How Reverse Journaling can help Create what you want!
I’m sure you’ve heard many people, gurus, teachers and educators talk about journaling. Yes, there are some great things but most of the time they miss this one thing. That isn’t necessarily journaling the way that you learned about it. And because of that, it’s so far off course, that they get frustrated and angry and irritable. They feel all these things because people kept saying journal, and then you journal, and you’re saying it’s not working. I was introduced to a twist years ago that helped completely change the path of how I’m living now, but how I think, how I show up, specifically how I create. For the longest time, I thought how I felt was reality. I’m not here to discount your feelings or my feelings, because feelings do matter. However, they are not meant to be the decision-making guide in your life. When we make decisions based on logic they tend to work out. Not always, but maybe 95% of life. But when we start to make decisions based on how we feel, it rarely works out. Recently we went to a roller coaster park with my family and it was so much fun. We go up, it’s slow, it’s beautiful, and all of a sudden you shoot down, then you turn and go back up. Making decisions while on a roller coaster, I would point you away from that. Our emotions are similar. When you rationalize with yourself, it tends to make for a very poor future. We tend to reside in a place that constantly lets us down. Moving from a place of how I feel, we want to honor and observe how we feel.
It’s called reverse journaling. Writing about how you feel and think is how typical journaling is. My parents put me in therapy at 8. And I never stopped. And it’s wonderful, but every single therapist says to journal. But there was one journalist who said, “Has anyone ever explained to you the psychology behind journaling?” We think at an extreme rate. We can’t track our thoughts. And then the unconscious thoughts are going so fast as well. We only have access to a small number of thoughts that we’re even aware of. So when you write what you’re feeling and thoughts and emotions, it forces your brain to slow down to the pace of your writing. That’s why you don’t type. What they found is, after 30-40 minutes of free flow, the unconscious starts to release nuggets. Then you can see what had been creating so much of your pain.
Schedule white space. We don’t allow ourselves to be bored anymore, but some of the most brilliant things happen during boredom. Allowing that struggle with boredom, and allowing quiet contemplation, space and solitude, imagining, dreaming, this is where the brilliance starts to happen.
Here’s a prompt for reverse journaling. How do I want to feel by the end of today? Such a simple question. Then allow your thoughts that are triggered from that question, and then write them down. I want to feel. I want to feel fulfilled. I want to feel like I have lived a day of beauty and joy and creation, and that I was used for good. All of a sudden I begin to slowly feel the way that I want to feel. Emotion is energy in motion. You allow the energy to build and then show that emotion. Anytime I learn something new, typically I give it two weeks to try it. If I see some results, I continue, or I squash it. So give it a try and see how it works for you.
Here’s a challenge for you. Ask the question, how do I want to feel at the end of the day? If you’re the creator of your emotion, and that stems from the thoughts that you continue to focus on, and the stories that come up from those thoughts. Give it a one or two week trial basis.
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