Hi Friend,
If we are lucky enough a lot of our own lives may have been documented by photos, videos, articles, and so forth...
But what if you had access to your own thoughts, memories, feelings, accomplishments and interactions 1-5-10 or 20 years down the track?
So here I am admitting that as a 39-year-old, my Tik Tok feed (yes I'm on yet another platform of procrastination) has recently been filled with Glow ups of Harry Styles as the young teen from One Direction to the outstanding human he is today. (I am by no means complaining at all at my algorithm)
It made me think about how lucky he and the One Direction fellas are that so much of their life was actually documented.
Now I don't mean the media portrayals of whether they were good boys or not, just the mere fact that a lot of their journey and accomplishments along the way have been documented. Luckily for them as usually an edited video source too.
If we are lucky enough, a lot of our own lives may have been documented by photos, videos, articles, and so forth...
But what if you had access to your own thoughts, memories, feelings, accomplishments, and interactions 1-5-10 or 20 years down the track?
Have you ever stumbled across something from the past while cleaning out your closet that left you feeling nostalgic and thinking about how far you have come or what has changed since that moment?
Journaling can give you insight as to what is serving you, what isn't, what makes you feel good, what things you avoid, and what next steps you need to take to reach some milestones or achievements you want.
My younger self used to document on a daily basis, I can't remember when/why it actually stopped - I think maybe when I came back from Living in London and started working in Advertising in 2006. Life becomes a little more hectic, and now that I think back my anxiety levels have increased every year since!
7 common benefits that can result from starting to journal are:
Achieving Goals - Knowing what you are working towards keeps you accountable, set intentions, and allows you to keep on trucking on the days you find it harder to do so.
Witness your progress and Growth - I mean all it takes is a small win or realization that something is better engrained than before
Self-Confidence Increases - Look back and feel proud at either the accomplishments you achieved or the lessons you learned from an experience
Enhance writing and communication skills - We get better at the things we do consistently. This blog in itself is a challenge I set for myself at the end of 2021. I have so much self-doubt when it comes to writing, I felt my grammar isn't great (thanks Grammarly for fixing that roadblock), as a super shy and quiet kid I was always simply the observer in the room, never really participating in conversations but always listening and observing body language. I never really thought I could add value to the conversation so I'd just sit quietly. This blog is forcing me to say things to a wider audience outside of just my client/student crew.
Reduce Stress and Anxiety - Does anyone relate to that little voice that says some not-so-nice things on loop in your head? If we can stop for a minute and dump out that worry onto paper we can logistically sort through what's happening, see what actually needs attention and what is simply thoughts!
Get Inspired - Let the unconscious mind run free. So much of our time we need our logical and critical brains. Writing can release some problem-solving techniques needed, release some inner visions and you never know what your brain will put on paper that may surprise you.
Bulletproof your memory - Something as simple as writing something down lets your brain know you want to remember it. Ever written a shopping list, forgot the actual list but remembered what you needed in store - this is the story of my life! For a deep dive into how writing your thoughts down can reduce intrusive negative thoughts check out The Journal of Experimental Psychology
So you know some benefits, you feel that you want to be exposed to these benefits.
But Nikki, I hear you ask - WHERE DO I START?
How about you try this each week for a Month?
Start today about last week, and choose a day/time/location you can allocate 15-30min to do this task.
Find yourself an Inspiring writing utensil/format that works for you then sit and answer these simple questions.
Be as brief or as descriptive as you want!
Who made you feel good?
What did you do this week that moved you closer to reaching your goals?
Is there anything you did this week that you wish you’d done differently?
What did you most enjoy doing this week?
How did you procrastinate on important tasks?
What did you learn?
What's the funniest thing that happened to you?
I'd love to know what you find out, accomplish or simply share your inspiring journal cover!
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Until next week
Nikki
Stay curious and remember
“We don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing” - George Bernard Shaw