Journaling isn’t just a buzzword! I’m here to tell you how easy it is to journal and why it works. You’ll often hear me say things like ‘get it out of your head and onto paper’ or something to that effect. There are many reasons I say this so in this post I will share why I’m like a broken record repeating myself, repetition, by the way, is a trait my mom kindly passed onto me!
Myth Buster
Firstly, there is no right or wrong way to do this. I have spoken to so many people who tell me they don’t know how to journal – I’m here to tell you, there is no right or wrong way to journal. As long as you’re getting your thoughts out on paper, you’re nailing it, well actually you’re writing it! You don’t need a fancy journal, although I am partial to beautiful stationary – particularly anything by Leanun Designs.
Why Journal?
You’ve heard the expression ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’ and isn’t it so true? As soon as you get some of those overwhelming thoughts out of your head you start to feel a little lighter. Getting your thoughts out of your head and onto paper is the fastest way to let go of what’s going on in your head and releasing stress. It allows you to reflect on your thoughts and reactions and it helps you gain a better understanding of yourself. Writing down your thoughts can lead to increased happiness and improved wellbeing so get a wriggle on and get writing 📝☺️
Is It Really Necessary To Write It Down?
Yes, it really is. Essentially your brain is divided between your emotional brain and your rational brain and these two are often fighting for control. They are essentially like two different thinking systems – your emotional brain being the one who acts on impulse and your rational brain being the one who reasons and does all the analysis.
No one side is better than the other, a balance is key. However, our rational brain can be slow and systematic. While our emotional brain makes decisions quickly but often doesn’t apply much logic.
All that being said, our emotional brain can quickly override our rational brain and before we know it our judgement is impaired.
Like I said, the two brains are always fighting for power and when your emotional brain is in the driving seat you simply can’t be rational. What’s the fastest way to activate the rational brain? Writing! You and your rational brain probably thought as much!
Writing requires the use of your left brain (rational brain) meaning that journalling is the perfect way to use both sides of your brain in the most beneficial way. You’re using your rational brain to process and navigate your emotions with the help of your emotional brain who is feeding you all of those irrational and illogical thoughts. It’s a win win!
Like I said, there is no right or wrong way to journal but I will share some journal prompts in another post soon if anyone is finding it hard to get writing! I normally just go with a brain dump, as explained below 👇
Brain Dump
Which is exactly that – write down everything that is going on in your mind – don’t worry about punctuation or grammar. I have worked with people who are hesitant to journal as they’re afraid others might read it and what would they think! There is no reason to keep what you write if you don’t feel comfortable keeping it – the important part is getting the thoughts onto paper. You can rip the paper into a thousand pieces after, which might even have a further positive therapeutic impact !
So now you know how easy it is to journal why not give it a go. As always, if you have any questions you can message me via my website, my Instagram, Facebook or Linkedin.