“Karen’s Noggin’ 🧠 Nuggets” #26 ~ October 9, 2022
JOURNALING! WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?
Journaling! What is it good for? I’m so glad you asked. I don’t claim to be an expert but I do know a thing or two since I’ve been journaling for 41 years. Yes, I still have my journals from 1981! WOW! And it’s only been this year that I’ve been going through them. Another WOW!
Journaling is good for a lot of things and every day I seem to learn more. I know that my brain is for ideas and not to hold the ideas, so this helps me to remember that journaling is important to get my ideas written down. I have various journals and brain books.
- Brain book for my journal ~ it’s my main brain book at the moment that I use it.
- Brain book is for ideas ~ as fast and furious as my ideas are coming these days, I try to capture them in this book. If my book is not right for me, I’ll put it in my Notes App on my phone.
- Brain book for quotes ~ I have one location to keep track of all my quotes that I create and other quotes I reference.
- Brain book for school notes ~ all my notes from each class this year along with the class workshops and coaching labs are in one place.
- Brain book for life successes/praise reports ~ part of my journey is to be reminded of the successes and praise reports throughout my life.
- Brain book for workshops and continuing education ~ having this separate helps so I don’t get these workshops confused with iACTCenter and what I’m learning from Laurie.
Just having different Brain Books has been a huge help to me. It reminds me of those people who like to have those plates that have separate spots for all their food so each of the foods doesn’t touch the other. I’m not one of those people; however, for my brain books, this is the system that I have set up this year. It’s easy to assess for me and that way I don’t have to try to figure out where I write that idea in which journal.
Today I realized that writing and getting my stories out or doing a brain dump is not only very therapeutic it also allows other stories to come out. It’s as if when I brain dump, I get the nuggets out, and then there’s a new nugget waiting for me that I didn’t know was there. Very cool. But I think I need different terminology than brain dump and nugget. Ha! ha!
Let’s talk about what journaling is.
A journal is a record of experiences, ideas, or reflections kept regularly for private use according to Merriam-Webster. Can you imagine my excitement when Laurie Dupar started to discuss journaling in our classes at https://www.iactcenter.com/ Another confirmation that I was at the right place at the right time? Yea!
When I would chat with folks regarding the subject of journaling, which I’m glad it’s a lot more popular now compared to when I was doing it in the ’80s, ’90s and even early 2000s, I would let people know that there are no rules to journaling. Journaling is as unique as you are! You do it however you want to. If you don’t journal for a season, that’s okay. I learned that not having journals during certain seasons of my life spoke pretty loud to me. In one season, it showed me how I lost myself. Another season showed me that it was a busy time in my life.
In the 90’s I started taking notes in church. During sermons, I wanted to remember what was said because I was tired of telling myself “oh I’ll remember that” and phooey, for the life of me I couldn’t remember that one-liner or nugget I wanted to remember. Ugh! I didn’t care who thought I shouldn’t be writing in church, remember this was in the 90s. Not only did it help I could remember things, but it also helped me stay focused on the service and the message by keeping my hands busy.
As much as I know about journaling there’s always something else to learn and I’m thankful that Laurie covered this in class this year. According to Laurie, she wanted us to know and understand the purpose of “Journaling to Increase Self-Awareness and Self-Reflection”.
We spend most of our lives whizzing through our days. There is precious little time to self-reflect to gain self-awareness to make changes and live the most fulfilling and satisfying life. Journaling is one of the strategies that many ADHD people find helpful.
Journals are a productive way to vent small and large issues, such as problems with work, the death of a parent, health concerns, and new awareness. Journaling is a cathartic way to spill feelings and thoughts on the page. Laurie’s attitude is:
“Direct the rage to the page.” Write whatever comes to mind. There is no right and wrong way to journal, only writing for yourself and no one else.
Some people prefer to journal about their experiences, while others may choose fiction or poetic ways to express themselves. Some have a set number of pages to complete in one day; others “jot a thought” daily. Identifying the journaling style that feels the most liberating and empowering is an individual process. But, in the end, that is what it is all about.
Laurie continued to give us more information on this amazing subject but for the sake of time, I’ll have to address it in another blog.
I’m not sure how I got started in journaling but boy am I glad I did and that I’ve continued to journal. I remember writing (probably in a diary that included a key) and also on just loose leaf paper as a little girl and when I was a teenager I burned all those writings. I was afraid someone would read them. How sad. I would love to know what that little girl wrote. Now I know those words put together on paper are some of the most precious possessions that I have and I know they can never be replaced.
I’m creating treasures and for me, that’s what journaling is good for!
For more information on this subject and/or if you would like to work with a Life Coach to work through some struggles or have someone beside you as you navigate this life, contact me at https://happybrainlifecoach.com/
Thank you for reading “Karen’s Noggin’ 🧠 Nuggets” #26 ~ October 9, 2022
