Journaling, for me, has always been a powerful tool. It has been a confidential place to explore my hopes and desires—a way to reflect, evaluate, and plan for the coming months. Most importantly, it is a blank space for all brain chatter to be purged and recorded in case any of that craziness could be important one day!
In the article, The Power Of Journaling And Why It Matters In Your Career, Luciana Paulise, featured in Forbes Magazine, asserts that reduced stress and better mental health are achieved by journaling. Journaling is a differentiating factor for successful leaders.
My main challenge with journaling, at least for me as a Type A personality, is the structure always felt impossible. I needed the right environment, the right time of the day, and a habit to make it beneficial.
This structure prohibited me from making a consistent practice because there were a few too many parameters to align. It also seemed to stifle my creativity, and while I am never at a loss for physical words coming out of my mouth, organizing my ideas was hard to do in those moments.
I figured out how to fix it after a little trial and error, much like many things in my world as a working mom and a sole parent. It came after the advice of a wise meditation leader who talked about how you finally hear the subconscious mind in the quiet stillness. They said while you are in a meditation session, and a thought is constantly circulating. That idea is from the subconscious trying to get your attention. Just open your eyes and jot it down on a piece of paper so you can move on.
This proved to be a valuable tool in my meditation as I could not think of what I needed as a new mom with constant brain fog until I was still.
The next problem that occurred was that I was always on the go. I did not have paper readily available or a journal when I needed to write. I needed to be more consistent in my practice of carrying it. Everything I was reading talked about setting the scene with music, tea, and your favorite pen. I was lucky to have one of those on my plan, but sometimes not all, making this practice hard to perfect. Then, one day, I pulled up the notes on my phone because I had a good idea for a Facebook post. While working on the post, I wrote in my phone notes multiple times throughout the day, editing and adding to it and thinking about my plan to voice this to my friends. By the end of the day, I had a post and a practice that worked for my busy schedule.
Journaling for me became a digital experience, and it has worked. It took realizing that the way it would work for someone else was not my way to work. It made sense that my goals, my space, and my thoughts were different. What was the same was the undeniable result of my life with this practice.
I began to have some of the positive side effects of a regular journaling practice, with better-aligned goals, appreciation for my life, and empathy in the moments I needed it. Working with busy individuals and clients, I have seen success firsthand with journaling, helping to align the critical path to achieving excellent outcomes! What a joy it is to see.
Do you currently journal? If so, what is your journaling practice? Do you wish you journaled more?
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