Learnings from journalling

Or rather, the gifts collected from journalling.

As you might have read in other entries, I started journalling out of need. This forced habit has grown into something I hold dear in my day, even if it’s only a sentence or word I get out, it fills me with acceptance and hope.

When I started to journal, the aim was to write three things a day, which could be single words, empowering sentences, thoughts, fears, reminders, worries, moments, or memories.

About two years on, I have collected learnings, or rather gifts, as I try to frame it as that in my mind.

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What I have learnt, from the last two years with a (sort of) stable journalling habit:

One. I can write 3 words or 5 pages, everything counts.

Two. I don’t have to complete whatever I have started writing, if I don’t feel like it.

Three. The more I do it, the more I feel like it.

Four. A routine is good, but skipping a day or a week is okay too. It should be without pressure.

Five. It can be whatever I want it to be, a place to record memories, of release, of brainstorm, of worries or gratitude, to rewire thought patterns, of honesty and confidentiality.

Six. Also, gratitude comes easier, when I journal with aim. It has a snowball effect.

Seven. It helps me create awareness. I become better at noticing my own narrative, helping me speak kinder to myself, and acknowledge life isn’t perfect and it’s okay.

Eight. It helps me regulate my emotions, when I feel lost, anxious and overwhelmed. I have become better at identifying complex feelings.

Nine. It unlocks the mind, and ideas start flow naturally. Ideas you never thought you come up with or have, and they become roots to bigger ones.

Ten. I am really learning to know myself, more than I ever hoped for, which also makes it easier to say my needs, wants, fears and dreams out loud.

As a result of this journey, I’m making a wee guide on how to start journalling, with tips, tricks and ideas. Would you be intestested in that?