How Journaling Transformed My Life

When you need to get something done, it helps to have a great tool to help you. 

Need to hang a picture? Use a hammer and nail.

Want clean teeth? A toothbrush and floss are your friends.

Want to process your thoughts? Journal.

Keeping thoughts and emotions bottled up inside is a recipe for stress, tension, uncertainty, and wheel spinning.

Whether you love writing or not, journaling is a truly effective tool for creating a better life. In this episode, you’ll learn ten ways to use journaling as a tool of inner-self care in just a few minutes a day.

Take five minutes to listen to how I use journaling as my tool of choice to:

1. Express gratitude
2. Have a conversation with God
3. Gain clarity by pouring out overthinking
4. Get unstuck
5. Sort out feelings
6. Remember what’s important
7. Capture ideas
8. Slay mental dragons
9. Dream
10. Keep lists of all kinds

Your brain is happier when it has a chance to breathe. Journaling gives your brain time to relax and not hang on so tightly. Your mind gets the distance and perspective it needs to come up with new solutions. 

You wouldn’t dream of skipping the five minutes it takes to brush your teeth. Today you’ll see why your ten minutes journal time will become part of your new go-to self care ritual.

Enjoy!

Learn more about Carla:
Website: https:/www.carlareeves.com/
Connect on LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reevescarla/
Connect on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@differentlythepodcast

Go to https://www.carlareeves.com/getunstuck.com to download Carla's on demand journaling workshop + exercise to help you stop spinning and start moving forward.

Explore Coaching with Carla: https://bookme.name/carlareeves/lite/explore-coaching

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Thank you for listening!

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

I'm Carla Reeves, and this is Differently. Whether you feel stuck in survival, navigating a change or seeking more for your life, may this podcast be your weekly nudge to take a risk to build a life that is uniquely bold, authentic and in alignment with your deepest values. What if you worried less about the bumps in the road and instead got equipped for the journey? Get ready to rethink what's possible. You might be listening to this episode or clicked on it because you know the power of writing is a tool for your own sanity. Or you might be listening because, intellectually, you know and have heard others talk about how this is such an incredible tool. Or maybe you're here for entirely different reasons. May I remind you that, whether you love writing, journaling or you hate it, it's just a vehicle. It's a tool for navigating your life, and I don't know about you, but I need a place to process all these thoughts. To process all these thoughts, emotions and swirling that happens in my mind daily. If I don't, it shows on the outside. It shows up like stress and tension and uncertainty, anxiety, spinning my wheels and on and on. It's one of the ways that I take care of myself. It's discipline. I don't always want to do it. It's the rewards, the positive impact that it has, that keeps me coming back. So borrow my passion, if you need to, for this tool and try it for yourself. Experiment with it. If you haven't listened to the last episode, riding the waves, I highly recommend you pause and go back, because this is going to have so much more context and depth and meaning for you. While I was navigating the last 10 months the ups, downs and in-betweens and they felt extreme in a sense journaling was a lifeline and I wanted to capture it for you. I've never really thought about this, so it was interesting for me to dive in and figure out how I was going to share this with you. I've never really thought about this, so it was interesting for me to dive in and figure out how I was going to share this with you. But there were 10 ways that I came up with that. I really used my journal and I want to sort of plot these out for you.

Speaker 1: 2:16

Number one gratitude. Just taking time every day, if I could, to write down what I was grateful for in that moment, the simple little things, because there were many days over the last 10 months that I felt fearful, I felt anxious, I felt doubting and second guessing, and it's amazing what just a moment of gratitude can do for the mind, body and soul. Number two it's where I have conversations with God daily. It's where I pray, it's where I write out the needs and the worries that are on my heart. It's where I surrender them and set them down. Think of it like emptying your backpack. It's a place where I let out all the fear, doubt and confusion. It's where I ask for courage and look for courage and find courage. It's where I ask for help and support or just putting questions out there like how can this be easier? How can I see from a different perspective? And these conversations with God are a place where I find guidance and comfort so that I'm not in this alone. I find guidance and comfort so that I'm not in this alone. Many days I would be asking what do I need to see? What do I need to do? No-transcript.

Speaker 1: 3:37

The journaling is just a brain dump. It's a place where I can vent and empty and grapple with things. It's a place where I can pour out all of my overthinking brain and empty my head. It's where I can sort things out, because once I get them out of my head, I can see everything more clearly, I can stand back and it doesn't feel so close. Number four many times over the last 10 months I felt so stuck and that's when I pop open my journal to just write it all out. Write out what I'm feeling stuck about and all the crazy thoughts that are going through my head, so that I can sort it out and look from different angles and find a pathway through the muck.

Speaker 1: 4:20

Number five my journal was a place where I sorted through feelings. I got them out. I sorted through the emotions. This girl has a lot of emotion and feelings. I don't know about you, but journaling is a great place to let all of that out, and then I don't take it out into my work and my life and dump it on other people. Number six my journal is a place where I remember what's important. I remember my vision, I remember my commitments, because if I don't remember those things, it's really easy to get lazy and sloppy and not show up for the things that I've said are important. Number seven my journal was a huge place to capture ideas.

Speaker 1: 5:01

If you listened to that last episode, you'll know this has been a creative season for me, which means that sometimes I just have to sit and like empty all the ideas that are coming through my mind. That's when your journal is a playground. Number eight it's a place where I sort through negative thoughts to call out the lies and find the truth. And if you listen to that episode, you'll know I slayed a lot of dragons in my mind over the last 10 months. And this is where I do it. This is the tool that helps me. Number nine it's where I dream. It's where I throw my hat over the fence and plot a destination that I want to get to and find my way there. And number 10, it's a place where I make lists Lists of things I need to remember, lists of things I need to do, lists of ideas, lists of breaking down projects, all kinds of lists. Some days my journal is a dump and run run, as my friend says. Other days it's a conversation, while others it's a think tank, a list keeper or a playground for ideas. You get to choose. You can pick your flavor each day. There is no one size fits all. Choose what kind of writing you need today. Grab your pen and paper. Happy journaling.

Speaker 1: 6:25

Thank you for tuning in to this episode of Differently. It's been an honor to share this conversation with you. You know, one of the keys to living fully is to take action when you're inspired to do so. I hope you found that spark of inspiration today and would you help us spread the word. Did someone you know come to mind while you were listening? If this episode could impact someone you know, please share it and pass it along. New episodes drop weekly, so tap that subscribe button and join us next time as we continue to challenge the status quo and get equipped to live life differently.