While I’m sure the majority of us are familiar with the concept of gratitude journaling, I was surprised at just how effective it could be when combined with the mundane everyday tasks that we tend to regard as chores or things to just “get through “.
These obligations become something a bit more sacred when they are given a mindful approach. We no longer “go with the flow” in life, instead we become the ones in control.
The concept of this book is based off of psychologically proven methods that have shown that when you approach things with intention- put energy into the things you wouldn’t normally celebrate- it can improve everyday happiness, help you with future goals, and assist you in fulfilling your overall potential.
The basis of the FLOW system is to take the time each day to script what your ideal day would be.
By making a ritual out of it, it becomes less chore-like and more motivational.
There are 4 things to do daily to achieve this:
•• MORNING GRATITUDE ••
This has been psychologically proven to make a marked difference in the outcome of the rest of your day.
•• FORWARD FOCUS ••
Taking a few minutes to be mindful about your goals for the day. Decide those that you MUST do, and what you’d LIKE to do; and prioritize them as if they were equally important. We generally don’t treat our WANTS as priorities. This is important to our success as well!
•• TOTAL FLOW ••
Learn to use Imagery Scripting in order to plan your day out and keep on track despite distractions.
•• NIGHTTIME REFLECTION ••
A bedtime journal routine to reflect on your day and actively look for lessons to be learned, things to be worked on, opportunities we may have missed, and even accomplishments that should be celebrated.
The author teaches this by breaking each chapter into parts:
First, she relays her own personal story about how her old habits were affecting her life before.
Then, she explains the psychology of each section of FLOW, offering tips and ideas to help you brainstorm how you’d like to work your own personal system.
Ending each chapter is a step-by-step instructional section on how to practice each part.
I wanted to exercise this book personally before giving my review, but my kidney had other plans. I ended up spending most of my time either bedridden or hospitalized. So, I’m bummed that I can’t personally vouch for if it was successful for me.
However, I can say that I think this book is extremely well written, easy to follow, a convenient size, (not a time-consuming read). That can be nice sometimes for us lazy self-help seekers!
In fact, the last 40-ish pages of the book are actually guided journal pages for you to fill out, which is a great way to help kickstart your journey.
Aesthetically, it’s a lovely little book, filled with bright colors, quotes, and pleasing fonts.
Overall I found it to be pretty motivating, and I can’t wait to try it out.
I do have to say that I definitely think it would be better in actual book form if you were going to purchase, as most journals are; in my opinion.
I was provided with a copy of this from the publisher and Netgalley. All opinions are my own.