Does having a clearer head, feeling more focused and in control sound good to you? You should be journaling.

I know you’re thinking about what the next few months of your life are going to bring.

I know you’re thinking about that awkward conversation you need to have with your mother-in-law.

I know you’re thinking about what you said last night that you wish you wouldn’t have said.

I know you’re thinking about a decision you have to make and it’s getting cloudier instead of clearer.

You’re a human.  You think about these kinds of things and SO many more.  You wonder if they’re will ever be a moment of peace in your head.

I’ve got an activity that will change the way you think about every aspect of your life.  It will affect how you think about every single thing you have to think about for the rest of your life IF you choose to do it.

How can I say that?  What could POSSIBLY change the way I think, or how you think?

What could possibly do this? Hmmm… I wonder?

Journaling of course!

Writing in a journal every day, or at least 3 days a week, has so many benefits that it takes a lifetime of doing it to discover them all.

I love that the more you do it, the more benefits you will find.

Some of the benefits I have found from journaling are worth mentioning, but I know that the list is incomplete.

In an article on Lifehack, Ericson Ay Mires writes:

“If there’s one thing journal writing is good for, it’s clearing the mental clutter.

How does it work? Simply, whenever you have a problem and write about it in a journal, you transfer the problem from your head to the paper. This empties the mind, allowing the precious space in your brain to go to problem-solving rather than problem-storing.”

Isn’t that fantastic!!!

I used to be a pro at problem-STORING.  (I’m in love with that term. I’d never heard it before.)

I have noticed the hugest difference with the amount I store since I started journaling.  I can get those problems out and clear more room in my head for more uplifting and exciting things.

No matter what comes up in my life that feels difficult, or when I can’t decide about what to do, whenever I get stuck in my head with thoughts that just swirl out of control, Journaling helps me to slow down those spiraling thoughts. 

I don’t know about you, but my mind can take a thought and spin it into something HUGE! It builds into something bigger and bigger, and I end up more upset and my emotions start taking over.  What I allow myself to think turns my emotions into bigger and more elaborate things than what is reality. 

BUT, if I sit down and take those same thoughts and start writing what I’m thinking, it starts making sense to me.  I see it and as I begin writing, I may be on my own bandwagon, “I’m tired of feeling like this” “How come things are always going wrong?” and then, the more I write, my loving and caring self, shows up and starts to take care of me.  She talks to me in a way that I understand and need.  She talks to me gently and kindly and knows exactly what to say and helps me to feel better.

4 Ways that Journaling Has Helped Me (and this is in no way a complete list)

1-MORE FOCUSED/IN CONTROL

When I’m trying to decide between all the different ways I can use my time, journaling has become an invaluable way to hash out the pros and cons.

When I write what I have to do out, I find out what I really believe and what I want to do.  I can cut through all the outside influences that don’t really ring true to me.

I’m backed-up in this thought by Mr. Mires again:

“By journaling about what you believe in, why you believe it, how you feel, and what your goals are, you understand your relationships with these things better. This is because you must sort through the mental clutter and provide details on why you do what you do and feel what you feel.”

2-EMOTIONAL HEALTH

Jackee Holder in Psychologies magazine says:

“Your journal has the potential to be both therapist and a dear friend who listens without judging or interrupting and is open 24 hours a day. You can tell your journal things you wouldn’t dare verbalize to someone else. Writing it down takes the edge off more toxic feelings and emotions and helps you better understand what you’re feeling, freeing up thinking space to gain clarity on what to do next.”

When I read this, I felt validated in what I’ve been “preaching” for years. 

I love the time I get to talk to my dearest friend as I write in my journal.  She understands me better than anyone else PLUS, I don’t have to rehash things that have happened in my past.  She’s been there, done that.

I love that you can come to your own rescue: just sit down with a blank piece of paper and start writing to you.  Start writing out what you’re thinking.  Let it out.  Let out those awful thoughts that you’re thinking and those terrible things that you think are going to happen.  As you write, it will help you to discover that those things are likely not going to happen.  There is no need to jump to the worst-case scenario.  You’re going to find that you come to your own rescue.  You’re going to say things to yourself that you need to hear. 

3- MENTAL HEALTH

Many studies have shown that journaling can reduce overall levels of depression.  In a A 2006 study by Stice, Burton, Bearman, & Rohde  it showed that writing in a journal can be as effective as cognitive-behavioral therapy when it comes to reducing the risk of depression in young adults.

Studies have also shown that journaling can reduce the frequency of depressive thoughts and reduce levels of depression in people who have been diagnosed with a Major Depressive Disorder.

I was most interested in learning about the positive effects on depression and anxiety when journaling.  Here’s what I found.

Because depression and anxiety often come with negative thoughts, journaling helps you to get those thoughts out of your brain and down on paper.  You can then look at them in a less emotionally charged way and respond how you choose to respond.  You can respond instead of react.

4- INVITES GRATITUDE

Because journaling allows you a place to reflect on all the good things in your life, it also helps you to be more grateful. When you don’t journal, it’s easy to forget about all the good things happening in your life and slide back into depression or anxiety.

There is so much more that I could share about journaling.  I’ve put much, much more about this in my workshop, Journaling Jumpstart.  I’ve recently updated it because I’ve learned so much more about what it can do than when I first created that workshop and I wanted to pass that along.

That workshop will be ready very soon, so listen up for when it releases!

Even though journaling has many, many benefits, it can be challenging to start and keep up with a journaling practice. It can be difficult to know how to start, and difficult to maintain the practice with all there is to do in a regular day.  That’s another part of my new workshop that I will be sharing with you.  I want to help you be successful with your journaling practice.

The most important thing for you to know right now is…

It works!  Journaling has been the #1 method of taking care of my mental and emotional health for the past 15 years.

Journaling is how I find clarity in the way that I choose to think.

Journaling is how I decide how I want to show up in my life.

Journaling is how I have hard conversations with people, whether the actual conversation happens or not.

Journaling has changed EVERYTHING for me.

AND… I know that I will keep finding reasons of why I do it as I do it more.

Start today.  Set a timer for 10 minutes and just start writing.

Begin getting in the habit now, and bring what you find to the Journaling Jumpstart workshop and tell me what YOU’VE learned about it.  I can’t wait to hear!!

Get on the waitlist for the Journaling Jumpstart workshop and get the early bird discount price.

Sign up at hunkeedori.com/JJ

I’ll let you know when It’s available AND you’ll get that early bird discount when you register.