Healing and hypnotherapy Volume 4, Special Mega Annual Issue , 15 June 2020 | Page 64

that your thoughts will stay private, the easier it will be for you to write without
inhibition.
3. Don’t bother with spelling, grammar, and punctuation
As a perfectionist it took me many years to stop editing my journal entries for
spelling errors and grammatical mistakes. Yes, I know that might sound silly,
but for us precisionist, it can be hard to just let go and write, “without
abandon.” Eventually, I realised that editing my journal entries actually
stopped my flow of thoughts and feelings because I was too busy trying to
“play by the rules.” Try to avoid being anal-retentive about writing: just let it all
out – it feels so much better! I don’t even play by the capitalisation or
sentence structure rules anymore when it comes to writing in my journal (and
for me, that’s saying a lot!).
4. Forget about being a “good writer”
The purpose of journaling isn’t to write a literary masterpiece, it is to selfreflect
and record the thoughts and feelings you’ve been having for selfgrowth.
Simply write whatever comes to mind and don’t worry about whether
it sounds poetic or eloquent.
5. Set a regular time of day
Making journaling into a habit requires you to set aside time every day. I like
to personally write at the end of the day, but you might be different. Pick one
period of the day and try to stick to it. For example, you might like to write first
thing in the morning, after morning tea, after lunch time, or last thing at night.
If you feel inspired to write at a time of the day you’re not accustomed to
writing, just flow with it. There are no set-in-stone rules here.
6. Write your deepest thoughts and feelings
Journaling is an intuitive activity because it requires you to tune into your
feelings and blurt all of that out on paper. For me, and many others, journaling
is the most effective when it is a space where our deepest thoughts and
feelings can be shared and mulled over. For instance, I love exploring my
latest emotional insights, problems, and existential epiphanies in my journal.
Sometimes I will write for a minute, and at other times I will write for up to an