Discover Clarity & Direction Through Journal Writing
The journal page offers a place to make meaning of our life choices, habits, patterns, and emotions.
Feeling uncertain about the bleak employment outlook? You may be among the many people grappling to lead with less people and smaller budgets. Perhaps you’re reinventing yourself and the way you talk about your work. Sadly, a steady beat of worry has invaded our bodies. Relief can be just a page away!
At the start of every coaching engagement, I invite my clients to keep a journal to capture their insights, observations, and new awareness. It gives them a chance to reflect, reframe, and write about emerging themes or observations from our coaching conversations. Listening to their own unique, wise voice — instead of the negative news segments — often unleashes their own solace, clarity, and direction as well as for their teams.
From the moment I capture my first sentences, I feel a bodily sigh, exhaling the tide of worry my body has been carrying. Coming to the page is a way I find my footing by connecting with what’s happening inside and around me.
The journal page offers a place to make meaning of our life choices, habits, patterns, and emotions. Capturing and processing our thoughts and emotions can help us consider new options and actions. Journaling often slows down our racing brains and panting breaths. For me, I can sense myself turning inward, ready to listen to and follow my heart.
A few tips to get started on writing in a journal:
Find a quiet place, take a breath, and come to the page open-hearted, honest, and free of self-judgment.
Capture and save your thoughts in a notebook or on your computer.
Write about a specific topic or whatever flows out of you.
Start with just a few lines. The goal is to turn your gaze inward.
Notice any bodily sensations such as a rapid heartbeat, stomach jitters, or a sense of ease. It just means you’re paying attention to what needs your attention.
Watch out for that disparaging voice of self-doubt. Over time, its volume will slowly diminish as you lessen its power over you.
Some Journal Prompts:
Losing my job/contract/team makes me feel….
The thing I fear most about this loss is…
One new possibility I can explore is…
One new practice that would help me navigate this upset would be…
Questions to explore:
What am I most afraid of or anxious about?
If what I fear happens, what would I then fear? What’s at stake (identity, career, reputation, family, wealth, health, relationships, e.g.)?
What can I learn from this life/career disruption? What new awareness has emerged?
What am I willing to leave behind or take with me?
So instead of spending your waking days and sleepless nights tossing about with worry, take a few deep breaths and unload your pent-up angst onto a page. You may be surprised and relieved by what shows up on the page!
