By Marquita Herald, Emotionally Resilient Living

Did you know that writing about yourself and your experiences can not only improve your sense of well-being, it helps to reduce stress and promote healing? It can even lead to behavioral changes and increased happiness.

Some mighty big promises that sound suspiciously like typical self-help rhetoric, but research suggests the effects are real … expressive writing can literally change your life and you have everything you need to get started.

Whether you realize it or not your life is full of hidden gems of knowledge and insights that can help you better understand your past, make the most of your present, and navigate the best course for your future.

The question is how do you tap into these invaluable insights?

Journal Writing is the Answer

I know that many of my regular readers believe, as I do, in the value of using a journal to write about thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Some use a journal to express their gratitude, while others record achievements and big ideas, or work through everything from pursuing their purpose in life to managing major life transitions.

Journaling is essentially about cultivating a relationship with your mind and the beauty is there are no rules; it is what you choose to make of it. But despite the lack of defined structure (or maybe because of it), the potential for growth is substantial.

Often by writing in a journal, we are surprised by what we learn about ourselves. It runs counter to what we’ve thought about who we are. But it is closer to the truth. ~Rob Bignell

Journaling can …

Clear Mental Clutter

It’s no secret that we think faster than we can write. Journaling helps to slow your thoughts so you can work through mental clutter and process your feelings and emotions about problems and challenges you may be facing, what you believe in and why you believe it.

Best of all, it allows you to express your most intimate thoughts and begin understanding who you really are, even as it connects you to the bigger picture of your life and your relationship to the things and people that matter most to you.

Keep You Focused

On any given day the hectic pace of modern living can have you running in circles, draining your energy as you respond to who or whatever screams loudest for your attention. Journaling has a thoughtful, meditative effect that calms the emotions and focuses your attention on the here and now.

Help to Identify Patterns

As enjoyable and enlightening as journal writing can be, writing alone will not translate into transformation and growth. If that is your intention, then there also needs to be an effort to find meaning in the way you view your experiences.

For example, in a recent workshop on self-care, I asked participants to write a story about the single biggest obstacle to setting aside dedicated time for their own care and nurturing. Linda (not her real name) later shared that she began by listing the usual objections, too busy, too many commitments, lack of support, etc.

But as she read and then reread her thoughts laid out on paper, she began to realize how she had been using her family and work as an excuse and that the real truth was she just didn’t value her own well-being enough to make it a priority. This revelation helped her to begin the work to change her self-perception and behavior.

Foster Healing and Positive Transformation

Much of the research in the area of using journaling for healing and transformation has been led by James Pennebaker, a psychology professor at the University of Texas and pioneer in the concept of the power of words.

In one of his experiments, college students who had been struggling academically were asked to write for 15 minutes on 4 consecutive days about the most upsetting or stressful experiences of their entire lives, while those in the control group wrote about superficial topics (such as their room or their shoes).

Four months later, participants who had written about their deepest thoughts and feelings reported significant improvement in both emotional and physical health, with less frequent visits to the health center and fewer days missed from class.

“The idea is getting people to come to terms with who they are, and where they want to go,” said Dr. Pennebaker. “I think of this form of writing as a life course correction.”

I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn. ~Anne Frank

Isa Nevsky of Toronto, Canada is another passionate believer in the power of words. Nevsky tried many different forms of therapy before turning to writing and says she has found journaling to be one of the most important therapies in the 14 years since she was told she had just six weeks to live. She describes the results as magical: “I saw a side of me that I didn’t know I had.”

The best thing about journal writing is ….

No matter what we end up writing about, it’s hard to not to be enriched by the process. That’s what makes journaling such a powerful tool, whether it’s about achieving goals, learning to know yourself better, working through a difficult transition, or just striving for general personal growth you can’t help but grow as a person.

After all, the power of writing for transformation and growth lies not in the pen and paper, but in the mind of the writer.

What’s your story? Have you ever tried journaling? If so, what have you found to be the greatest benefit? The greatest challenge?

Let today be the day you give up who you’ve been for who you can become.

About Marquita Herald

Marquita is an author, resilience coach and the chief evangelist at Emotionally Resilient Living. She’s also an unapologetic workaholic who loves red wine, rock n’ roll, road trips (and car dancing!), peanut butter cookies and (especially) a dog named Lucy.

She’s saddened and frustrated by excuses and cruelty and believes authentic compassion is the most powerful force in the world.

To learn more about Marquita and the mission of Emotionally Resilient Living  click “here“.