When it comes to techniques — Journaling
My practice of choice.
I would like to introduce you to one of my favorite practices that I have found very helpful in my effort for a life of ease and expansion. I’m referring to journaling.
I firstly found journaling very intimidating. I stumbled tons on what to write and that created so much more resistance. I tried to write literally whatever would come to mind, even something like “I am stuck and I don’t know what to journal about, but I am doing it anyway in case it helps me …”, but I would just stop after 2 minutes of writing, all annoyed for it being pointless.
Taking an online coaching course I was introduced to journal prompts and that helped a lot. Basically, you write, again freely whatever comes to mind, having a specific subject or question in mind. In a sense, I realized I can go on about it, having a sort of a guiding idea or goal about it and this, in turn, just opened the door to so many ideas.
The topic you can explore can be generic or more specific. For example, you can look into a specific feeling that bothers you and open it up regarding how unpleasant it can be to you, what are the times and circumstances that it arises, why you think you feel it, where does it possibly come from, what are the related feelings that it also makes you feel and so forth.
Although some experts suggest that re-living negative situations is therapeutic alone, I, personally, have found that not leaving myself drowning in my negative feelings and not staying only at remembering unpleasant events works best for me. So when it comes to journaling, you can leave it at exploring a negative feeling or you can use this awareness to change the story about it. One of my struggles was to not be judgmental about my negative string of thought; either for me or for others involved in my stories or for the fact of me experiencing the negative emotions altogether. So, only to journal on and on about unpleasant circumstances from a place of understanding, acceptance and forgiveness is definitely something worthy about it.
Changing the story may also mean to go about seeing the positive aspects of any situation. Negative feelings have a purpose and thinking of how they protect us from the unwanted situations is something no one should want to lose. However, not dwelling on the bad side of things, but taking advantage of the triggers can be very useful for understanding what we have trouble with, as unbearable as it may be at times. Again, self-acceptance and forgiveness comes in handy when it comes to exploring personal negative experiences from a standpoint of expansion and self-healing, instead of criticizing and blame. Triggers are truly valuable and the more we see them from a collaborative stance the more they will reveal and guide.
All this sounds good in theory, but when it comes to seriously dealing with things that truly hurt the avoidance and procrastination we all of sudden show is just hilarious. So, as with every new habit we want to build, a good idea is to decide on a sort of specific scheduling when it comes to journaling. My personal goal was to do it daily no matter what. I thought that it would be most beneficial to write first thing in the morning, in order to set the day on a positive approach. In a way, I held myself accountable for always finishing off my journaling on a good note; the times I didn’t, I sort of carried the negative state throughout my day and it was harder for me to recuperate.
Another effective trick I took on was to set a timer. I heard a life coach saying she times herself to journal for 25 minutes so that it doesn’t take her forever and I just laughed with the fact that there are actually people having the opposite problem than me. I copied her anyways, promising to journal straight for this time, concentrated and uninterrupted, no matter what. As any new habit, this too gets to be easier and the moment you see the value it gives, either the actual healing effect or the fact that you dedicate yourself the time and effort for self-development, it is simply splendid.
Once you get a hang of it your intentions may vary. It is not a tool only for dissipating negative thoughts and emotions. It is useful for strengthening your positive line of thinking, as well. You see that you allow yourself to think positively anytime for whatever reason. Daydreaming is certainly effective and very liberating. Having your mind go on about possibility and opportunity and development and ascension is something you can cultivate and know that you have it available for dealing with life in general, being your choice for dealing with things, instead of reacting with fear, anxiety or anger.
I used to find affirmations and gratitude lists corny. I did, however, hear many of the psychology/coaching people I respect suggest them as seriously efficient. So, I journaled my aversion about it. This lead to discovering personal feelings of unworthiness and shame, of prioritizing others, of not standing up for myself or voicing my mind. The actual turn that came after was more than welcome, resolving deeper issues I had been experiencing. It turns out that, both gratitude lists and affirmations, are some of the easiest ways to quickly, if not instantly, shift from negative thinking to a more promising, inspiring and purposeful approach.
Journaling is definitely a great way to center yourself and it helps you discover, adjust, regulate and dissolve so much of the negative thoughts and feelings you experience. It definitely offers a great chance to open up to a positive train of thought and establishes new higher levels of self-acceptance, determination and love. The added value is that it is absolutely free; you can do it anytime and pretty much anywhere you want to attain its beneficial results. In addition, it gets you having practicing on responding in a more conscious, controlled and deliberate way about feelings and situations that you can then apply to any situation desired.
