Journaling - racket or revolution, trick or treat?

journaling progressfull purposeful self-reflection Sep 10, 2022

Countless studies prove that journaling is an extremely powerful way to boost our mental wellbeing, reduce depression and anxiety, and make us more content, productive and all-around happier with our lives

Boosting our ability to cope with intrusive and avoidant thoughts is one of the key benefits cited. A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that students who wrote about their deepest thoughts and feelings (handwritten or digital) in the month leading up to a big exam had fewer depressive symptoms because they didn’t dwell as much on their intrusive thoughts. What’s more, a 2018 study from the National Library of Medicine found that adults who completed a 15-minute online journaling session three days a week for 12 weeks were less likely to ruminate on their anxious thoughts and better able to move past them

Improving working memory, sleep, increasing creativity, and reducing stress, are all sizeable benefits of journaling...

...according to a 2001 study in the journal of the American Psychological Association. This is the reason why you might be seeing the promotion of journaling creeping onto the agenda of Boards and priorities of Chief People Officers worldwide

The question for us though, is if it's so helpful for anxiety and wellbeing, and if it's so helpful for increasing creativity and reducing stress, why on earth is it almost impossible for us to do? Why in truth, do so many of us find even the thought of 'journaling' so overwhelming we never bother giving it a go?

At Progressfull™ we have a point of view that can help you understand why - our observations are gleaned from working with over 14,000 people globally in the last two decades

Our first observation is that most people have created a pattern in their mind that learning as a concept (which is a part of journaling) is closely connected with education. And education requires years of hard study, usually in a classroom setting where writing (handwritten or digitally) things to remember is key. So, most people have created this pattern in their mind, 'in order for me to learn something new it’s going to be arduous, take a long time, be in a distilled environment separate from the real world, and involves lots of writing (handwritten or digital)'

If we have this pattern in our mind, our mind is consistently telling us that these things have to be present, or we won’t learn, and the activity won't have value. Journaling for most people falls within this mind-set. When was the last time we did some actual 'handwriting' apart from a few nice lines in a birthday card? Plus, when was the last time we kept a detailed record of things to remember over and above our to-do lists. For most people it was in those days where we had to learn, and by golly those days were hard work, arduous and not that pleasant. Hence, we are stuck in a restrictive unhelpful loop relating to learning and writing (handwritten or digitally)

Add into this fact that the research posits that it only takes a small amount of time in any sitting to reap the rewards from journaling, and our mind is truly triggered - 'I have never truly learned anything worthwhile or meaningful in a small amount of time, that is simply preposterous!' It is hard for our mind, and therefore us, to compute and accept

Our last observation relates to the fact that most people crave certainty. We are all familiar with the idea that if you don’t know where you are going every road will lead you nowhere. Recognising that life is a process, with hills and valleys, zig-zags and turns, hard starts and home straits, releases us to accept the adventure rather than fight against it. Most people haven't quite digested this concept and definitely aren't living it. We want certainty, we want it now, and before we start, preferably!

Journaling, the type of journaling referenced in the research, isn't the type of thing we are used to doing when we write, as it has no certainty. In the research, journaling is about a stream of consciousness, noting (handwritten or digitally) our emotions over a given period of time, with no ultimate destination, no certainty. This act of journaling in and of itself helps us to reflect and build our emotional awareness, yet this is something pretty alien to most people. Most of us are not used to writing for no obvious reason or purpose, and when we look at a blank page our mind therefore nudges or even shouts, 'what is this for, what's the right thing to note or type, I don't even know where to start!'. We are not expecting this tremendous emotional burst and self-doubt

On top of this, other emotions start to bubble up, thick and fast, because we have opened the lid to our 'self-reflection Pandora's box'. The lid to this box is often tightly screwed down, sometimes with a padlock added, and has layers of dust gathered on it. That's why we start to feel overwhelmed with what to actually 'do' with self-reflection. It's much easier to bottle our emotions up, put the lid back on to our self-reflection Pandora's box, and yes, you're ahead of me, decry journaling as a waste of productive energy. Journaling is a con, a trick, a fad, and too woo woo for words! Sound familiar?

To be clear, self-reflection is fabulous and something we strongly encourage at Progressfull™. Yet if it is without the support and guardrails of the insights and guidance found with a great therapist or executive coach, then we are often left feeling burdened, vulnerable, even exposed, and frequently bemused by the whole thing

Our approach at Progressfull™ is based on offering the support, the guidance, the 'how-to's' from Jo's experience of working as an executive coach globally for over 20 years. We weave the tips, the insights, the guidance, into the self-reflection exercises in our online Upskills (our name for a course/masterclass) and that is why they become purposeful. Journaling is a big part of each Upskill

This purposeful self-reflection is the Progressfull™ mind-set process and practice called The ARTT of progress™. The ARTT of progress™ focusses on sequential small steps - every step is a step forward - every piece of learning is useful, relevant and powerful for us because it changes our beliefs, behaviours and mind-sets i.e., our definition of learning, self-reflection and education. This can then have a profound impact on our progress. Our mind becomes more pliable, more positive, and the pattern of progress has been created, we have reset the dial. We will have a new perception, a new perspective - that progress is possible in short bite-sized learning or reflection. Applying the ARTT of progress™ hard-wires this pattern into our mind and it is one of the things we are famous for amongst our followers and clients. It's practical, it's easy, and it can have a profoundly positive effect because it has all the benefits of a journaling practice with coaching prompts, yet as it only requires 10 minutes it is much more sustainable. It is how to make our minds a great place to be and how Progressfull™ can pretty much guarantee journaling will work. That is how we make journaling a treat, a revolution and ensures that people feel progress is happening

What's great about our approach to purposeful self-reflection is that it combines the benefits of both journaling and coaching

Because of our unique approach to purposeful self-reflection, in the last few months many people have asked us if we could provide an introduction or taster to our Upskills - so they can start the practice of purposeful self-reflection

So, we have created a new offer called StARTTing Progress. In here we have designed several Journals as taster treats. Each Journal is designed based on the insights highlighted above. Each Journal supports you in the self-reflection process, by coming alongside you 'as if' you had your own coach prompting your self-reflection. Each Journal has a bespoke design with unique and different approaches to connect and encourage purposeful self-reflection. Useful to know, this purposeful self-reflection only takes 10 minutes, so we literally Take 10 for the ARTT of progress™

You can take 10 minutes each morning, each evening, or each week, to ‘sort yourself out’ and ‘set yourself up’ so you feel energised, motivated and on track – no matter what life throws at you. Making progress in small bursts of time, 10 minutes daily or weekly, over 12 weeks, 6 months, or any time period of your choosing

The My Progressfull Pictures Journal is designed to be an introductory step to the world of journaling and self-reflection. It is a weekly Journal spanning a 6-month timeframe. We provide a weekly quote and picture topic for reflection, then encourage you to complete some purposeful self-reflection with prompts and support (cost £15)

The My Progressfull Principles Journal is designed to enable you to understand our transforming Progressfull™ Principles and practice using them in your daily life. There is a calming symmetry in the purposeful spontaneity embedded in the Journal’s ebb and flow … the joy of jumping in anywhere, reflecting on any Releasing or Restricting practice and your beliefs, behaviours and mind-sets, combined with the sure and safe guidance that prompts your purposeful self-reflection (cost £25)

The My Progressfull Lifestyle Journal is designed to give you a taster of the Progressfull™ lifestyle! It is a 12week Lifestyle Journal packed with sparky deep insights, inspiring ideas, and practical tips that prompt both reflection and action. Each week covers new insights, ideas and practical tips packaged in bite-sized chunks you can immediately use in your daily life (cost £25)

Each Journal will help you start to experience the real benefits and rewards of journaling. Each will help you to take steps forwards, in purposeful self-reflection – so you can start making your mind a great place to be

Why don't you treat yourself, join the revolution and start journaling the Progressfull™ way!