How to Journal Your Way to a Simpler and Happier Life
What is journaling? Can journaling really improve your mental health and wellbeing? How do you get started with journaling? Keep reading for answers to all these questions and more, as we cover how to journal your way to a simpler and happier life!
What is Journaling?
Journaling is so much more than jotting down ideas, making lists or taking a note of your feelings. When journaling is done well, it provides a cathartic outlet for complex thoughts, feelings and emotions. It allows you to take a deep dive into your own psyche, to process situations, organise chaotic thoughts and come up with an action plan for moving forward.
While anyone can start journaling, for any reason, it is often recommended as an adjunct to therapy and other mental health treatments. Journaling is scientifically proven to boost mental and physical health, and to specifically improve symptoms of depression and anxiety. It is a powerful tool that can help you get to know yourself more deeply, and bring greater clarity to your needs and desires.
How to Get Started with Journaling
All you need is a pen and paper, preferably. Or alternatively a device with your preferred word processing application. To get the most from your journaling experience, I would highly recommend that you find a comfortable space. Have a drink and a snack with you to ensure that all your needs are met. And try to find a quiet time when you are unlikely to be interrupted.
The easiest way to start writing is to do just that – begin. Freewriting involves writing down your thoughts in an uninterrupted way. Once these ideas are on the page before you, rather than floating around in your mind, you can view each one objectively using my WHAT – WHY – HOW – WHEN method. This can be adapted to suit almost any frame of reference, as I will describe below.
What-Why-When-How
WHAT – Go back over your paragraph of freewriting with a highlighter. Name the emotions, thoughts or feelings you have identified in turn. Pinpoint the goals you want to achieve. Recognise all the things in your life that you are grateful for. Use each of these as a heading which you will expand upon in the following steps.
WHY – Take a step back from all you have identified above. Try to see it with fresh eyes. Why do you feel the way you do? Why have you chosen this particular goal to work towards? Why are you grateful for these particular items and/or people today? Write down as much or as little as you need under each of your headings to give you clarity.
HOW – Once you understand the root of your current feelings, consider how you can make things better. Now that you fully appreciate your goals and your motivation, how are you going to achieve that goal? How can you take your gratitude and pay it forward? Or how can you use your gratitude to remain content with your life as it is?
WHEN – You now know what you need to do. Set yourself a deadline for implementing some self-help strategies. Map out a timeline for your SMART objectives as you work towards your goal.
Journaling About Events
Journaling can also offer an opportunity to play through scenarios around forthcoming events that may be stressful or triggering. This may enable you to go into the event with a positive mindset, a gameplan and build in coping strategies.
There are also abundant sources online which offer journal prompts to suit your journaling aims and objectives.
Benefits of Regular Journaling
If you can make a regular habit of journaling, you will reap the rewards in all aspects of your health and wellbeing.
Sharing your struggles with your journal is so liberating. Once those thoughts and feelings are no longer going round and round in your head, but instead can be viewed objectively on paper, they lose their power over you.
Writing about your goals and aspirations allows you to fully understand your motivation and your target. You can then formulate an action plan and turn your dreams into reality.
Taking a moment to write in a gratitude journal each day keeps you present and grounded. You may even choose to romanticise your life a little.
And you can do all of this in a safe space, without any fear of judgement from others.
Journaling for a Simpler and Happier Life
I recommend that you employ the following steps when journaling for mental health, happiness and simplicity.
- Get to Know Yourself: What makes you tick? Where are you happiest? What would your dream job be? Which people in your life lift you up and make you feel heard and respected? What do you most want out of life? Really dig deep and find the real you. Because in order to make yourself truly happy, you must first figure out what makes you happy. And, perhaps more importantly, what does not make you happy.
- Intentions: Journal about your goals, hopes and fears for the future. Where do you want to be in five or ten years? Are there any road blocks in your way? Work out a plan for realising your dreams.
- Gratitude: Practicing daily gratitude will make you more focused on all the goodness you already have in your life. Every day, write down three things that you are grateful for and one thing that made you smile. Taking the time to do this makes you more aware of how full your life is already, and therefore makes you less likely to chase dopamine spikes through shopping and other mindless activities.
- Address Negative Emotions: Start your journaling practice each day with freewriting about how you feel. Be intentional about addressing any negative emotions, thoughts or feelings that arise in your narrative using the What-Why-How-When strategy outlined above. If you tackle negativity head-on instead of allowing it to fester, you will be so much happier for it.
- Achievements: Finish on a positive note and write down three things that you have accomplished during the day. These could be small wins or a bigger goal, acts of kindness for someone else, or just finding a few minutes during that day to do something that made you smile. It’s your journal; the choice is yours!
This sequence enables you to define your most sincere goals in life. Keep these goals in mind and pare away anything that stands in the way of achieving them. For example, you may realise that unnecessarily upgrading your car, phone or other device is a waste of money and goes against your main aim of getting out of debt. You may come to understand that going shopping at weekends as a hobby leads to frivolous purchases, and this is preventing you from saving money towards a house deposit.
Summary
Daily journaling practice can have significant positive outcomes for your mental and physical health. All you need is a pen and paper!
Start with freewriting to clear your mind of busy thoughts. Review what you have written and pick out any thoughts, feelings or emotions to use as headings. Analyse these using the What-Why-How-When method.
Getting to know yourself, your goals and aspirations will keep you focused on what is most important to you. This will enable you to pare away anything which is superfluous, which may actually be keeping you from living the life you want.
Practice daily gratitude to keep you grounded and appreciative of all that you already have.
