Harness the Power of Journaling to Lift Your Soul

I’m not funny weird

I write every day.

I learn something fascinating and cement the knowledge by sharing it here or in my books.

When I am filled with strength, I write about that too. Why would you keep those secrets for yourself?

When I laugh, I like to share that delight in my writing.

I learn and grow. I’m happy and hungry for more, like a horny hare.

My days are tides of ticketyboo. But I have bad days, too. All of us do. We get sad and lonely. The TV news stuffs our homes with the world’s miseries.

Some days, we don’t find the treasures in our lives. The detectors aren’t working. We can’t always choose our attitude. Sometimes we are dopey and gullible. Sometimes we get angry.

Morale droops like an unwatered orchid.

And we can’t raise the energy to go to the box that contains our meaning. We need the motivation to do it, but it’s under lock and key in the very box we need to open.

Would you like to join me in the search for sanity?

Switch off

When we have a good day, it motivates us; we stick to our rituals and routines. When we have a bad day… well, we just can’t raise our heads off the desk.

I had a bad day. Doubts settled in my stomach. My brain put negativity on a loop. I moped. Kicked my shoes off and lay down on the floor. As low as I could go. I closed my eyes, breathed and let my mood settle.

Seconds ticked into minutes.

Quiet melancholy.

I named it. That was my first step to salvation.

I opened my eyes, focussed and scanned the room. My journal was under a pile of books. I hadn’t written in it for two months. I’d been too busy writing.

My last entry.

“Ideas are my currency. Thank you for all the sources. Thanks for giving me the patience to accept that the negativity is not about me.”

I smiled.

Journaling, even short pieces of gratitude, can help clarify your thoughts and put things in perspective.

Expressing your thoughts on paper is how you get to know yourself. In labelling your emotions, you separate yourself from the problem. And it has remarkable health benefits.

Psychologist James Pennebaker has evidence that regular journaling strengthens immune cells, called T-lymphocytes. Other research shows that journaling decreases the symptoms of asthma and rheumatoid arthritis.

The act of gratitude is the flint to spark happiness.

My mum is a perfect example. Although she suffered from dementia, she was still full of gratitude. She didn’t know what day it was, but she knew how we made her feel.

“What would we do without our wonderful family?” She repeated, over and over.

We need gratitude to show us the way out of ourselves and into the hearts of others.

Journalling has a surprising way of doing this. Identifying how you feel makes you calmer and clearer in thought. The act of writing helps you resolve your problems and think up unexpected solutions.

The power of journaling

Most people don’t write. Some don’t even read—which is worse than being illiterate.

Writing is thinking.

Journaling need not be a chore or more difficult or time-consuming than it needs to be. Use the smallest notebook you can find and keep your entries short. Cutting back makes it easy to pick out what is important to you.

Think of what you appreciate. It has the effect of unlocking your hijacked brain and bringing back your humanity.

Gratitude gets control of those swirling thoughts.

Writing your feelings is more therapeutic than therapy. Your words are there to inspire you.

Writing a brief note in longhand helps you capture the best of your day. It’s more powerful than typing.

Compose the words with your own hand, make shapes on paper. Those symbols detail your thoughts and feelings.

Take this away

Negative thoughts are sticky thoughts. They can be hard to shake off.

Thank the world for what you have — break the chain by writing it down.