Have you ever kept a diary? Do you journal?
I’ve always been a writer in some form, and you can 100% bet I had a diary growing up. I have book after book of my loopy handwriting recounting my day, expressing how bored I was in a rural town, and, of course, lamenting many broken hearts.
I still journal today. It’s more in a digital form, but even without the swirly handwriting, it’s a way I stay connected to myself. To my heart. To my dreams. It’s part of self-discovery,
If you are a person who journals, you might not even realize that you’re participating in self-discovery. Journaling is a way we reflect and discover. When we make time for regular reflection and introspection, we experience three positive impacts.
- Clarity and self-reflection – Journaling provides a dedicated space to pause and process our thoughts, emotions and experiences. As we write out these things, we can untangle complex feelings, identify patterns in our lives and explore what’s below the surface of our thoughts and behavior.
- Empowerment and self-awareness – As we go from our mid-to-late thirties through the same time in our fifties, we can experience many stages of life with various shifting roles. Journaling allows us to note our strengths, see where we are growing and need to grow, and acknowledge our successes. In documenting our personal development, we gain a stronger understanding of identity, a boost in self-esteem, and reinforce our ability to make decisions and choices that align with our truest selves.
- Healing – Journaling can be a therapeutic outlet for processing our lives. It provides a safe, non-judgmental space for our feelings and promotes healing. It can also be viewed as a form of self-care supporting our mental and emotional health.
Now that you know how journaling benefits self-discovery, the next step is putting it into action. Here are three ways you can put journaling into action this week to help you learn more about who you are:
- Guided prompts: Nothing gives us a kickstart better than a prompt. Using guided prompts helps to get our thoughts flowing into words on the page.
- Emotional check-ins: Sometimes, we just need to ask ourselves how we’re doing. Occasionally, we need to go deeper than that and question how something made us feel or why we think we’re feeling a certain way.
- Vision Board Journaling: I’m not a real woo-woo person, but I do believe that what you regularly keep in your line of vision helps you to reach your goals. You can vision board journal by writing out your goals; or by creating a vision board and then noting the words that you associate with those goals and dreams. Either way, take the time to focus on the feelings you want to have from those achievements or even the emotions you want to avoid by achieving your goals. Mel Robbins suggests a form of vision board journaling that involves writing down three to five things you want to see/have in your life every day for 30 days. That’s a great place to start!
If you’re not someone who regularly journals, hopefully, what I’ve shared will nudge you to consider giving it a try. Journaling doesn’t have to be something you do every day or something that takes long periods of time. Journaling is a personal activity; you can create it into whatever works best for you. It can be as simple as a sentence a day or a weekly/monthly check-in.
To help us incorporate journaling into our self-discovery journey, I’m offering a free 10-day journaling mini-challenge. Starting on August 21, we will journal for 10 days, taking us right through the end of the month. I’m providing 10 prompts you can use if it’s helpful, but feel free to journal in whatever way you like. Each day, on my Instagram there will be a reel and a post with the day’s prompt, taken from the prompts I’m sharing here. After you see the prompt (or use your own prompt), take time to journal, then take a picture of your journal. It doesn’t need to be any actual words; it could be the journal cover or even the date. Share something about your journaling experience – what prompt you used or a takeaway – and the hashtag #somethingmorelife. Our posts will be an encouragement to others as we journey together.
Here are two of my favorite resources to help with journaling:
- Day One Journal App – this is the app I use to journal. It syncs across all my devices, allows for multiple journals, add images, tags and more. I’ve used it for several years now.
- Laura Tremaine’s podcast episode: Journaling for Grown-Ups – Laura is the queen of journaling. This episode shares different journaling methods and tips.