
Three Easy Steps for Starting a Life-changing Journaling Practice
“I write to Feng Shui my soul.”
Laura Di Franco, Author of Brave Healing, a Guide for Your Journey
Are you wanting to get into the write habit?
A regular journaling practice can change your life for the better, helping you to reflect, enhance awareness, super-boost intuition, shift your mindset or heal past wounds. Today I’m sharing the three biggest secrets to transforming your life with a regular journaling practice.
I’ve been journaling since I was fifteen. Oh if you could read the pages of those little diaries…you’d probably laugh at the hormone-filled angst. Looking back now I realize I was living, reflecting and healing myself there on those pages. I continued the practice throughout my life.
After I became a healer the notion I’d had forever—that I wanted to write a book—was strong. I’d been journaling all through school, my first job, my marriage and births of my two children, and then through the entire six years my son and I trained and earned our black belts in Tae Kwon Do together.
I realized one day that I’d journaled through the entire six-year journey. I knew what I was going to write about. Living, Healing and Taekwondo was my first published memoir. I’d pretty much written it in my journals!
In 2015, with my second book moving through me, I was excited to get the stories of my childhood out. A friend told me about NaNoWriMo. Perfect, I thought, I’ll get my 30,000 words out in thirty days and bam! Book. Done.
At the end of those thirty days I ended up with 65,000 words detailing every childhood wound. On Christmas Eve the same year I attached it to an email and sent it to my family.
My family still talks to me folks. It’s all good.
Here’s what I know now. The writing was the Feng Shui I needed to do to clear a space inside me, to heal myself. Nobody had to read it. Not even my family. I just needed to write it. And it’s not the book that the world will read. That one came a short while later.
The next book came after I cleared a space big and wide enough for the inspired words to move through. Writing was my new tool. A tool I still use to move energy, keep me flowing and how I can say now that I think writer’s block is for sissies.
I’m so passionate about this process I’d like to share with you what I think are the secrets to starting a life-changing journaling practice:
- Feel first, then write
The connection to your inner self (the body, the mind, your essence) is how the words flow in a way your inner critic won’t get in the way. Take some breaths and a moment to connect to what you feel. Then put pen to paper and let it roll.
2. Do a little every day
Try for 3–5 minutes. Make this very low pressure. Make it something you look forward to; something you actually do. What happens is people set huge expectations for an hour a day at first and then when they can’t make it happen they quit. Don’t do that to yourself. Any amount is good to start with.
3. Schedule it
If it’s not in your calendar, it’s not real. If you want to do this make an appointment with yourself and protect the time. Put that 5 minutes in your calendar. And make up a cute title for it so you’ll be inspired. Laura’s Writing Extravaganza is one of mine!
Simple, right?
Except we come up with excuses, don’t we? Excuses are just an obstacle you made up in your mind. Try thinking something more helpful. Watch your own thoughts and beliefs, they just might be sabotaging everything! With awareness you have a choice to pick thoughts, beliefs and actions that serve your desires, dreams and vision.
Time to choose.
That brings me to the most important thing about starting a journaling practice: your why.
Like everything in life, if our why isn’t big enough we’ll always fail. When there’s no big why behind something you “really want to do” it doesn’t have the fuel it needs to overpower things like doubt, fear and laziness.
Here are some of the whys behind my practice to help you out.
*I journal regularly because I feel better afterward.
*I journal regularly because it helps me with ideas for my blog and book writing.
*I journal regularly because it’s the fastest way to communicate with my inner healer, wisdom and intuition.
*I journal regularly because I’m more fun to be with when I do.
*I journal regularly because when I do, my connection-to-The-Universe game is strong and my intuition stays on point (magical things happen).
*I journal because I want to be a better writer.
What are you big whys? Lay some on me in the comments!
And until we meet again, remember, you were born, so you’re worthy. Your story matters. Starting a regular journaling practice might just be the beginning of something wonderful. Ready to find out?
Laura Di Franco, MPT is the owner of Brave Healer Productions and a powerhouse who writes to Feng Shui her soul. She’s the author of Brave Healing, a Guide for Your Journey, her sixth book to help inspire your fiercely alive whole self. Join her and write words that build your business and heal the world. The Write Habit online writing club is now open at www.BraveHealer.com
