All living beings are blessed with a gift called emotions. Sometimes we feel happy and overjoyed while some instances make us angry or we may even feel sad. Apart from that, there are other emotions like envy, fear, disgust, etc. We feel and react to life situations because of these emotions.
These emotions may develop inside us due to all the chemical reactions that go on in our brains and without diving into the technicalities of all of that the fact remains that we need to understand our emotions. As life’s struggles increase, these emotions may get the better of us and force us to do things that we may regret later. Hence it becomes very important for us to develop the ability to cope with our emotions.
Now everyone has their own ways of handling their feelings. Some of us have our friends whom we may talk to, discuss our feelings and vent out what we are thinking, some talk to their parents or their spouses. But it is not always that you may find someone to talk to.
In such a case it may help that you put words to your thoughts. You may have kept a diary as a kid and written your deepest secrets in it, or you may have heard about such a thing in your childhood. Well, the truth is keeping a secret diary may sound a little childish, but it can help you as an adult too. And as adults do, let us change the word diary to the adult word “journal”. In this article, we will talk about journaling and how it helps with mindfulness.
What is Journaling?
The term “journal” comes from the French word “jour” meaning day. Journaling became popular due to a human movement in the 1960s and 1970s. The movement emphasized an individual’s development through encounter groups, sensitivity training, and primal therapy. This movement prompted Ira Progoff, a psychotherapist, to develop Intensive Journaling Workshops. Progoff (1992) began working with groups, requesting each participant keep a journal.
He discovered that participants were more honest in their journals compared to what they articulated in therapy. Consequently, Progoff started to experiment, using the journal to probe the inner life and help his clients delve into personal insights. The journal became a vehicle for inner thought that connected thoughts, feelings, and actions (1).
Simply put, journaling is a way of putting your thoughts on a piece of paper to declutter your mind and get clarity. As it frees the mind of any inconsequential thoughts, it leads to mindfulness.
Types of Journaling
Broadly there are two types of journaling
- Topic-based journaling – You pick a topic such as relationships, finance, career, or physical health and pour your thoughts surrounding it.
- Structured journaling – This involves answering a few questions by aligning your thoughts.
This being said, a journal is very a personal and individualized tool. The way you customize it is left up to you. There are no set rules as to what and how you can journal. As long as you write all your feelings and thoughts, it does not matter which pen you use or whether it is a ruled or blank book, or whether you put your thoughts into pictures or photographs. It is your journal, you set the rules and break them too!
Following may be a few topics about which you can pour your heart out in your journal
- Self-love
- Relationships
- Physical Health
- Goals
- Career
- Finance
What is the best time for journaling?
There is no suitable time to write your journal. It is recommended to pour your thoughts on a paper early morning. As your subconscious mind is active for a while when you wake up in the morning, it is considered to be the best time. But you can do it as the last thing of your day too. You can reflect upon all the things that happened during your day and write about them.
You get to choose your time. You just have to make sure that you finish writing once you start and do not leave it halfway. Remember it is not a chore which you have to do. Do it keeping in mind that it will make you feel light-hearted and easy off the burden of your thoughts.
How to begin with journaling?
The perfect way of journaling is what you make of it. Here are a few tips that may help.
- Start with sitting in a quiet place where you are relaxed and away from distractions.
- Keep any digital devices at bay and focus on your thoughts.
- Let your thoughts flow and do not think a lot while journaling.
- Take your time and do not rush into writing your feelings.
- Use the language in which you think. This means if you are thinking about something in English write in English, if you are thinking in some other language use that language to express yourself.
- After you have finished writing, pause for a moment and read all your penned-down thoughts, and reflect on them.
What preparations are required for journaling?
Journaling is not rocket science and as such there are no preparations required. You only need a pen and a paper/book. You may even use a digital device like a tab or an iPad but it is imperative to switch off your notifications during the time.
You can light a candle or put some soothing music in the background. It is recommended that before journaling, you meditate for a while. It will help calm your mind which further helps in filtering out irrelevant thoughts.
Let’s take up a journaling task.
Answer the below questions on relationships and you are well started with your journaling from today.
- Think about one person you want to improve your relationship with and WHY?
- What is the one thing you love about this person?
- What can you do to make your bond stronger with them? Remember to not think too much and let your thoughts simply flow.
We hope this article helps you start your journaling journey towards mindfulness. Do let us know your thoughts regarding journaling in the comments below (or maybe not. Just write them in your journal!)
Author: Dr Pooja Nilgar (Content writer and editor)
References
- Crawford, A., Sellman, E. and Joseph, S., 2021. Journaling: A more mindful approach to researching a mindfulness-based intervention in a junior school. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 20, p.16094069211014771.
