Have you ever written that email or sent that text message that you wished you could just undo. (Insert crying emoji here). Well, what if I told you that you kind of can, would you?
I used to be super quick to pop of the handle, not think twice of what was coming out of my mouth or how it affected people, and most importantly not allowing my emotions to set in and ask myself why. Why do I feel this way? Until I started Journaling. It wasn’t until 2017 when I began my wellness journey and a friend of mine bought me this beautiful leather-bond Journal with blank pages in it. I have to tell you, in that moment, I was a bit overwhelmed. First of all, a Journal doesn’t come with instructions at all. As an once OCD, perfectionist, I didn’t know what I was doing or if I was doing it right. I think it took me about a week before I mustered up the courage to ask my friend, “How do you use this thing?” and what he told me changed my life forever. He said “It’s simple Kelli, you just write”.
What I learned in that moment is that you don’t need instructions to Journal, actually you don’t even need prompts for every day, you literally just get to express yourself in that moment, in that time in your life, and you get to do it how you see fit. If you want to write in your Journal you can write. If you want to draw or color in your Journal you can draw or color. If you want to scribble down words in your Journal you can scribble down words. And the best part is that it doesn’t have to be PERFECT and that this Journal that you are creating is just for YOU and only YOU. Journaling became my “Out”. My out of my own mind, my emotions, my thoughts, my negative tendencies and as a bonus it showed me how much I was growing month over month, year over year.
Over the next couple of years up until this day, I Journal. I Journal at night while I sit in bed, that it what works for me. When I go on vacation, I take my Journal, but I am not even going to try to lie to you, I don’t Journal unless it feels right. I have “2” Journals at home, one that is totally blank and it last for a couple of months at time and one that has daily questions that I have to dive deep into and really get to re-know or understand myself. This daily Journal is going to be on my “FAVS” list in a couple of days.
When I Journal, I like to talk about my day. I talk about all the accomplishments and all the failures. I talk about my feelings and if I am going through any struggles that day. I talk about my aspirations and dreams and how I am going to accomplish them. I talk about my family, my two children- Kyles and Colin, and what they are working on. I talk about literally anything that is occurring on that day. I also like to use my Journal when I am feeling upset or anger about something. I simply sit down, turn to a new page, and literally write a letter to the person or place that has really made me feel a certain type of way. After I let it all out, and I mean after I have allowed the anger to take all of my power, I read it back to myself and I nine times out of ten feel a sense of relief. In this moment I have released all the bullshit that I was holding onto. I turn the page and I start a new Journal entry.
Over the years I have learned that Journaling has helped me with my personal Anxiety struggle. It has also helped me understand the true meaning of gratitude and it really has helped me became more present by living in the “today” moment and not the past or future. It also has allowed me to express my emotions without judgement. Journaling is also known to help or improve your memory, make you happier, sleep better at night, which makes so much sense considering you are not holding onto thoughts, and it allows you to control your thoughts and “pop offs” as I like to call them.
If you’re in the mood to try Journaling I will leave you with a couple of Journal prompts as we all have learned that Journals do not come with instructions, Enjoy!
- How am I feeling today?
- What emotions am I holding onto?
- Five things that make me secretly happy are?
- If you found a lamp with a genie inside, what would your three wishes be?
- If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?
- Who am I? If someone were to describe me, would it match who I am?
- What would you do if you could not fail
My wish for you is that you learn to LOVE Journaling as much as I do, even if it is just once a week,
XOXOXOXO
Kelli
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