A Journal for Your Thoughts?

I’ve kept a journal since I was nine. It has been the main thing that keeps me sane. Any time I mention the idea of journaling to someone, they always come back with ‘but I don’t know how.’

It’s simple.

Journals are a place of nonjudgment. They are a place of stream-of-consciousness. Nothing has to be ‘in order’ in a journal. Nothing has to be kind. Nothing is wrong. Nothing is right. A journal is just a place to dump all of the thoughts in your head, giving them space to settle so they no longer swirl and grow.

I’d assume this nonjudgement takes time to become accustomed to, but honestly, since I’ve been doing it for so long, I can’t teach you how to do it.

All I can say is just start.

First and foremost, you must choose a journal you like. It can be a simple notebook, or an elaborate binded book with golden edges. Regardless of the appearance, it has to be something that calls to you to write in, to open and put pen to paper.

I am an advocate of handwriting and not typing. Even as I type these posts, I still never feel ‘complete’ until I’ve addressed it somehow in my journal. Simply writing, “My post this week was about journaling.” There’s more of a concrete “I did it” when it’s written down in my sloppy handwriting rather than perfectly formatted on a screen.

You can begin each entry with ‘Dear Journal.’ Or you can immediately dive in and begin writing down whatever thoughts are flowing. Personally, I like to begin to “Happy [insert day of the week here].” Or I start as if I was speaking to my best friend and jump right into the conversation we last had. For me, my journal is some sort of combination between myself, my friend, my higher self, my confidante.

Allow your pen to move with you thoughts. When you use your journal as a stream of consciousness, just letting it all spill out of you, bouncing back and forth between topics like a ping pong game, the weight that was sitting on your shoulder lifts more and more each time. You become stronger in handling that weight because you are not letting it fester within you. Rather, you are giving it a home, a safe space, to rest.

This is how I learned to let go of anything bothering me, but literally dumping it on the page. I forced myself to face my hurt and my fears by making them real. Once they were there, I could then start to understand them more, work through them, and finally let them go.

Don’t stop writing because ‘nothing is going on.’

There were times when it would take me years to get through my journal. It’s funny to skim back through those older journals now, to see how I would go months at a time without writing anything. Now, if I go more than a week, it feels too long. Even when things are good, the act of journaling settles me. To open up and write a short page expressing that things are going well, that nothing ‘interesting’ or ‘important’ has happened, is a thought worth putting down. Because that’s another thing the journal is for: The mundane. The simple. The everyday.

Then, you get to rest.

Of course, there are plenty of journals out there that include specific prompts. Those have never worked for me, even the specific gratitude journal that I have. I need space to just let it all out. The good, the bad, the ugly, the beautiful. My lightest and darkest thoughts end up in my journal. Some I share with the world, and others I don’t tell my closest friend. Always, it’s been the space for me to release…everything.

If you’re looking for a recommendation, my personal favorite journals are the Peter Pauper Press ones. The various covers are beautiful. The paper is incredibly soft, and I always use a class Bic Crystal blue pen to write with. The pair flows smoothly together.

Take the time to get your thoughts out. When we try to talk to ourselves in the empty car on the way home, our thoughts never have any where to land. Even with our friends, sometimes the words get tangled up even worse. But with journaling, they become something solid that we can grab onto. We can follow our thoughts, work through them, and let them go.

Don’t worry about getting it right or wrong. Focus on putting pen to paper and getting the thoughts out. I promise, you’ll notice a difference.