Journaling: Your Private Script for Managing Life

The Process and Its Points

Journaling can be a way to get all the guck out, an outlet and release for your stress and unhealthy thoughts.

It can be used as what sometimes is coined as a brain dump; an anti-hoarding defense mechanism to help us deal with and hopefully relieve us of some of our baggage.

These days with all the nuttiness we are living through, the baggage of our internal worlds may be backing-up like an overactive sewer canal.

For those like myself who deal with some form of anxiety, nothing is worse than feeling like we are losing control of our minds and lives. Journaling, therefore, can be especially helpful. By putting your thoughts on paper or via a specialized app, you take the power back; you allow yourself to address and respond, take responsibility for what is going on in your life. You can hold yourself accountable — take action on your own terms using your own terms. Consider journaling as a pushback to all the stuff going on in your head.

Journaling can also be greatly beneficial in exposing our thought patterns. As an open canvas to our inner worlds, it allows us to self-reflect and do some introspection with respect to our cognitions. It is an effective path that has the potential to help gain insight on the 5 W’s at the root of our triggers.

Journaling is above all a gateway for formulating greater and sharper awareness of our emotional landscapes.

Through self-awareness (more mental clarity) we often find ourselves much more confident and capable with regards to developing problem-solving skills, figuring our lives out, and formulating more balanced thoughts and perspectives about what is going on around and within us.

The Methods and Their Styles

There is plenty of research on the various uses and types of journals:

• Gratitude journal: Focus on the positive things in your life.
• 5 Year journal: Write one line a day for the next five years.
• Bible journal: A bible journal is one that holds our thoughts, feelings, and reflections concerning life and how the Word can help us navigate, make sense of, and find meaning in it all. Hopefully, it is also instrumental in deepening our faith and relationship with God.
• Dream journal: Record your dreams on a regular basis and keep track of the dream’s themes and patterns.
• Travel journal: Document your adventures, road trips, places that you have visited, and discoveries that you made along the way.
• Reflective journal: A self-reflective journal is influential in helping us live a life of intention.
• Pregnancy journal: Write a personalized experience of your pregnancy journey.
• Bullet journal: A style of writing journals in which authors use bullet points to express and organize their thoughts, ideas, intentions etc.
• Morning Pages: A practice meant for those who write in the early hours of the day. This is done in a stream of consciousness format where one writes whatever comes to mind without ceasing for a determined period.

Anyone Can Do it; Yes, Even YOU

 My style and choice of journaling is self-reflective and biblical or a hybrid of both. Very often, I set a goal and intention for the day, for example, lately I have been trying to cut down on coffee consumption and drink more water. Therefore, I make it clear how much I will consume of each beverage and build on the momentum with a pep talk that sets the mindset for the day.

The latter part will involve either an inspiring quote or bible passage that speaks to my heart, relates to my goals and intentions but more importantly, lights me up on all levels.

I feel that by going into my day with realistic goals and the right attitude adds meaning, purpose, and direction to my life. Often, my goals are not work-related but about developing skills, habits, and a way of thinking that brings out the best in me, makes me a better, healthier person.

Having the right attitude at the top of your day I find, will often have a significant impact on how you react to whatever God has in store for you.

“Good thoughts bear good fruit; bad thoughts bad fruit.” – James Allen, As a Man Thinketh

Other times, I will brain dump whatever is on my mind and chest to address anxious and worrisome thoughts and frustrations. This is done freely and without constraint; it is an open and honest inner dialogue with myself devoid of judgment.

I try not to be judgmental; self-compassion is key when journaling.

The end goal in this instance is to help relieve me of tension, achieve more peace of mind, and declutter my mind of extraneous mental baggage.

The duration of the writing process is wholly up to you. However, decide and stick by it so as to remain committed, focused, and motivated.

Whatever road you tread and intersection you cross when it comes to the journaling habit, really lies in the hands of the author and whatever your needs are.

Finally, and this is for the non-writers chiming in and who may have reservations about all of this because of the nature of this habit: Anyone can journal.

Never assume or fall for the fallacy that you need to be highly articulate or a Nobel prize winner to journal. It is not about writing a New York Times bestseller. Journaling is private (should you wish it to be) and all about writing out and mastering the story of your life.

It is a life project regulated by your own terms and an endeavor shared between yourself and God; peanut gallery and trolls not included.

 

Adam Paterno is a 42-year-old happily married father of 2 and a practicing Roman Catholic from Montreal, Quebec Canada.  He has an MA in the History and Philosophy of Religion which he completed in 2007 at Concordia University, a certificate in youth ministry and several years of experience serving the Salesians of Don Bosco and the community of Missione Maria Ausiliatrice in the East end of the Catholic diocese of Montreal as a Parish Catechetical Leader and lector. He is the co-founder of the Kingdom Mindset Community and retreat, a joint venture he proudly shares with his partner Judy Wong from Catholic Action Montreal (CAM). The premise and goal of this initiative is to spread awareness and engage discussion about the importance of mental health and wellness on a parish level via speaking engagements, monthly Zoom chats and retreats. Adam also has many years of experience as a writer. He is a former freelance journalist for the now defunct Catholic Times and had his own column with Patheos.com entitled On the Upside.