Random Journal

The positive journaling practice in the Weekly Log didn’t have a huge impact on distressing thoughts and emotions, but it helped me think of things in life I should be thankful for, which induced very positive emotions for me. Let me be more specific. For the positive journaling practice in the very first Weekly Log, I had to list things that I was thankful for. At that time, I did not know what to be thankful for, so I struggled to list out things. However, as I progressed through this quarter, I became a little more appreciative of the things that I have that some others did not have the luxury of having as I was doing the positive journals. In the final log, I was able list a lot of things I was thankful for, such as my family and friends, and the opportunity to study in UCLA. The only reason why I would say that it didn’t have a huge impact on distressing thoughts and emotions is because compared to meditation, I was doing positive journaling only once a week. However, I believe that doing positive journaling frequently can influence me to perceive my life in a more optimistic manner. If I do exercise where I’m always constantly reminding myself of happy and joyful things in life, my entire outlook on life can be transformed.
The reflective learning sections were very useful because it was an exercise where I had to discuss important things I learned in lectures and readings, and apply it to my life. For example, in log 8, I had to define active listening, and share a situation where I could have used active listening to make the interaction better. If I didn’t do this exercise, I feel like I wouldn’t have bothered to think how to apply skills that I have learned in this course to a real-life situation by myself.