What may be stopping you from journaling and what are the most common fears? Why is it so difficult to start? What if someone else reads it? What is holding you back? Why are you afraid of journaling?
There are great benefits to journaling, yet people still fear putting pen to paper and writing. Do you wonder how to keep your journal private? Journaling becomes a challenge. In this article, we'll explore the common fears associated with journaling and offer strategies for overcoming them, so you can confidently embrace this transformative habit.
Journaling is a Powerful Tool
Journaling is a powerful tool for personal growth, self-reflection, overcoming anxiety and creativity and the best part of it is, it is very difficult to get wrong. Each style of writing, drawing, feeling, or plan is a part of journaling. This is great as it is, and is also what stops many from writing.
The benefits of journaling like reducing stress, improving mental health and increasing self-awareness are the beginning of a very long list. It allows you to capture your thoughts, feelings, and experiences on paper, providing a space for reflection and self-discovery.
It makes you aware of your senses, and to many, it is easier to kick it under the rug and ignore it. Despite the benefits, people fear journaling.
Fear of Journaling
The Doing Practical Part
The practical challenge faced by those who want to journal are adding journaling into a daily/weekly routine. It takes dedication and setting aside time to journal, to some, is not considered a part of a routine. Though you can see the immediate benefits of journaling, it is a long-term practice If you want to feel the full benefits.
The Solution
The best way to overcome this is by habit stacking. If journaling at a particular time of day is hard to stick to, add it to the end of an already existing habit. Write after you have your coffee, or maybe after you put your pyjamas on before bed.
Doing It Right
Another challenge faced by those wanting to start journaling is trying to do it right. That they get journaling wrong. The grammar, the format, the questions, the spelling – there are many reasons that people think they cannot journal. There is an element of perfectionism that overshadows the practice. Many forget that it is a private engagement with their emotions and its expression is subjective.
The best way to be expressive is the way it is for you.
The Solution
And the only way to discover what that is is by trial and error. Writing on a computer, or writing on your phone, you may enjoy doodling alongside your words or you may draw diagrams to show your emotions.
A great way to set the format of your journaling is by highlighting the questions. This way it does look like a solid block of writing, you differentiate between what is asked and answered. This is also great for when you are reflecting on what you have written. When using the ‘brain dump’ method, highlight the emotions that you write, this way you know what emotions are consistently coming up.
The Journal being read
There is a common fear in everyone that their journal will be read by someone else. They fear of vulnerability as their deep and dark secrets become a page-turner for someone else. Journaling, for them, becomes a space that is not safe. This in turn stops them from putting thoughts onto paper.
It feels somewhat embarrassing, or maybe even a concern that their worst thoughts are documented.
The solution
It is important for everyone to have a safe outlet, where they write their concerns, feelings, and worries. For some, this may be a concern of physical and mental safety, so I add this with caution. We must all have people around us that show care for our privacy. That is ideal, however, if this is not possible a journal disguised are a reading book or writing on a document with a passcode is the next best thing. Pay attention to not giving it a title like ‘journal’ or ‘diary’ – but a more discreet title.
We all deserve a safe space.
The blank page
A common challenge is not knowing where to start. What to write about, what it leads to and being honest.
Perhaps it is feeling intimidated by the vulnerability that comes with putting their thoughts on paper. What is written should be raw, its purpose is to explore the fears that are likely to stop you from growing.
The Solution
Guided journaling sessions are great. At www.planned.club we run weekly free journaling sessions, where the questions are prepared for you, and you can write along with us. While it is great to regularly get weekly long journaling sessions in, remember that the daily smaller questions can be the same. These are individualised and set to help you guide your day and tasks. For example:
1. How do I feel this morning?
2. How do I want to feel?
3. What is something I can do today to help me get closer to end goal?
4. What 3 things do I need to prioritise?
5. What is one thing I can do for someone else today?
Whatever the reason, the fear of journaling can hold you back from experiencing the benefits that this practice can offer.
Bonus Solution
Write about your fear of writing. It is a great place to start to explore what part of journaling worries you. There will be reasons that are superficial and memorised, but normally our fear of writing about emotions is deep-rooted.
A start, even one about why you cannot start, is a good start.
Fear
Fear is an all-around preservation method for the greater things we can do in life. While some fear is great to encourage us to forward in our lives, fear that prevents us from doing it all is problematic. Posters have been made of the quote ‘Be scared and do it anyway’, and it applies to journaling too.
The act of journaling is therapeutic. It is a form of self-growth with benefits like enhancing memory, building communication skills, and improving problem-solving skills. The level of self-awareness is impactful in the way we live our daily lives, resulting in great changes that make us better people.
We become aware of the things we need to change, and explore emotions rather than giving in to them.
Giving in to fear should never be an option, however, discomfort - we grow in our discomfort.
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