Life can be stressful. Being a human can be hard. There’s no doubt about it. There are so many things going on, constantly pulling us in opposing directions, that it can make us feel like we’re paralyzed, actually unable to move anywhere, let alone forward. We firmly believe that one of the strongest tools you can use to get yourself “unstuck” is journaling.
We’re not prepared to prescribe a specific method of journaling or protocol for journaling, but we know firsthand the potential therapeutic effects of journaling. Much of our stress comes from keeping the things that we’re going through, thinking or feeling trapped inside us. We do this for a variety of reason, such as to maintain a “front” that we’re trying to project to the world, or for fear that acknowledging it gives some special power to what we’re going through. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Journaling, by giving form to the things that we’re holding onto inside of us, allows us to drop their weight. By writing something out, we take it “out of our mind,” and we put it out there in the real world. When we write something out, when we journal about something, we don’t have to hold onto it in our mind anymore.
I’m going to tell you about one of my personal favorite journaling exercises. I consider myself a pretty calm, unshakeable, level-headed person. I like to think that people that know me would likewise describe me as such. However, of course, there are times I get frustrated with people, or an interaction rubs me the wrong way, or I get outright angry at someone. Being a calm person doesn’t exempt me in any way from experiencing the full spectrum of human emotion. So what I do, when I’m feeling angry, or bitter, or resentful toward a specific person, institution or situation, is I write a letter. Like a full-blown letter. Name, greeting, body, signature. I list out exactly what I’m feeling, exactly why I think I’m feeling it, and what I think could have been done differently. I’m careful to examine both sides of the issue, including not only what they could have done differently, but also what I could have done differently.
Once I’ve got the letter completed, I read it, I sit with it for a few minutes, and I crumple it up, and I throw it in the trash. Why? Because it served its purpose. The goal was for me to get what I was feeling clear and out in the open. Could I have sent it, or emailed, or texted it to the intended recipient? Sure, but I would have needed to be very clear on my motivation for doing so. There’s nothing wrong with explaining to someone the impact they had on you, for better or worse. In fact, it’s very healthy to explain to someone when they’ve hurt you or offended you for one reason or another. We wouldn’t, though, want to send a letter with the motive of making the other party feel bad, or with the intention of “getting even.” This is not a health response.
If you’re new to journaling, we created a Weekly Journaling Planner that can help get you started. It’s not super fancy, and the format is simple. But it’s seven days of prompted journaling, with some pages to freely express any other thoughts, notes or doodles that might come to the surface over the course of the week. Once the week is over, start again with the next week. This is just a jumping-off point for you. The structure is designed to build the habit of journaling. As you build this habit, you will find the format and process of journaling that works for you.
Click the link below to download our Free Weekly Journaling Planner:
===> FREE WEEKLY JOURNALING PLANNER <===