How Free Writing Every Morning Changes Your Life - Page 4

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When you think of journaling, you may think of being a middle school girl writing in her diary. And while you aren’t (probably) going to be flopped on your stomach, using a pink fuzzy pen, and writing about your crush or your frienemy, there will be some similarities. You were onto something if you kept a journal as a kid. Journaling is very good for us. It isn’t just for keeping secrets, maintaining mystique, or being dramatic. It isn’t just for venting our anger about a family member (though it can definitely be for that). The mind is a funny thing, and our control over it is even funnier. If you have all your faculties about you, then you should mostly have control over your mind. But, it can still play tricks on you. You can get distracted, and only notice certain things happening in your brain, but not others. You can delude yourself. You can make things up—for better or for worse. Even though your brain is yours and just yours, your conscious and subconscious mind do not always work in tandem. So there’s even some separation of power there.

The way we start our day will in many ways dictate how our entire day goes. You probably already have certain morning habits that you know pay dividends throughout the rest of the day. You’ve likely also become aware of morning habits that can be bad for the rest of your day. It may seem like no big deal—it’s just a 30 or 45-minute period of your day—but your mind is still so malleable in the morning, that what happens then can set the tone for the next 24 hours. Free writing can and should be a part of your morning routine. It’s not just putting pen to paper. It does so much more.

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You’ll find what’s bothering you

You may not realize how much something has been bothering you, until you see just how much you’ve been writing about it. You may find that an entire writing session—or several writing sessions—is dedicated to the way a friend has been treating you. When you see it on paper like that, there is no more denying that you have been affected by this issue, and it’s time to do something about it.

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And what you really want

You may also learn from your free writing what it is that you really want. Sometimes, we don’t want to admit to ourselves what it is that we want—admitting that can be scary. It introduces the possibility of not getting that thing. But when you notice, in your writing, that you keep wandering back to…that new job opening that came up or that male friend who could be more than a friend…you can no longer lie to yourself about not wanting these things. You must take action.

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You’ll notice behavioral patterns

This is a big one and it’s very important: you can start to detect patterns. Maybe you realize that you tend to binge eat after this family member visits. Or you tend to go on a huge shopping spree after interacting with a certain boss. You’ll notice that certain events in your life have a major and possibly negative impact on you, and trigger destructive habits.

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You remember your dreams

First thing in the morning is the last time you’ll vividly remember your dreams. Your life will take over and send those visions from your dreams away. If you want to recall your dreams, then the second you wake up, write down every sight, sound, smell, and taste you remember from them.

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Your dreams say a lot

Being able to read about your dreams—almost like a story someone wrote for you—can teach you quite a bit about what’s happening in your mind. Looking at days or weeks of dreams can reveal patterns about fears or hopes you have, surrounding all sorts of things.

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You may have great ideas

You could have some really great ideas in the morning. Your brain is freshly rested. Nobody has distracted you yet. Maybe an idea even came to you in a dream. Write down your ideas here, now. It’s okay if they aren’t super clear or organized. They are there now, and you can review them later.

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You’ll notice thinking patterns

In addition to picking up on behavioral patterns, you’ll also pick up on thinking patterns, and these can be quite powerful. The way we think affects the way we behave and the way our lives go. Review your journal every couple of weeks, and you may find that your thinking has been changing in a certain way. Maybe in a good way, but maybe in a bad way. If you see that through a birds-eye lens of your journal, maybe you can fix that.

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It gives you a confidence boost

Journaling is also a part of self-care. When you journal in the morning, it’s your way of telling the subconscious mind, “I come first.” You get a confidence boost from taking that time to focus on yourself, and you bring that confidence boost with you the rest of the day.

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You can bring it to your therapist

If you are in therapy, then you know that sometimes, by the time you see your therapist, you can’t entirely remember what’s happened that week or what you’d like to discuss. Journaling every day lets you take the minutes of your life, so you can bring this to your therapist and discuss it.

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You become more honest with yourself

Look, nobody is reading this but you. And if you aren’t quite comfortable talking to yourself out loud, then journaling gives you a chance to have an honest conversation with yourself without chatting to the mirror. Since you know nobody else will see it, you can really speak your truth in that journal.

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It builds self-discipline

You will do this every morning, whether you feel like it or not. Whether you think anything good will come of it or not, you will make the time for it and commit to it. And simply starting your day so well-disciplined will help you conquer tasks you don’t feel like doing, the rest of the day.

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It creates a protective barrier

Don’t you sometimes feel that the world just bombards you with new thoughts and ideas, before you’ve even had one second to get your bearings and pick your perspective for the day? Journaling in the morning creates this nice barrier by which you fortify your mind before life attacks it.

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Recall old memories

You may recall old memories through journaling. Journaling can be a form of clearing out the cobwebs of your mind. So you may bring up all sorts of memories. Some may be good. Some may be bad, but the bad ones are important to drudge up so you can address them.

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Cut back on rumination

Do you have a tendency to ruminate on things? Fixate? Obsess? Journaling first thing in the morning gives you a chance to purge those thoughts—get them out there and release them—so that they don’t monopolize your thoughts the rest of the day.