The 101 to starting and/or deepening your journaling practice
Article Highlights:
- What is journaling & what it is not
- Why we journal
- How journaling leads us back to our core wants and desires
- When to journal & 7 free journal prompts to get started
I have the gift of working with clients who tend to find themselves in a place where they’re gotten all their external life goals achieved. The career accolades, the beautiful homes, the families, etc. but somewhere along the way, something didn’t quite click into place. They arrive to the moment when everything they’ve been working toward for so long surrounds them, and yet, there they are feeling unfulfilled and dissatisfied.
And so we go on a journey to answer why? The first step along the way? Journaling.
What is Journaling, what it is not & why we do we do it?
Why journaling? Because when all of the externals you’ve said you wanted are in place and you’re still feeling a lack of fulfillment, the answers are not going to come from anywhere outside of you - they are going to come deep from the wells of wisdom within.
When I say journaling I’m not talking about a “Dear diary - today I ate a smoothie for breakfast and it was really nice. Then I had a super shitty meeting with Dianne, and it really threw me off…” type situations.
Productive journaling - the practice that provides space for us to build a relationship with our truest selves, and learn what that voice sounds like, requires patience - requires showing up. It requires willingness to meander down paths that start off seeming somewhat strange, and end at an unexpected light bulb of clarity.
Journaling is sitting down to the page without an agenda, surrendering then pen to the dance between your current self and your highest self, and sitting back to bear witness to it all happening.
Sounds a little esoteric - but basically what that means is sit down, start writing, and don’t stop for at least 10 minutes.
Why 10 minutes? That’s enough time to start to dive below the surface level thoughts that are like the dirty water that’s been hanging out in a pipe that hasn’t been used for awhile. When you turn the water back on from that faucet, you need to let it run for a bit.
How journaling leads us back to our core wants & desires
When you sit down to journal, you’ve gotta just get the mucky thoughts out and onto the page. And then after awhile, the magic starts to happen. The truth that’s within starts to emerge clear and crisp. The questions arise, the curiosity opens up, and a quiet settles in.
It begins to feel safe to explore the questions like:
- What do I really want?
- Where do I want to go?
- Outside of everyone else’s dreams and visions for my life - what’s calling from deep within my own heart?
- Is what I have right now what I wanted, or is it what someone else wanted for me?
- Is what I’ve created what I wanted to create?
And word by word, the truest desires are able to start to emerge from the hidden corners and crevices of your heart.
But it takes a willingness to meander aimlessly for awhile. To have a dialogue with yourself, just as you would a new friend. Getting to know them, their likes, their dislikes, what makes their heart sing. Journaling gives us that time, that blank space, to get to know your truest self outside of the noise, and begin to build a substantial relationship with that self.
When to journal & how to get started
The best time to journal is either early in the morning before starting your day, or in the evening before going to bed. Early in the morning is optimal, but honestly, anytime you can show up to sort through your thoughts is a good time.
Sometimes it feels overwhelming to stare at a blank page with no direction - so we’ve put together 7 prompts you can use to get you started. Just enter your name & email below to grab them - they'll arrive in your inbox almost immediately!
The path of true and lasting personal fulfillment starts from the deep well of wisdom within you. Make it your daily practice to tap that well & let it flow into your life.
