TEMPLE, Texas — "Journaling has helped me solve my biggest problems," is what Lisa Tener has to say about putting pen to paper.
Tener is an author, book coach and self-proclaimed creativity catalyst. In her new book, "The Joy of Writing Journal: Spark Your Creativity in 8 Minutes a Day," she takes her love of journaling and shares it with the world.
"It was journaling that helped me discover each next step and create this career which is so fulfilling for me, but I don't think I could have come to it without journaling," Tener said.
"The Joy of Writing Journal" offers dozens of prompts like "What sparks joy," but what makes the book truly unique is it's filled with QR codes which take writers to videos where others share their feelings on a prompt.
Tener said it can help get your creative juices flowing and it's a lot of fun.
"If you're gonna make it one more ‘should’ on your list, don't even bother doing it. You want to come to it with, ‘I'm going to have fun here, this is going to be enjoyable and I'm going to explore’. There's no judgement, nobody's going to read this I can do whatever I want, I can play. And when you have that attitude, you're going to have fun and magical things will happen,” Tener explained.
But you don't need a book to start journaling.
Tener said you can start right now, by listing things you're grateful for or writing about your day and any challenges you faced.
"One of the keys is focusing on the positive. So, if you do focus on a problem that's fine. But don't just focus on a problem, balance it out with other things that are positive. The more fun you have with it, the more you'll get out of it."
According to Tener, by taking just a few minute a day to journal, you can totally change your life.
"I think the more creative we are, the more we're at peace because we're naturally meant to be creative and when our creativity is not being expressed I think that's when we feel less of a sense of peace."
"The Joy of Writing Journal: Spark Your Creativity in 8 Minutes a Day" will be out later this year. You can follow Tener on Instagram and on her website to find out when it’s available.