In spite of your calm confidence, your quiet control, and your determined forward progress in life, many times you may be aware of feeling in an exact opposite way. Very often, though life seems to require that we be indomitable, the reality is that we are crumbling inside.

Why this contradiction?

Photo by xoque – http://www.flickr.com/photos/ xoque/ 3342942117/

How is it that while we may be outwardly strong, inwardly we’re a mess? I don’t know the answer for sure. But after many years of journaling, I can venture to suggest that there’s always a great deal we haven’t processed, there’s always a lot that is waiting to be dealt with on the deep inner level.

And bottling up stuff that wants to come out in the open eventually makes us sick. Maybe you just get a headache or cold; or maybe the constant suppression causes chronic illness.

Taking a little time out of the daily grind to attend to your inner needs is how you get healthy and stay that way. And a journal, serving as the vehicle to your inner self, is an incredibly effective and efficient tool for this important activity. I call it Journaling for the Health if It™.

Journaling is free, and it’s accessible 24 hours a day. The most challenging part is getting started. These five steps will make it as easy as possible for you to get to the page.

Decide Why You Want to Get Healthy

Think about the thing that is the greatest threat to your health, whatever that may be. Close your eyes and imagine how your mind, body, and spirit would feel if that burden were gone. Open your eyes, and remind yourself that you can feel that way, with a little work. Whatever it is that’s getting in the way of your health, journaling will help you fix it. Journaling gets you back to the person you truly are—and even better, it helps you to become who you want to be.

Gear Up to Start Journaling.

Pick out your materials with care, and make it fun. This is a chance to customize your personal journaling experience. Do you prefer a spiral notebook or yellow pad? A fountain pen or ballpoint? You might even choose crayons and binder paper if you’re feeling playful. It’ll all up to you.

The same goes for space. Choose a space that suits you, one where you can be alone and quiet. Perhaps it’s a hammock in the backyard, or your cleared desk in your home office.

Pick a time of day when you can dedicate 10 or 15 minutes to journaling. You might schedule the time before your kids wake up in the morning, or before you go to bed at night. Make an appointment with yourself and put it on your calendar.

Show Up

Your mind will come up with all kinds of excuses. One of the most common is, “I’m too busy today. I’ll start tomorrow.” Would you blow off one of your clients or friends this way? Show yourself the same respect you’d show them.

Push Through Page Fright.

When you sit down in front of the blank page, I can almost guarantee that you’ll encounter resistance. You’ll remember that you have to do laundry, or weed the garden. You’ll tell yourself that you don’t have anything to write about. Or you’ll realize you have so much to write about that you freeze up, unable to choose. You might call this resistance “writer’s block.” I call it page fright.

It’s scary to face your deep inside. Congratulate yourself for getting this far in the process. Tell your inner critic, “Thank you for sharing,” and put your pen to the page. You may have no idea in the world what you will write, but just put the pen to the page and see that happens.

Write, Write, Write.

Write freely, without censoring yourself. Keep the pen moving without stopping, even if you write, “I don’t know what to write.” Write whatever’s on your mind; get it out of your head and onto the page. Remember this writing is for your eyes only, so don’t hold back. How often do you get the opportunity to express yourself with no inhibitions at all?

Remember that getting started with a healing journal is the hardest part. Once you understand why you’ve decided to journal, prepare yourself properly, and push through your resistance, you’ll experience how liberating it is to journal.

Pen to page. Every day.

Once you get started, you won’t want to stop!

By Mari L. McCarthy – The Journaling Therapy Specialist. Please visit http://www.CreateWriteNow.com to learn more about our trademarked program, Journaling for the Health of It! ™ and how Journaling pen to page every day helps you improve your health and happiness. We’re currently conducting an online workshop: Peace of Mind and Body: 27 Days of Journaling to Health and Happiness based on the workbook of the same name.

P.S. Want to get healthy, fit and lose weight? Not sure what to do or who to trust?



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