4 Powerful Journaling Techniques
JOURNALING AS A WELLBEING PRACTICE
My deepest wish is to live a conscious life, a life that feels fulfilling to me. A life I have actively chosen and that makes me feel truly alive.
Journaling helps me stay intimately connected to myself and my life, taking time to look deeply into myself and the situation I am in, to move forward purposefully. It’s a practice of deep listening, processing, and de-cluttering my mind.
On top of that, the journaling techniques I share below, which I use myself and prescribe to my clients, are well-researched as tools to achieve greater wellbeing.
I hope this will serve you on your journey!
With love,
JOURNALING TECHNIQUES
#1 STREAM-OF-CONSCIOUSNESS JOURNALING
De-clutter your mind
From inside your mind, your thoughts can seem very logical, however, outside your brain (i.e. on paper), you can start to see the flaws in some of its reasoning - and that gives you a chance to ask ‘Is this thinking serving me?’ and ‘How is this thinking affecting the way I feel and act?‘
How it works
Set a timer for 15-20 minutes and write your thoughts as they come without worrying about spelling, logic, or sloppy handwriting. Try to not lift your pen off the paper for the entire allotted time.
Prompts
If nothing is coming to mind, then write about how it makes you feel that nothing is coming to mind…and you’ll see that it starts to unfold.
#2 FUTURE SELF JOURNALING
Give yourself a sense of direction
It’s sooo easy to get stuck on autopilot mode and continue repeating the past. To feel purpose-led in our day-to-day we need to keep re-visiting what feels important and continue taking small intentional actions in that direction.
How it works
Through your journaling answer these 2 key questions:
What is my highest intention for today/this week?
(How do I wish to show up? How do I want to feel?)How will I practice that? How can I make my intention a reality in a small way today?
Examples:
[Intention] To feel calm & ease in my day
[Practice] Write Post-it notes to remind myself to take deep belly breaths throughout the day and ask for help with X / say NO.
[Intention] To live more boldly
[Practice] Take 2 courageous actions today: following up on that opportunity and signing up for that course to learn something new.
#3 EXPRESSIVE JOURNALING
Make the unconscious conscious
We all have difficult emotions, destructive patterns, rejected parts, and challenging past experiences. To avoid being unconsciously driven or limited by them we need to bring them into the light for gentle processing.
How it works
There are no rules, just use the below prompts and start writing!
Prompts
Spend the next 15 minutes freestyle writing down emotions and thoughts about a current or past challenge affecting your life.
Are you feeling worried/stressed/overwhelmed? Write about where you feel it in the body and what is contributing to you feeling this way?
Do you have intrusive thoughts? Take that thought and write about it. As soon as you stop pushing it away, the thought loses its power.
#4 POSITIVE AFFECT JOURNALING (PAJ)
Strengthening your sense of self
Positively expand your self-image. I use this technique before a big event or experience where the inner critic, perfectionist, or internal pressure might get in the way of me enjoying myself or doing my best.
How it works
This technique is similar to expressive journaling but draws on the foundations of positive psychology by targeting and enhancing positive aspects of life.
Prompts
Write a letter of love and compassion to yourself
What’s working well in your life?
What are you grateful for?
What are your strengths?
What challenges have you overcome?
What makes you happy?
What do you love (or at least find ok) about yourself?
5 TIPS FOR NAILING YOUR JOURNALING
1. Commit to one technique for a period of time
Nothing feels easy in the beginning, so give yourself time to find flow.
2. Be radically honest
Let go of performance & self-censorship. This is a space for you to write about WHATEVER comes up - for your eyes only.
3. Ground before
To support clarity and inner connection, meditate or take a few deeper intentional breaths before.
4. If you notice resistance, great, you’re on the right track!
Some of my most helpful journaling experiences have been writing about aspects that bring up fear, shame, hopelessness…
5. Make it easy
-Keep a notebook and pen conveniently located to ensure the ritual is front of mind.
-Start small; set a timer for 5 mins, and write for the entire time.
