
Happy Journaling: Journaling That Puts You in a Good 
Mood


Journaling allows you to express yourself openly and honestly, in a way that becomes a 
therapeutic tool. It can help you find clarity, brainstorm ideas, release negative thoughts, 
find toxic patterns in your life, and become your best friend and confidant. 

But it doesn’t always have to be so serious and life-changing. Journaling can also be a 
lot of fun! It can be what you turn to just to feel a little joy, answer silly writing prompts, 
and be creative with your writing.

It is also an amazing tool for boosting your mood and making you feel happier. Here are 
some different ways you can use journaling to actually make you a happier person. 


Journal About What Makes You Happy

Naturally, if you want to journal to feel happier, you should write about what makes you 
happy. Many people use journaling to release negative thoughts as a way to work 
through challenges and obstacles, but that is only one way to benefit from using one.

Why not focus more on positivity and thoughts that make you feel more joyful? 

This can be anything from something good that happened to you that day or what you 
are looking forward to, to memories of the past or setting positive intentions. Get into a 
positive mindset by thinking about the joys and blessings in your life, and let that boost 
your mood enough to where you can write about happy things in your journal.


Start a Daily Gratitude List

Gratitude is an amazing way to feel happier and boost your mood instantly. It doesn’t 
matter what is going on in your life, you will also be able to find things to be grateful for. 

This can be as simple as your neighbor saying hi to you in the morning when you walk 
your dog, to as transformative as getting your dream job. Most days, it will be everything 
in between. 

Your daily joys, the things you are blessed with in your life, the people you appreciate, 
support you receive, gifts you get without asking for them, daily comforts in your home, 
appreciating your job and security. 



Write About Your Happy Memories

Not sure what to write about, or struggling with current happy thoughts to write about? 
Go back in time and remember some of your best memories of the past. 

This not only boosts your mood by helping you remember all of the amazing, happy 
things that have happened in your life, but it puts you into a more grateful and positive 
mindset, which can then make you feel happier about your current life.

Here are some simple prompts that can help get you into a place of retrospection and 
remember the moments in your life that made you the happiest:

What is the best thing that ever happened to you?
What activities or hobbies did you love as a kid?
What was the happiest age for you?
What is a fun vacation you went on with your family?
Who were your best friends as a kid?
What games did you love playing as a kid?
When you think of your happy memories, what comes to mind first?
When did you feel the most loved?
What did you used to get so excited for?


Set Intentions and Goals

Happy journaling can also include setting intentions and writing about your goals! This is 
likely something that makes you feel excited as you brainstorm and reflect on what you 
want in your life that would make you happy, and what steps you need to take to get 
there. 

What are your current ambitions in life?
What are you trying to achieve?
What are some short-term goals you have? 
What are some long-term goals you have?
What goals have you achieved that you are proud of yourself for?
What is getting in your way of achieving your goals?









Release Negative Thoughts

While a happy journal does focus mostly on positive thoughts and a happy mindset, it is 
still okay to use as a brain dump for negative thoughts you currently have.

This helps boost your mood because negative thought patterns tend to spiral, and it 
makes you focus even more on them. You need to make room for positivity to enter 
your mind, which is why sometimes a brain dump is the best thing you can do. 

It is important to not focus on them once you write them down, but instead use your 
journal as a tool to release these negative thoughts so you can move on and focus 
more on the things in your life that truly make you happy.

It is also good to remember nobody is happy 100% of the time. This isn’t about only 
talking about positive things in your journal, as if that is what your life is like. It’s okay to 
be mindful and accept that sometimes you don’t feel your happiest, and that is 
completely normal. 

Let yourself release these thoughts so you can look for more joy in your life, even in the 
smallest of things.


Make Journaling a Happy Morning Ritual

If you wan tot wake up happier and in a better mood, your journal is a wonderful tool to 
add to your morning routine. You can even make a little ritual out of it, by adding some 
aromatherapy candles, soothing music, and gentle ambiance in your journaling space. 


How to Make Journaling a Part of Your Morning Ritual

Choose a Designated Space for Journaling – It helps to have one area of your home 
where you do most of your journaling, if it is going to be part of your morning routine. 

This doesn’t have to be a desk or home office, either so don’t worry! It can be sitting on 
your bed in the morning before you get up, or journaling on the couch or dining room 
table. Just try to pick a space that you will use every morning as part of this morning 
ritual.

Stay Unplugged Until After Your Morning Routine – Your phone not only creates a 
lot of distractions, but it can also negatively affect your mindset. Especially if you are 
trying to do a brain dump or focus on happy journaling, you want to keep all potential 
triggers and distractions turned off until you are done journaling.


Decide How Long to Write For – Consider how much time you have in the morning for 
journaling, so that you can realistically fit it into your morning routine. You can 
accomplish a lot just by journaling for 5 minutes. Either set a timer, or choose a number 
of pages in your journal you want to fill up during this ritual.

Start With a Brain Dump – Unless you do really well with prompts every morning or 
have a specific topic in mind, doing a brain dump is a great way to start with journaling. 
It is simply a stream of consciousness page where you write whatever is on your mind 
in order to release it and free your mind from these thoughts.

Use Prompts – While you can absolutely write about anything on your mind, you might 
also want to use some prompts depending on the types of journaling you are doing. 
Many prompts work great for daily journaling, while others focus on more specific 
benefits you want to achieve, such as boosting your mood or setting goals.


Use Journal Prompts

Lastly, don’t forget about journal prompts! These are writing prompts that give you a 
topic to focus on in your journal. They are helpful for many reasons, including helping if 
you have writer’s block, giving you something to focus on when it comes to positive 
thoughts, allows you to answer questions you might have not considered, and helps you 
have some more fun in your journal. 

Here are some examples of writing prompts that are perfect for a happy journal:

What is the last thing that made you feel immense joy?
What was the last time you laughed hysterically, and what caused it?
If you could meet anyone, who would it be?
If you were an insect, what kind would you be?
When you are in a good mood, what usually causes it?
Describe your dream life in detail.







