My favorite kinds of journaling for personal growth
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Happy Sunday, Soothers. It may surprise you as somebody who teaches and recommends it so frequently, but journaling used to feel hard, confusing, painful and weird to me. I was extremely resistant to it. I couldn't see the use of journaling; my mind was already loud and chaotic and full of thoughts racing over one another and I didn't get the point of writing them down on paper.
I think one reason I was resistant to journaling well into my late 30s was just... I didn't really know how to start. It seemed overwhelming. I was just supposed to pick up a pen, stare down a blank page of paper and... begin? Huh? How was I supposed to know what to say?
Part of this had to do with my perfectionism that would freeze me, and part of it genuinely had to do with not having instructions, templates and prompts that would have helped me out.
I know today that many of my clients and audience would like to start a journaling practice, but experience the same resistance, perfectionism freeze, or confusion over how to start.
So I thought today I would share some of my favorite manners of journaling to help you get started. And though I'm on a bit of a break over there, I have dozens of sets of journal prompts on my Instagram page.
What I offer below aren't standard journaling practices or approaches, like gratitude or bullet journaling (though those can be useful too!). These are journaling approaches for personal transformation that I think are pretty unique and I've used in my life with good success.
Click through to read my favorite types of journaling:
Morning pages journaling: Now, yes, this famous journaling created by The Artist's Way author Julia Cameron IS the kind of journaling where you pick up the pen and start writing for 15 minutes on a blank piece of paper without any instructions or prompts. But you do this simply to clear your mind, not to saying anything deep or well-written. Think of it like bending down to pick up a penny and you see a trail of pennies just leading off into the distance; you're willing to see where your mind takes you over the course of 15 minutes and just follow it. When I do morning pages I genuinely start off by writing, "Good morning, morning pages, one thing I'm noticing right now is..." and go from there. Sometimes I start off by describing one thing I can see, or one way my body feels, and see where it leads me over the next three pages. Don't reread, that's not the point -- that's like examining the dust under the couch you've just swept up, instead of simply putting it in the bin.
JournalSpeak: This is a method of journaling created by Nicole Sachs, who works to heal those with chronic pain that doesn't have an underlying diagnosable medical or physical reason. Her belief is that repressed emotions manifest in the nervous system as physical pain, and when you give voice to the most intense things in your head that you're not really allowing yourself to speak, it helps with the pain. So this kind of journaling is creating 3 lists: childhood stressors; current life stressors; and parts of your personality that you struggle with (perfectionism, temper, etc). Then setting a timer for 20 minutes, then letting it rip on the page: your ugliest thoughts and beliefs. Your most unreasonable anger. Your inner whiny toddler. All your endless, unfair complaints. Your rage. Your hatred. Though I don't have chronic pain in a classic way, I do have frequent lower back and neck and shoulder pain and when I'm doing this journaling regularly it disappears to almost nothing. Burn the pages afterwards or rip them up if you're concerned about somebody seeing them afterwards -- oh and like morning pages, do not reread. You can read more detailed instructions about the approach here.
Inner child check-ins. I'm really into this lately and find it so sweet and nourishing. Each morning I write down, “Little Catherine, what’s on your mind today? What hurts? What do you need?” And letting her go off and rant and tell me everything. Then I write a letter back telling her how we will meet her needs together that same day (then I stick to those promises!). It is a nice reparenting exercise that helps if you're focusing on inner child healing in a more regular way.
Thought downloads: This kind of journaling is something I learned from the Life Coach School. Sometimes when we're feeling stuck or overwhelmed about an issue, part of the reason is we have no clarity about the thoughts we're actually having on the issuue. So say I felt stuck or spinny-out-y (technical term) about a work issue or a relationship. I would write out every thought I could bring into conscious awareness about the issue that I was having. This helps because sometimes I didn't realize I was having a thought that I knew in my heart was untrue, so I can release it. It also helps because it often reveals to me the perspective I'm taking or thinking that's sending me off in an unhelpful direction and I can work to reframe it.
Embodiment journaling: When I'm trying to shift a behavior or a way of being, I write down 10-20 thing I would do, say, act as, have, if I already have that behavior or trait in my life and personality. Then each day I will wake up and journal on how it feels to be this way, as if I am already living it; how I will embody that belief or way of being; how I feel as I grow into that way of being, etc. This is great if you're trying to be a person who is more present, or feels more abundant, or is working to feel as if they have more time in their day, stuff like that.
Directed problem solving: Sometimes when I'm super stuck I use this method, which is pretty simple. I write the issue I'm stuck on at the top. Then I challenge myself to write 10 reasons I believe I'm stuck about it. Then I pick 5 of those and journal potential solutions to each of them. Then I write the 3 next steps I can see to the solution that jumps out the most at me. This kind of journaling can get me through almost anything.
Tarot journaling: I love to pick a card and simply describe it in my journal — like the details, the drawings, the people and landscapes in it. Then I ask myself what I believe this card to mean. Then I make space to google and research the traditional meaning. Then I ask myself how I think this card is showing up in my life now, and why, and what I would like to do with what it's inviting me into.
Parts journaling: A somatic practice called Focusing has been one of the most powerful healing approaches I’ve encountered, so powerful I am getting trained in it this fall. The experience is that you turn inwards to access sensations in your body, parts, that have messages for you. You can work with these parts to a certain extent via journaling, or having them write their messages to you. If you head to the second page of this PDF there are some writing instructions and journal prompts around this work.
I'd love to hear, what kind of journaling approaches do you find fruitful or transformative? I'm always looking to add to my journaling toolbox!