoy all of the other things that make you feel good.
It is also powerful to browse through your Happy Journal regularly, just for a boost of feel-good. The more you do this, the more you’ll develop the habit of feeling good more of the time.
The combination of clearing the bad stuff using FasterEFT, and reading through your Happy Journal regularly will rewire your brain and condition your body for more happiness. You will start to find yourself feeling happier more of the time, without even trying.
Warning about Your Happy Journal
Although it is important to use your Happy Journal regularly to feel good, it is very important to not use it as an escape or distraction. If you’re feeling bad, make sure you tap that out first, before you go to your Happy Journal. If you go to your Happy Journal to feel good, without tapping out the bad feelings or memories, you will simply be burying those bad memories and feelings; and of course, as Robert G. Smith says: “Memories buried alive never die — they just come back, wearing a different pair of shoes, in a bigger and uglier way!” Make sure you use the FasterEFT technique to clean out the bad stuff first — making way for the good stuff — and then go to your Happy Journal.
In this playlist, Robert G. Smith (founder of FasterEFT) explains the importance of the Happy Journal, and goes into detail on the different parts of the journal:
For more information on FasterEFT and how and why it works, visit: The FasterEFT System.
For more guidance on using the technique, visit: Tips on Using FasterEFT andFAQ.
To see FasterEFT in action, watch the videos in the FasterEFT in Action Playlist.
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