This week’s episode of The Word Wise Webb is inspired by a recent situation in my personal life. I believe I need to understand the lessons that difficult situations are meant to teach me. To do this, I turned to the tried and true practice of journaling.
Writing Tip: Journaling
Journaling is a form of writing that is meant for your eyes only. Rather that striving to communicate with others, journaling is a practice of communicating with yourself. Though you may think to yourself all the time, there are lots of reasons to also write to yourself, even if only periodically.
Writing is a useful tool for thinking because our “working memory” (how much content we can actually keep in our head all at once) is limited. Writing compensates for the limits of working memory by recording thoughts so we can refer to them again later.
Writing also helps to make our thoughts and feelings concrete. The act of articulating my experiences, thoughts, and feelings on paper brings more to my conscious awareness. I often find that as I continue writing, more information comes out. I start to remember additional details. I begin reaching conclusions and articulating truths that feel like epiphanies. Putting all my thoughts and feelings out on the page in front of me helps me see a bigger picture, make connections, and gain clarity on my condition.
I also think about journaling as a form of self-therapy. Just like talking to someone else about your struggles can often help, even just as catharsis or release, journaling can have a similar effect. And it’s convenient, free, and always available (often not the case with talking to other people).
If you’re considering giving journal a try (or another try), it might help to not pressure yourself to do it consistently or regularly. While I try to journal daily or more, there’s no reason you can’t just use journaling as needed. Journaling can be used like a flashlight–an enlightening tool that you pull out when you’re trying to find your way through the dark.
The Weekly Word: Introspection
Since you can easily look up standard definitions of the weekly words, I want to proceed by providing my own explanations and discussions of the Weekly Words.
I’ve identified myself as an introspective person from the moment I learned the definition at some point in my younger years. I think of introspection as:
The act of studying yourself, particularly your behavior, feelings, attitudes, and thoughts/way of thinking. Looking inward.
SLW
I practice introspection when trying to understand what a difficult situation might teach me about myself.
Journaling is a great pathway to introspection.