I’ve always loved the idea of journaling, but never really committed to it. The idea of pouring out your heart’s content, your thoughts, sitting there and trying to understand yourself…that is very appealing to me. I’ve tried to do it, by writing a series of prompts that I hope to answer but have only made it through the first 2, to my disappointment. The closest I’m doing right now is writing a line of things I am appreciative of every day, and I even struggle with that.
For this book review, I’m committing to trying it out for 3 weeks before I form a solid judgement.*
*UPDATE: I did NOT last 3 weeks.
Appreciation and Meaning Journal
by Andrew Eltes
get it here
BOOK SUMMARY
Is there something missing in your life? Are you seeking to live a more appreciative and meaningful life? In Appreciation and Meaning Journal, author Andrew Eltes guides you to feeling gratitude while focusing on what matters most every single day.
Through a series of ten empowering questions, this journal is designed to help you:
• deliberately feel positive;
• focus on and feel gratitude for what is going well in your life;
• concentrate on how you can better yourself while growing
and giving to others;
• be centered and prioritize what matters most each day
while feeling the core reasons for these actions; and
• connect to the essence and enjoy the feeling of
accomplishing a goal before it is physically completed.
The Appreciation and Meaning Journal helps you ask yourself empowering questions, feel the benefit of empowering and meaningful answers, and have the best start to the day possible while also being centered and focused on what matters most that day. It should be a day that feels and looks how you want it to.
BOOK REVIEW
3 STARS
*An e-copy was provided by the author in return for an honest review.
This wasn’t what I expected at all. I had a few assumptions before reading this book. First, I thought it was a book filled with daily journaling prompts (which I was looking for and was very thrilled to receive), but after looking at the reviews, I thought it was a book about how journaling can benefit us and how to effectively journal.
It was a mix of both.
This book was separated into two parts. The first was an introduction to journaling, explaining how the way we see ourselves is a lens to how we see the world. It emphasized on the focus on the present moment. The latter part was a journal which had about 10 daily journaling prompts, alongside with a new motivational quote every day.
There’s something about the way it was written, possibly the choice of words and the lack of punctuation, that makes it slightly difficult to read. I had to reread the paragraphs a few times just because the sentences were too long, or because the choice of words that stops me from understanding it quickly. It was written in a formal tone, almost like reading a research journal because of how the writer refers to the reader as “one” and “oneself”.
A big part of this Appreciation and Meaning Journal is on acceptance, being grateful, and how to change a negative situation. I appreciate that the writer provided detailed examples of how to make the most out of this guide. The examples were given in full sentences, which adds on to the feeling of an affirmation. The author emphasises on writing in our journals in a positive manner.
For this book review, I wanted to try it out. I wrote the questions down and answered it every day for as long as I could. I started off really motivated for the first three days and journaled as early as I could. Then, the next few days I journaled whenever I want to, making sure that it’s not night-time yet. The last four days were difficult, I dreaded it and only did it just to commit for this review.
Then the 10th day came, I remembered, dreaded it, procrastinated, remembered again, procrastinated and then I forgot. I barely lasted 10 days. It’s now Day 11, and I’m trying to continue, this time I’ll try to get it done in the morning but we will see. (Update: I did not get it done in the mornings.)
On day 15, I dreaded writing in it. I was wondering if I should cut it down to 14 days instead, two weeks, but I still tried to journal. It didn’t take too much of my time. One more week to go.
On day 16, it completely fell through. 5 days short of week 3 and I don’t want to do it anymore. Here is why:
- I find it hard to appreciate something new every day.
With the pandemic, my days are almost a routine. I wake up around the same time every day, spend a few hours working, spend some time scrolling through social media, read, watch videos, write, attend classes. To write something new every day means I need to create opportunities to make it somewhat different. I am appreciative of what I have and the people and things around me, but sometimes I don’t want to force it and write something that isn’t true. - I dread it.
It’s not a difficult task. It takes at most 10 minutes to think, write in full sentences, and try to come up with at least 3 answers for most of it (my own added challenge which I failed in). For this journal, I pasted the prompts on a page on Notion and saved it on my bookmarks bar so I can access it easily. I remember I have to do it multiple times a day, but I ignore it, and then 2AM rolls around and I am reflecting on my day. - It wasn’t what I expected.
This is a me problem (not like the other 2 weren’t but you get what I mean). I went into this expecting a book filled with different prompts every day, or maybe just a different daily prompt on every page. It wasn’t any fault of the author, but that’s a book that I’ve been looking for and I was wondering if this could be it. I was looking forward to the journaling part more than the appreciation part. The latter was the point of this journaling book.
Either way, I believe this book helped many people, especially when checking the reviews on Goodreads. Although it wasn’t what I expected, it definitely taught me a few things about myself, and it helped me improve on the way I journal. I’m definitely looking forward to journaling more.
SKAVANSIEUR 