Start Where You Are: A Journal for Self-Exploration

Love love love this journal. It is super affordable in my opinion. I love that it’s a guided journal so it asks a question or prompts you to do something - sometimes it’s more of a get out what’s in your head or heavy on your heart (which I found very helpful) or something that makes you think positively. The pages are in color and have cute graphics/images along with positive inspirational quotes on one side and a question or prompted activity with enough space to complete it. Most pages are quick to complete and for me can change my mind set in a positive direction by just pulling out the journal and completing a page when I am stuck in a rut. Highly highly recommend this journal!

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I thought it might be a bit trite or cheesy, but these prompts have surprising depth. The book eases you into asking tough questions, interspersing narrative-based reflection with mindfulness exercises and goal-oriented analysis. I highly recommend it. The watercolor drawings are really quite nice and many of the questions are derived from the content of the quotations. Some of the quotations are old standbys, others are fresher. This might be helpful - for books like these, I like to copy down the prompts in a separate sketchbook so I can write more and draw larger responses to the prompts. In addition, I can lend out the book to others this way. I bought this book after "How to Be Happy (Or at Least Less Sad)". The two books complement each other well with very little redundancy between the two. Many of their themes are similar. I bought these books in a state of troubled mental health and I think they were very helpful for encouraging mindfulness and supplementing CBT. My only criticism is that I hope the author will publish a large print version of this book. There are people I know who would benefit from this book, but have visual or cognitive issues that mean they need larger print. The small text of this book is fine for my young eyes, but I think it's important to be accessible.

I ordered 2 of these journals for both of my nieces, ages 17 and 14. When I was growing up, I loved journals like this one. I think it's important that teenagers explore their hopes and dreams and innermost thoughts, and it's even better if they put it on paper. Now that I'm 30, I have so many journals like this one to look back on. I cringe at some of the comments I wrote in those things, but I also smile and become teary-eyed at others. It's fascinating to look back at some of my dreams and to realize I've accomplished them and to marvel at the unique path my life has taken. I wanted to give both of my nieces a similar experience. I didn't want to buy them something that they'll use for a year or so and toss out when something new and more exciting comes along. I thought that this would make a perfect gift because it's something that hopefully they keep for years and can reflect back on as adults. I've included a note in each journal that says something to that extent and lets them know how proud I am of both of them and that I love them. Now on to the book itself - first off, the artwork is gorgeous. Some of the drawings (they're more like paintings) are absolutely frame-worthy. They appeal to both adult women and teens because they're somewhat whimsical while still giving off a modern feel. The colors are so vivid and bright, they almost jump out at you. The quotes are all very thought-provoking. And the prompt questions really got me thinking myself... so often in life, we forget to explore ourselves, to ask ourselves important questions. We get caught in the rat race, in our everyday hectic schedules and we lose ourselves. Even though I bought this journal for my teenage nieces, it's certainly something that I'd consider purchasing for myself as well. It really does appeal to women of all ages. It would also make a great meditation companion. As a writer, I find writing to be very meditative. It really assists me in my daily breathing exercises and meditation sessions. It helps me to clear my head, to focus on nothing but myself for a few minutes. I usually use a blank notebook, but this journal would be even more helpful. Buy this for all the women in your life who need a little bit of inspiration or encouragement, and then treat yourself to one as well!

There are so many styles of journals on the market one gets very overwhelmed trying to pick out a good one. Honestly, I chose this one because I loved the cover, I liked what I saw of the inside pages, and the reviews swayed my decision. The journal prompts you with out making you work too hard. It keeps it light and fun, but also gives you some insight into yourself. obviously you should use this journal the way you see fit and feel comfortable. Whether you want to draw instead of right, write poems, stories, even cut things out of magazines and glue it onto the Pages collage style, I really enjoyed the exercises provided inside of the journal, and I am actually feeling this journal out and I’m going to save it to give to my daughter when she is older . I plan on getting another one for the year 2019. I’m going to basically fill it out as suggested inside of the journal and at the end of the year I am going to go back over everything and use it as a jump off on how to change my life, make changes, what to keep, etc. There are so many ways you can use this journal and it has so many purposes in your life. I like that it offered me a little bit of guidance so I did not just look at blank pages and feel overwhelmed as to where to begin. Blank pages kind of scare me, I start writing way too much, lose track of my original thoughts, then I get all jumbled up and frustrated, put it in a drawer and that’s that LOL Basically long story short, this would be a great Christmas/start of a new year a gift for anybody in your life that is going through some personal changes, wants to make some changes in their life, or it will just help people get everything out of their heads, heart, soul, I want to paper, give them a place to sort everything out, etc. like I said so many good healthy benefits to a journal like this.

The colours are very calming but the binding is not good.

It's preety amazing of how the journal fulfills its purpose of self exploration and self help. It contains many vibrant quotes and pages to fill in your thoughts with, and I'm happy about it. Ive expected it to be a bit bigger in size but book is of 19×14 cm(size of a palm). So if you want a bigger one then this might not be it.

No where does it encourage the acceptance of your whole self without judgement or demands. In my opinion it's promoting toxic positivity with it's "just think good thoughts" outlook. Not what I was looking for and will be returning.

Este es mi primer diario en mis 31 años, no soy de escribir mucho, pero esto realmente motiva, ejercicios cortos para gente muy ocupada con muchas cosas en la cabeza, actividades que nunca se te ocurriria pensar o escribir, de alguna manera me ver las cosas con otra perspectiva... En un inicio este libro era para mi sobrina que es adolesente de 17, pero en cuanto lo vi en persona me consegui el mio, a mi sobrina no le llamo tanto la atencion, asi que termino usandolo mi cuñada casi 38 años la cual quedo igual de facinada, tanto que se compro otro libro de la misma autora

In our busy and chaotic life, we tend to forget to think about ourselves, explore ourselves, ask ourselves some important questions and eventually lose ourselves. Journaling is good idea and I started several times and stopped writing. The main challenge is what should go over there. So I liked idea of this beautiful journal that have writing prompts. Unlike some journals, it is not overwhelming and boring, but rather inspiring and thought provoking. It makes you think and find out about yourself; explore yourself. It brings out your innermost thoughts which you would never had thought of otherwise. When you start writing it, you realise what you have accomplished in life, appreciate the great things in your life, realise your dreams and aspirations, know what do you love, know what motivates you and many more things that will make you wonder “Why I did not think about these things earlier?” Though I would have loved if journal was be in Hardcover because I would keep it forever, the journal is indeed beautiful from cover to cover. The artwork is gorgeous with so many paintings in vivid and beautiful colors. And, there are many inspiring and thought-provoking quotes throughout the journal. Some pages and quotes are so beautiful that it is worthy framing. I genuinely think that this will be not only be a great gift (And, possibly life changing) for yourself, but I would certainly consider buying it for family and friends as well. Overall, an inspiring, motivating, eye-opening and thought provoking beautiful journal which may potentially change your life. Good luck with your journey of self-exploration!