February Journaling Challenge

I have some exciting news. My good friend, Karin and I have decided to do a February Journaling Challenge. We hope you will join us, and participate.

 

RULE

Journaling is not about rules, so we have kept that to minimum with only one rule:

 

All you have to do is follow a daily prompt, and do ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING YOU WANT WITH IT. You can do an art journal page, drawing, writing, doodling, poetry, fiction, whatever you want.

 

We have specifically selected prompts that could be used in a variety of ways, because even Karin and I are approaching this Journaling Challenge from very different sides. Karin's main form is mixed media journal, and mine is writing. So as you can imagine, our entries and our interpretation of the prompts are likely to be very different.

 

You can join us, and do whatever appeals to you.

 

PROMPTS

We will post prompts daily on both our blogs.

 

Nofretiri Dreams of Writing 

Journal Addict

 

OUR PAGES

As I said - journaling is not about rules. So I will share some of my pages, depending on what I do with those prompts. Some of the entries may be too personal to share. Karin is planning to share all her pages. Our entries will be posted on our respective blogs.

 

If you want to share yours with us, please contact us, and we will be happy to post them on our blogs. Even if you don't want to show your entries, just join us on this amazing Journaling journey, where you devote the shortest month of the year - only 28 days - to journaling every day. You can do as much or as little you want, but I believe that at the end of the month, you will feel happier or at least more insightful for this exploration.

Creating the Space for Journal Writing

Do you journal as much as you want to? Perhaps you don't journal at all, but would like to. Whatever your situation, I hope this post will help you. This is about creating physical space as well as emotional space.

When keeping a journal becomes a second nature, all most of us need is to pick up our journal and a pen and start scribbling. Location - as long as relative privacy is ensured - doesn't matter, nor does noise or any other distractions. The world surrounding us becomes part of our journaling experience, and yet we are not distracted by it, because we are immersed in the journaling process.

But what if you are not yet at that stage? What if Journaling for you is not a second nature, but rather a regular habit that you are trying to cultivate, a hobby you are trying to develop, or simply a necessity to share your thoughts? If that is you - then sometimes, you may find that you don't want to journal. Either you can't be bothered, because it's too inconvinient to go find that journal, find a comfortable place to write, find a right environment etc.

This is where issue of space comes in.

Physical Space
Keep it somewhere you can have easy access. Ideally near a place you would generally journal. I.e. in your desk, on the coffee table

Make sure you feel comfortable with the level of privacy about this place. I recommend keeping it out of sight, even if your family respects your privacy. Even under another book would do. Why tempt people to open it by shoving your journal under their noses?

If you are able, carry it with you and write whenever you get a chance. You may find writing in it in odd moments, capturing moments of your day that might otherwise go unrecorded.

Make it easy on you. If you have to get your journal out from a back of a wardrobe every time, and digging it out takes you ten minutes, you are unlikely to write regularly.

Emotional Space
What if you feel so overwhelmed with emotional issues that it's too difficult to write? Or perhaps you think you can't write. That's when creating emotional space comes in useful.

If you are dealing with emotional issues that are having impact on your life, on your relationships, journaling could help you deal with them. It is not a substitute for professional help if the situation requires it, but it can be a great self-help tool anyway.

First thing to keep in mind - Start Slow.

It's okay if you don't feel capable of expressing all your feelings by writing. It's okay if you don't feel at ease about exposing your fear or your opinions. It's okay if you don't feel comfortable writing something that could make you vulnerable if someone else read it.

Start slow.

Write what you do feel comfortable about.

Write a list of things you fear. Write a list of things you wish would change. Write a list of things you are grateful about. Or everyday, simply write about your day, and at the end of it, write what you wish you could have done differently.

There will come a time when you can decide to act on it. To do something different. To change habits and behaviours that are keeping your trapped in your present emotional state. Or perhaps it's other people. Write about those people. Evaluable your feelings. Is it really them? Or is it your intepretation of their actions? If it is them, what can you do? Is it something you can fix by open, honest conversation or do those people need to be cut off from your life?

None of these are easy issues. But creating emotional space is about honesty with your self. You must face your emotions if you are to deal with them. Unless you know the root of what's troubling you, and the root cause for your life not being the way you like it to be, you cannot even begin to solve it. Of course not everything in life is in our control, but then journaling will help you understand and hopefully accept that.

Happy Journaling!

Journal Writing Prompt 13 - Talk To Your Problems

I am sure you have heard that talking to yourself is first sign of madness. I disagree. I think it's only mad if you consider yourself boring - and if you do, let me tell you, you are not. Each of us are unique individuals - not better than anyone else, but certainly different. Our upbringing, experiences, behaviour has shaped our past and continues to shape our present and our future. 

But what if you don't like your past, or how things are going in the present? What if you dread the future you see? 

Good news - for the most part, your future is in your hands. 

Before any of you cynics out there start scoffing, I am not talking about unrealistic expectations here. If the future you want is to live on a colony on moon - well, you'll just have to make that happen in fiction. 

But for most everyday fears, problems, our own behaviour or bad habits, this will help IF YOU ARE HONEST IN YOUR EXERCISE. 

Get  that journal out. Pick one problem or habit that bothers you the most. Just one for now. Does it keep you awake at night? Does it make you dread getting up in the morning? Does it depress you? Does it make you want to drink yourself into oblivion or gorge yourself on chocolates? Does it make you worry your spouse will leave you or your children will hate you? Whatever it is - write it down. 

Not all problems have to be huge scale. It could be anything - but as long as it is something that affects your life in a negative way, even if psychologically, it is a valid problem. 

Write that problem in your journal - underline it. 

Now, I want you to free write for minimum of 10 minutes. Shut off all other distractions, and start writing. Moan, bitch, complain, blame it on everyone else - but write anything that comes to mind about that problem. If any solution come to mind, write that as well. 

Few prompts to get you going?

Why does this bother you?

When did it start?

How did it start?

Is it external or something internal? 

Who does it affect? 

How does it bother you?

Write absolutely everything. If you keep going for more than 10 minutes, great. But give it ten minutes. If you can't think of anything to write for 10 minutes, then keep repeating yourself. But you have to give your subconscious a chance to open up, and it's not going to do that if you close the journal after two minutes. 

Once you have done it? You may feel relieved to get it out, or you may feel depressed to go through it, or you may feel emotionally drained. 

Take a break. Go do something fun. Have a nap. But forget about the journal, and go distract yourself.

Depending on how resolved you feel, go back to the journal either later in the day or the next day. Pick out every sentence you wrote, and for each sentence - write down how it can be solved.

Don't worry about being able to do it just yet, or whether or not you have the will power. Imagine as if it's a friend who has come to you with that problem, and you are telling them what to do - and we are all great at giving other people solutions, aren't we? 

Write down what the solution would be using common sense? For every sentence. It may just be one or two solutions for everything, nevertheless repeat it next to each sentence. 

When you are done - do you know what you have got? 

Drumroll....

An action plan.

That's right. 

You've found the answers to your problems. Not all of it will be easy to fix. It may take resources (money, time, external help), it may take supreme effort of your will power - but at least you have a plan. You know what you need to do. 

If you feel ready, do a journal entry for how you might be able to accomplish each of those steps.

Analyse your Self through your Journals

If you have kept a journal for a decent period if time, looking back at it, it will reveal far more than your actual words. Of course it does depend on the quality and quantity of your journaling - but on the whole, our journals do tell us much about us. It is a good tool for analysing habits and behaviour.

 

When I look back at my journals, I see all different goals I have focused on, various things I have obsessed about, the progress I have made, failures faced. Looking back at it - my journals not only tell me what I have tried to achieve, but they tell me why I have failed or succeeded. I don't sit there writing theories of reasons. I simply record my obsession, what I am doing, what I wish to achieve. This applies not only to goals, but to your general life. Perhaps looking at your teenage journals, you might find yourself obsessed with boys/girls, in your middle age with work/family, loneliness, illness - anything. How did you cope with trials in life? How did you appreciate the joys?

 

When you look at your journals with the purpose of analysing your life, and more importantly, your self, you can see the patterns of behaviour. Is there a habit you need to change? A fear you need to overcome? Is there something  that is consistently holding you back?

 

All the answers there - if only you have the patience and the courage to look for them.

 

And if you haven't kept a journal for a consistent period of time, it is never too late to start.