When you think about your dream life what does it include? What are the feelings that you have when you visualise or describe to yourself what you do, how you spend your time and perhaps even what this future self looks like? When we are on the journey to creating our most beautiful and authentic life it can seem as though we are in a constant struggle between now and where we want to be. The space between the two can seem so vast and you may feel a bit disheartened at the sheer task that it is perceived to be. This is where journaling can be an immense tool to add to your daily routine. The simple act of dedicating 5, 10, 15 or even 20 minutes to yourself to write and explore your internal space can be hugely liberating, and can even offer the solutions to the challenges you face on your journey.
Some of the greatest minds in history were dedicated to their journaling practice, Charles Darwin wrote as a form of catharsis when battling the huge questions of where we come from, Frida Kahlo also wrote as a way to decipher her thoughts and the events happening around her. The simple act of writing gives us so much more awareness of where we are, but it can also be a huge wakeup to the things that we may be dismissing or the true seeds of our own doubts or insecurities.
But how do you do it?
Well it’s one of the most simple acts of kindness you can gift yourself. Find a book, it doesn’t have to be fancy all it needs to do is be able to contain your thoughts. Then settle down somewhere you can just ‘be’, try to avoid distractions if possible but if that is unavoidable learn to sit within the chaos and channel your energy into the page.
Some days you may write volumes of words, your mind like a river constantly flowing and responsive to your questions. But other days simply getting 5 words out may feel like a marathon. This is all part of the journey, when you are getting back in touch with yourself it can take time to trust and accept what needs to be removed in order to invite the freedom you desire. As F. Scott Fitzgerald said “Nothing any good isn’t hard”, we learn from applying ourselves to challenges and sometimes the greatest challenge is getting to know ourselves.
Through the simple act of writing down your ideas, or even just your stream of consciousness, you can pick up some incredibly insightful information on where you are and maybe even what you need to do as your next step towards your dreams and goals.
We encourage you to stick at your journaling, give it time to grow as a practice and see where it takes you. You may be surprised after a while when you read back on past entries and see how far you have come.
Let us know how you get on, and if you have a journaling practice yourself then feel free to share your tips and how you incorporate it into your busy day.
Much Love and have a wonderful day,
H+K