This is What Happened When I Started to Journal Every Day
And How it Helped Me Discover Who I Am
We live in a fast-paced world that has its advantages and disadvantages.
The more I think about it, the more I realize we need to take a step back for our own well-being.
We need to slow down, spend more time in contemplation and just BE.
I Had No Idea Who I Was
My journey to self-discovery started when 5 people died in my life in a 2-year period. I was addicted to my job and my marriage was suffering because of it.
Life HAD to be better than this. I had this feeling there had to be something more — something better.
Then the best thing happened — I got fired my job.
I didn’t know who I was without my job. Suddenly, I had all this time and had no idea what to do with it.
I was lost and confused.
These changes in my life projected me on a journey to discover who I am. Who I am as a human without all the labels our culture gives us.
Take away the title of woman, wife, sibling, friend, and employee. I did not know who I was.
I needed to find out who “ME” was and journaling helped me do this.
The Power of Journaling
To be honest, I hated journaling at first. I felt I was dwelling in the past and feeling sorry for myself.
It was as if journaling was a wasting my time because I didn’t feel it was moving me forward.
But many self-help articles claim if you want to learn more about yourself and your passion:
There is power in journaling.
With trial and error and trying many forms of journaling (including the Bullet Journal), I kept at it.
I eventually found my groove, and that’s when the magic happened!
Journaling helped me do these 5 things in my life and I strongly believe this helped me discover who I am:
1. Put ME first every day
I made a commitment to myself to journal every day. Before the world wakes up, I’d spend 30 minutes by myself.
Without my husband, without my dog. Just me, myself and I.
The process of getting up every day and focusing on myself for 30 minutes taught me to put my well-being first.
I realized how much I’ve been neglecting myself and I was craving to spend time in introspection.
2. Forced me to Focus on the Present
Our culture is moving from one task to another task without thinking twice. Before you know it we are running the rat race we call life, in a robotic state.
Part of my journaling process requires me to think about the now. What am I thinking and feeling at this very moment, this very second?
I schedule time during my journalling to be silent. I focus on the words I’ve written and what I’m thinking about regarding those specific words and thoughts.
3. Helped me Navigate Through My Thoughts
The process of weeding through my thoughts and transferring them on paper was a game changer.
My mind is filled with a combination of positive and negative thoughts. Journaling helped me visualize my thoughts and visually see the narrative happening.
It was an eye-opener.
4. Allowed me to Brain Dump
I’m a creative. It’s impossible to create your best work when your mind is full of clutter. Like decluttering a room makes you feel good, clearing your mind has the same effect.
Journaling helped me remove all the clutter. This new free space in my mind allowed me to become inspired, write down creative ideas and plans of action.
5. Helped me put things into perspective
The biggest thing journalling did for me was help me put things into perspective.
My journal gives me a visual of my daily thoughts. I can look back and see the things that have been nagging me every day. See the things that have been toxic in my life. Look for patterns of things that excited me. My passions become much clearer.
Final Thought
I’ve never been so clear on my purpose as I am today — and I thank God and the process of journaling for this clarity.
Try it for yourself, let me know how it goes!
Want to begin your own journey of introspection through journaling? I’ve created a free 5-day email series called “Discover Who You Are Through Journaling”. This series will teach you my process and help you on your road to self-discovery! Sign up for it here
