Free · 12 pages · PDF
The Guided Journal
Bring some of your attention back to yourself when your mind keeps going back to them.
Inside
Twelve pages, seven prompts, one week. Here is what each prompt asks.
- 01 · Where it goes
When my mind goes back to this person, where does it usually go?
Make the loop visible first. No analysis yet.
Circle what fits, then write the rest · When it happens most
- 02 · What I am seeking
What am I hoping to get from going back there?
Replaying, checking and imagining all do a job. Name the job.
What going back there does for me · What it never quite gives me
- 03 · The feeling
If I got what I was hoping for, what do I imagine I would finally feel?
Behind the answer you want from them is a feeling you want for yourself.
The feeling, in my words · What that feeling would let me do
- 04 · What needs me now
What in my life is asking for more of my attention now?
Not what you neglected. What is alive, and waiting.
My body · Work · People · Curiosity · Rest · Money · A plan · Something else
- 05 · What wants room
What part of me wants more room now?
Not who you were before. Who is here, asking for space.
the independent part · the ambitious part · the playful part · the curious part · the calm part · the part that wants to explore · In its own words
- 06 · What it asks for
If I gave that part of me a little more room, what would it want from my life?
Let it answer in its own words, not in the relationship’s.
This part of me · What it would want from my life · If I listened to it this month
- 07 · Where I go this week
What is one small place I want my attention to go this week?
Small enough to actually happen.
The one place · This week
About the journal
The Guided Journal is a free printable journal with seven prompts, for when your mind keeps going back to someone. Three questions on the loop, four on the return, and a page for one week later. Twelve pages, five to ten minutes a prompt.
This is not about stopping thinking of them. It is about giving some of your attention back to your own life.
Five to ten minutes a question. Stop when you notice yourself repeating a thought rather than finding something new, and come back when another question feels useful.
Write what you notice, not why everything happened.
How to use it
Print it if you can. A4 and US Letter both work. Pen, not screen, is the point.
One question at a time, five to ten minutes each. Stop when you notice yourself repeating a thought rather than finding something new.
Come back one week later to the last page. That return is where the journal does its work.
What it is not
It is not a diary. You write what you notice, in a few lines, not the whole day.
It is not a test, and it gives no verdict.
It is not a substitute for talking to someone. If what you write weighs on you, say it to a person you trust.