Our memory is an unreliable journal - especially when it comes to our feelings. Our past emotions are often tainted by our current feeling - perhaps more cheery, depressed, serene, or anxious than reality.

You could argue that it doesn’t matter about past emotions because we’re here in the present. And being present is absolutely vital. At the same time, our current state can be improved if we have an accurate emotional account of the past week or even month.

The other day I was feeling particularly down - exhausted and empty. Everything seemed like the worst. Why am I always down? Would I ever feel rested? Would I ever get out of this slump?

Then I thought about the feelings journal that I’ve been keeping. Was I really ALWAYS down? Was there even one day where I wasn’t exhausted? I flipped through the pages that contained one or two noteworthy events per day along with any emotions I felt and/or my overall mood. I scanned each week to assess if my memory was correct.

As it turns out, there were a couple of days sprinkled throughout where I was excited, hopeful, optimistic, or energized. Ah-ha! My memory was wrong. It only seemed like I was always sad and depressed because of how I felt at that moment.

My feelings journal was the proof I needed to counter the voice in my head saying this current feeling would never end. And even when I’m not feeling down, writing in this simple journal is a helpful way to process what I’m feeling on a daily basis (stay present) and begin connecting events and thoughts to emotions.

The best part? It takes less than 3 minutes each day.

My memory may be unreliable, but jotting down my feelings each day gives me an accurate record I can reference again and again. It also helps me articulate the exact emotion I’m feeling - to put a name to it.

For me, the hardest part of this daily practice was thinking of the exact emotion I was feeling that day. Somehow staring at a blank page was daunting.

So to make it a little easier for you, I’ve created a downloadable daily and weekly Feelings Journal that includes 105 emotions (broken down into categories) you can easily reference as you write.

Simple scroll to the bottom of this page, enter your name and email, and I’ll send the Feelings Journal straight to your inbox so you can begin today.

To begin today: Download the Free Feelings Journal (below) then jot down the emotions you feel and any noteworthy events or thoughts. What do you notice?