Learn about Yourself through JOURNALING | Self-Discovery

I think you have the same experience before — when not feeling that good about life, things, people, you somehow tried to write it somewhere to talk to yourself. When we felt stuck probably, when we felt lost, and many more situations in life. Writing has always been one of the choices to sooth ourselves.

I was definitely one of them.

Recalling when we were growing up, we always wish that there is somebody there to understand us. I think somehow or what not we always hope the love ones around us for example our parent to understand us in many situations.

Do you agree — we are the only person in this world that understand ourselves. sometimes, we are also doubting ourselves whether do we understand ourselves.

Once upon a time, I remembered I was angry, upset and frustrated because I was being wrongly accused of things I didn’t do when I was young.I turned to — writing it down on whatever book that I can get. Although I have no idea what I was really writing back then, I just know that I wanted to blurt it out at that point of time.

Surprisingly, I felt good after writing it down — probably it’s more like explaining or assuring to myself that — I am good, I didn’t do that — I know myself. It was cute when I looked back to those messy notes I have written while doing the annual spring cleaning. Of course, I did disposed quite a lot of those planner books (which I used it for journal back then when I was 8 or 9 years old.) Usually, those calendar planner books were being given during the beginning of the year by relatives and parents. And I make used of them. I used to keep my personal journal back then under my pillow so no one could access to it and only I myself. It is like safe space to me.

I also remembered quite vividly that I used to affirm myself to keep going to pursue what I was passionate about back then such as to score good grades for exam, to be determined to make it to all my basketball training sessions even though my parents were not quite supportive towards it. I used to write it all down to myself, in a way it has encouraged me and motivated me with my own handwritten words.

Then, I’d switched to e-blogging, in a way, I was journaling my feelings, things that I needed to tell myself, to note down remarkable moment in my life, to process my complicated feelings during high school. To affirm on my vision and ambition. While I was reading about it now, I knew the practise back then has in a way to help me learn about myself bit by bit. But back then, I would not know consciously that it is the practice of journaling. It is more like soothing myself and expressing my feelings and thoughts.

I found out that journaling has been playing an extremely important role in expressing my emotion, understanding my emotion and affirming myself particularly. Back then was simply just wanted to write it down for whatever that is, to help myself to record down the historical moments, to encourage myself to keep going and summarising what I have learned during that time.

JOURNALING — the act of writing for yourself.

There are many big words such as introspection, reflection, and all that related to journaling. It is simply a writing exercise that benefit us to help us to learn and get to know ourselves along the way. Well, life is a lifelong learning journey and journaling is the act of being aware of life that we are living day by day.

How to learn about ourselves through JOURNALING:

1. Effective way of Understanding our Emotions — it has a magical feeling after we penned down everything about that day itself — the magical feeling is the CALMING EFFECT. Journaling is definitely a good way to start to learn about emotional intelligence.
2. Journaling is an important Self-Talk exercise — we will learn the pattern of how we perceive events and all the happenings in life. We are communicating to our inner world and it is very sacred to do so. You will slowly get into the flow to connect to yourself. To take care of the “garden” — which is described as our MIND in the book of Robin Sharma. Journaling is like trimming and gardening work in our own mind. To make sure the mind=garden looks tidy and neat time to time. It is a practical and the easiest way to cultivate self-care and self love.
3. Journaling helps us to raise our self-awareness to a whole new level. We are being aware of what words we used, we are being aware we are being affected or triggered in what particular way. Do not need to use too much logic of it, but journaling certainly helps us to connect and communicate with our subconscious mind when we are in the flow of writing to ourselves.
4. Journaling helps us to understand how exactly we behave and respond to the reality or the outer world we are experiencing daily. We have so much to learn from our behaviours, responses, decisions we made everyday. It tells us a lot of information about ourselves. With such observing our own behaviours through journaling, we are in a way sharpening the way we make informed decisions in many aspects.
5. It’s a form of mind-training — to organise our thoughts. Through practicing daily journal, we are able to articulate and communicate thoughts to ourselves clearly and logically. Clear thought, Clear mind, Clear thinking and there you go — clear communication and and expression to your inner world and others.
6. Journaling is helping us to gain clarity as well. The more we drill, dig deeper towards ourselves, we are asking difficult questions and we are in the process of learning to be honest to ourselves. As no one is going to judge you through the process, we are gradually learning about ourselves in what do we want in life and who are we exactly. The conquest of self-searching and soul-searching begin with journaling. For no one else, but for yourself.
7. Journaling keeps us on track.
   During the lock down period of COVID19, I had been journaling even more and more, time to time to keep myself sane. Whenever there is something I could not control, not within my control, I will open the journal book and process my at-the-moment emotion immediately. We have been constantly feeding our mind with tremendous information and news every day, journaling helps us to identify what is in within my control and what is not. It helps us to get back on track quickly and focusing on the present.
8. Journaling is meditating and mindfulness practice too. Throughout the writing process, you are in your own flow. “No where to go, nothing to do” but just let the mind flows, pen moves on the paper. That’s all we do. Indeed, I experienced that being non-judgemental towards our own judgements and thoughts while just keep on writing my feelings and thoughts throughout the day.

1. Practising of self-detachment and sense of gratefulness, self-recognition, self-appreciation, self-acceptance and self-forgiving. (this would need another article to discuss about.) All these elements are big homework in this lifelong-learning process to get to know ourselves.
2. Journaling helps us to pause and think.
   By pausing, giving time by end of the day to look through how the day has been for ourselves are important. Sometimes, we are just too busy and occupied by the social media feeds. Taking time to wind down — journaling is the perfect winding down action before we sleep. (I would love to share more on journaling tools that we used — such as how to set up the environment to journal, what type of journals to use, what pen, what music and etc — it will enhance the “sacred experience” of journaling.

claim your birth right — to journal everyday to wind down

Start journaling today and share among your friends and peers — how journaling has helped you to discover yourself.

Journaling is the story-telling process of how we tell our own stories to us, the most important self.

In my next article, I will be sharing tips or some guided questions to guide you through on journaling :)

Penny L.