Journaling for You!
Dear Sweet Blossoms!
Today, let’s talk journaling!!! And before you potentially click outta here, like journaling ain’t yo’ thang … hang tight for just a sec.
Lemme share with you some awesomeness I’ve experienced from journaling … along with the things that didn’t work for me and the why’s of that.
Because, honestly, journaling – when you do you – can be SO HELPFUL, and SO HEALTHY!
For me, my journal is what I make of it, and I make it what I need and want:
- Reaffirmation
- Positivity
- Support
- Reflection
- Goal creation
- Action planning
- A place to think
- A place get “it” out and let “it” go
- Loving, gentle reminders
- Bright, colorful, happiness to greet me
- An opportunity to create
- Wisdom I’ve gained
- Information I need
- Dreamboarding
- Anything and everything that serves me in growing my wellness and happiness
Here are some of the actual pages from my journal:
Journaling Don’ts
Many, many, many moons ago, I used to journal – like a diary. And then my boyfriend at the time “just happened to glance over and accidentally read some it.”
Uncool, dude. Uncool.
Also, back then, I tried writing every day. Cuz that’s what you do in a diary, right? You’re faithful with your self-reporting, and you …, and NO, this did not work for me. I’d get busy and forget a day, then feel guilty. A week would go by, and I would sit down and try to remember each day and write it out.
Uh. I’m not gonna be a slave to my own good intention. That defeats the purpose.
So lessons learned of what NOT to do:
- Don’t write down anything you don’t want other people “accidentally” reading, or keep your journal locked up. Personally, I still write down anything and everything I need to get out of my system. I am, thankfully, now in a relationship filled with openness and trust. I share everything with my honeybun. But what about all those other pesky people living in the world? You never know when one of them might just be snooping around your room … lol. In short, anything I feel should be just between me and the universe gets a flame ride into the heavens after I’ve given “it” the time I need to process it, learn from it, and let it go.
- Don’t make your journal anything other than what serves you … what fuels you … what helps you feel well, healthy, and whatever other goodness you seek. In short, don’t journal like other people tell you to journal.
Journaling Do’s
It’s taken me time … learning what works for me, and then giving that to myself, to be able to create a journal space that nourishes and nurtures me – mind, body, soul, light, love, & spirit.
One of the things I’ve done in recent years is to go paperless. I hope to reduce my footprint and consumption. So I’ve become a digi-doodler, digi-everything. And my journal is no exception.
In fact, until the pandemic started and my health took a super nosedive into the unknown, I hadn’t been journaling for a while. But with everything going haywire (my health, and the health of the world around me), I needed a healing space … BIG TIME. A resource of positivity to guide me and lift me up especially on my dark days.
I found creating a digi-journal to be incredibly exactly what I needed. And the cool thing is, I have it downloaded into my Books on my phone, so I can have it with me whenever and wherever I need it. (Being on my phone, and being digital, I simply update it when I have things I need/want to add/process/share, and then I download the updated version … easy and saaaweeeet!)
My suggestions for what To Do when creating your journal:
- Be kind to yourself
- Be patient with yourself
- Give yourself the space you need to be authentic, honest, open, and there for you
- Journal when it serves you – when you feel called to your pages, not when an external expectation/definition would have you journal
- When you need to get “it” out, write freely, without thought to grammar, punctuation, “correctness,” etc … just let it rip! Then process it. And then, the ultimate – Let it go!
- When you feel the “harsh-ies” toward yourself … you know, you’re telling yourself how much you suck in whatever special way only you can bring yourself down (we all do it) … well, go ahead and write down how much you suck (btw: you don’t suck! not even a little!) … but so, write it down, and then my invitation to you … turn that negative self-talk into a positive in whatever way serves you:
- maybe you give yourself a goal with an action list to accomplish your goal
- maybe you reframe your negative thought into a positive thought
- maybe you see the words for the hurt they cause you, and find a way to love yourself more instead of taking yourself out at the kneecaps with a word/thought bat).
- Let your pages heal you, guide you, inform you, light up your day … let your pages bring positivity and wellness into your life
- Remember always: Progress, not perfection. (quote: Jill Stante)
- Remember always: Nourish to flourish!
- Remember always: What can you do to help you and your body cope and heal right now?
- Be as creative or uncreative as you want … it’s your journal … it’s your toolkit of healing, love, light … or whatever you need it to be!
- Remember: Your journal is your space to be what you need/want it to be.
- What inspires you? Do you like to color, write, take photos, etc … how do you like to express yourself and document/witness your life?
Journaling for Reflective, Guiding Purpose!
Before we wrap up the idea of journaling, I want to share with you a specific page outta my journal I recently created.
The other day, I was feeling badly – health-wise – but I wanted to create something positive (for the goodness I could feel in the moment creating something positive, and for the positive of having created something I wanted to share with myself in my journal).
Recently, I’d been looking at scrapbook ideas for I can’t remember what reason, but I came across an image that inspired me. And I thought, I gotta PINK that up in my own doodle-delicious way!
So there I was, feeling badly, wanting to create something positive, wanting to create a journal page, and having a scrapbook inspiration page. So I created this:
Isn’t it just the PINKest, happiest scrapbook page, ever??? LOL.
Everything you see I created. I used doodles and art I’d already created. And I made some new. And I PINKed up my Life Goals list of how I want to live my life/what’s important to me.
And now, it’s in my journal! I can review it whenever I want/need to. I can get high off of the delightful PINK eye-fumes. I smile just looking at it! It serves me.
And so, I share with you an example of what even a single page in your journal can do for you!
Even in the creation of this page, I gifted myself the positive, creative, soothing activity of assembling and playing in my doodle-tastic world. I made a squee page for reflection and guidance, for healing and happiness.
The process was happy healing, and the product nourishes me so I can flourish!
A scrapbook journal page may not be your cup of tea. That’s totally cool. I’m not trying to convince you to scrapbook journal. I’m inviting you to Journal for You! You do you! I just hope my share inspires you with your own ideas of helpful possibilities!
Hugging you the biggest and loving you even more! Hope this writing brings a smile to your face and a hug to your heart … and happy new ideas for making your journal the coolest place ever!!!
