What’s on YOUR mind?

08 Jul What’s on YOUR mind?

Taking time each day to write two pages about whatever is on your mind can be a real eye-opener. This morning I ran across some journaling I did nine years ago. I was amazed to discover that things that troubled me then have been resolved, many of my intentions back then have come to pass, and some things still need addressing!

Here’s the thing. Whatever spews out of your mind day after day, day after day, starts to show patterns in your thinking. All you have to do is set aside time each day (not an easy task, I know, but essential for journaling) and write two pages. Even if all you can do is write, “I don’t know what to write” over and over, other thoughts will eventually kick in and you’ll discover other things to write about.

This is not about good spelling, proper grammar, and clever phrases. It’s about capturing whatever is on your mind just the way you think about it, without any censoring. Raw emotion, rants, joys, sorrows – just spit it all out.

And do this every day. Some people like to do it first thing in the morning, others late at night. If you miss a day or two, don’t worry. Set aside a time slot for it each day – and a quiet, private place to do it – and get back to it again. If it helps inspire you, buy a good pen and an attractive notebook or journal.

Initially I used journaling when I was going through a lot of change, and I found it sparked new lines of thinking in me. It can also be helpful when you’re feeling stumped about something and don’t know what to do, or to identify personal development that you want to attend to, or just to capture all the things that make up your life.

When you look back over previous days or weeks of writing, you may notice that you’ve been writing about the same thing for a solid month – or more! This can be an opportunity to see patterns in your thinking, which affect how you feel, which affect how you behave in real life. You might even be inspired to do something about whatever it is you’ve been going on and on about, and then you can write about that!