As a child, I used to write poems. Lots and lots of poems. I had a book full of them. They were quite abstract, basic, not particularly ‘good’ from a technical perspective – but they were ME. There was something about those poems that expressed who I was more than anything else.
I didn’t realise at the time that what I was doing was a form of journaling. Taking what was inside of me and exploring it, making sense of it. Scribing my soul, if you like.
Over the years, from that point on, I dipped in and out of journaling. I mainly loved it for the nostalgia value of it. That I could read back and see exactly what I was doing on any given day and relive that memory. I didn’t realise at the time that journaling could be used for so much more than that. Any journaling I did though, soon petered out. I stopped completely, for years and years, didn’t even write a poem. I got swept away with study and children and marriage. I didn’t even feel the pull to write anything until I approached my 30s.
At that time, I completed my Masters Degree in Creative Writing, returning to my true love writing stories and poems. It made me want more writing in my life, but more than that, my mind began wondering outside of teaching.
My soul was crying out to write my novel. I also wanted to use my knowledge of Psychology and Well-Being (which is what I’d taught for 10 years) to help others and gain more autonomy in my life in the process. In short, I wanted to become an author and start my own business. I’d also had a lifelong dream of becoming a singer, and that was calling to me, also. It was a special energy from within me. I call it the ‘Life Begins’ calling. A normal, healthy, and undeniable aspect of psychological development. I simply couldn’t ignore it, nor did I want to.
So I enrolled on a coach training program, started writing my novel, and it was round about this time that I started journaling. I journaled for a whole range of things that I needed to explore in order to succeed – self-discovery, purpose, direction, habit creation, productivity, relationships, stress and emotion management – and so much more.
It turned out to be the single most powerful tool I had. The power of the pen unlocked doors inside me that I didn’t even know were there in the first place. It kept me going. Becoming an entrepreneur and writing a novel are stressful and life changing. The transition is epic. Like being caught in a wave on a stormy sea. You either drown, or you ride it. My journal kept me riding that wave. I would not still be here, with my business and my novel (still yet to be completed – but it’s almost there) if it wasn’t for my journaling. I’m also now the lead singer of a classic rock band! Another life-long dream fulfilled as I worked through my ‘performing’ issues in my journal.
My journal gave me the discovery, the purpose, the confidence, the direction, the plan, the refection, the love, the listening ears, the non-judgement, the mindset, the motivation. Like a loving best friend, it introduced me to myself again, and for that I really am truly grateful. There is simply no area of my life that journaling hasn’t touched.
It has been fundamental in me successfully addressing my own experience of the ‘Life Begins’ energy that we all get when we feel a new era is upon us.
Now it’s your turn! Grab your journal.
Curtain open. Spotlight on.
Author bio:
Dawn Wyatt is a Certified Life Coach and journaling instructor, specialising in women who are experiencing the powerful pull to start their incredible ‘Act Two’.
She lives in the north of England with her three children, her soul-mate, and her three furry cat babies.
Dawn’s FREE online ‘Life Begins’ event for quietly wild women who want to journal their dreams into reality for 2020 starts TODAY! You can sign up and get all of the details here http://dawnwyatt.com/life-begins-join/