Life is tough and it sometimes feels like there's no sun on the horizon, only fog and stormy clouds. You feel heavy and muted. In moments like these you can always fire up the two most powerful journaling tools: affirmation and gratitude journaling. In this article we will introduce you to this life-changing flavor of journaling, so when life tries to get you down you will simply say "not today, life, not today".

If journaling was a ballistic missile against hardships and poor mental health, the affirmation journaling would be the launch sequence. It can kickstart your day, lift you up, and otherwise prepare you for what's ahead in a uniqly gentle, kind way. 

These are the words that bring smile and lift us up when other people speak them. How often do you tell them to yourself, though? Just this simple act of self-care and loving kindness is sometimes enough to break the gloom and bring some hope and energy into your day. Sure, it might feel foreign and jarring at first, but these affirmations were created to build a powerful self-fulfilling prophecy. It's not enough that others believe in you, you also need to believe in yourself.

Give it a go and fire up the Daily Affirmation program, to see a different uplifting message each day, like:

Circling back to the ballistic missile idea, gratitude journaling would be seeing the beautiful, blazing, powerful explosion on the horizon. Those were your negative thoughts, right there, evaporating in the fire of your fierce gratitude. The feeling is almost cathartic. 

No matter how profound or mundance the reason for feeling grateful is, the act of seeing the good in your life is powerful. It acts as a shining beacon for happiness, joy, gratitude, and satisfaction that pushes away the negative emotions like doubt, fear, and anger. It's understanding that even in a dark day, there is a silver lining. That bad times are just times that are bad and they will eventually pass.

Gratitude journaling is shifting your perception from the negativity that it's so easy to fall back into, and pushes it toward positive mental attitude based on hope and satisfaction.

Give it a go and fire up the Daily Gratitude program, to see a different prompt each day and see how beautiful and worthwhile your life is:

Thanks to the affirmation and gratitude journaling, you are equiped with the most powerful ways to keep negative thoughts at bay and improve your mental health and mindfulness with a couple minutes each day. Even though these two Guided Journaling programs might feel odd at first, they act as a vaccine creating a safety barrier around your mind — not only you are stronger to handle the daily life, you're also able to recover quicker from the hardships and setbacks.

You can find these two programs in your Cubitoo Journal app, just head to the Guided Journaling tab.