“Please, please, please don’t make me journal!! I hate it!!” 😭

 

That was one of the first things I said to Shannon Whaley when we started working together last year.

 

As a writer, I’d tend to see everything I wrote as content to be published, and writing “just for myself” felt like wasting my words.

 

But then a few weeks ago, I caught myself raaaaaving about journaling with a client, ending my monologue with “There’s SO MUCH transformation available through journaling. That’s why I LOVE it!”

 

WAIT, WHAT ?!!!!???? 🙈😅😳😂🙈

 

The truth is, when I started journaling, I discovered that there was actually something powerful in writing for myself and no one else.

 

That’s where I can get raw and real and let my emotions flow as they are.

 

That’s where I can express my feelings fully: no filters, no judgement, no holding back. 

 

And what happens is that they end up leading me to unexpected places.

 

Where suddenly things make sense.

 

I understand why I feel the way I feel.

 

And healing can take place.

 

There are a thousand ways of doing it, but what works best for me is having guiding questions, so that I can let loose WITHIN that container without getting lost wandering aimlessly with my words.

 

My favourite three questions to unpack uncomfortable feelings are:

1. How am I feeling?

2. Is it true? (for any fears/beliefs that come up) Thanks Shannon Whaley!

3. What does it remind me of? aka When was a time in my childhood/past when I felt that way?

 

I borrowed Question 3 from my couples therapist. The reason I’ve brought it in my personal practice is that I’ve witnessed during our sessions how much of the feelings, fears, beliefs and discomfort we experience today actually belong to past versions of ourselves.

 

Identifying them for what they are frees us to experience life today, here and now, as opposed to through old lenses that might not serve us anymore.

 

Try it for yourself. 

 

You’ll be mind-blown by the results. 🔥