Have you tried to start a regular journaling practice? Have you found that, after a few days, your enthusiasm wanes or life gets in the way and, before you know it, you’ve gone weeks without putting pen to paper? Or, do you find it hard to take that first step?
If you’ve answered “Yes” to any of these questions, this is the post for you! Below, you’ll find suggestions to help you overcome the five most common obstacles to journaling, plus a link to a free video class that covers more.
The best way to start journaling is to start, so I’ve designed this blog post and accompanying class to not only give you a few suggestions that will help you work through your obstacles, but also included journaling prompts for some of the obstacles you might be facing. If you come across an obstacle that resonates for you, I invite you to pause reading or watching and spend a few minutes writing about your experience.
Try not to over-think the journaling aspect too much; if it helps, think of it as an experiment, a discussion, or an exploration rather than “a journaling session”. There’s a well-known Buddhist saying: “Suffering is discomfort multiplied by resistance.” The longer you spend thinking about these obstacles, the bigger they will feel, but the sooner you can start journaling, the sooner you will be able to work through whatever might be holding you back right now.
Here are five common obstacles that might be stalling your journaling in the meantime. You can find the video class with all 10 obstacles in the Becoming Who You Are Library, which is free to access here:
1. “I don’t have enough time”
This is one of the most common obstacles I see—and one of the easiest to overcome. And, chances are, if you’re saying “I don’t have time” about journaling, you might be saying this about other activities or areas of your life too… and potentially missing out because of it.
First of all, ask yourself:
Is it really true that I don’t have enough time?
Is there anything else I’m spending my time on right now that isn’t serving me?
We might think we don’t have time for something when, really, we’re not making time for it.
Next, remember that journaling is flexible and you can adapt the kind of journaling you do depending on how much time you have. Journaling doesn’t have to involve pages of long-hand writing. It could involve lists, photos, short answers to prompts, and more Think about what your priorities are:
What do I want to get out of my journaling practice?
What would be most useful for me to focus on today?
Identifying your answers to these questions will help you create a journaling practice that’s right for you, no matter how much (or little) time you have.
2. “I don’t know what to write about”
A blank page can present a challenge, but it’s also filled with opportunities. When I have no idea what to write about, I start by writing about the fact I don’t know what to write about and how I feel about that. This in itself is usually enough to get me started and helps me overcome any writer’s block I might be experiencing.
Something else you can try is to shift your focus away from the page in front of you and take a higher level perspective. Two of my favorite journaling prompts that help me do this are:
What are the big questions I’m facing in my life right now?
Which topics or areas of my life currently contain an air of possibility, uncertainty, or a desire for resolution?
If I could write about anything at all right now, what would that be?
Nothing is too mad, bad, banal, big, or small. This prompt is about giving ourselves permission to turn down the volume on our inner censor and write what flows out of us.
3. “I find it hard to just sit down and write”
When we’re new to a practice like journaling, it can be tempting to wait until the time is “just right” to start. We want to wait until we’re in the right environment, using the right tools, and experiencing the right frame of mind… and we find ourselves waiting for a long time.
Remember that action beats perfection. The first time we journal will probably feel a little awkward and underwhelming but doing it is much better than waiting for circumstances to conspire towards our idealized expectations.
If you take the plunge and sit down to write, it will become the right time and the right environment, and the right frame of mind will follow in due course.
When I sense I’m avoiding or resisting something, I find it helpful to journal on these two questions from Karla McLaren:
What is being avoided?
What must be made conscious?
4. “I’m nervous about what might come up”
When we journal, we step into the unknown areas of our internal landscape. For some of us, this is an exciting prospect, for others it might feel anxiety-provoking.
If uncertainty and trepidation around what might come up when you journal has been an obstacle in your journaling practice so far, be gentle with yourself. Use your journaling to practice self-kindness and empathy rather than forcing something that might not yet be ready. Try asking:
What would I say to a friend who was telling me they felt this way?
What advice would the 80-year old version of myself have for me about this?
Remember you are the king or queen of your castle; you don’t have to go anywhere you’re not ready to go. And when you are ready to go to those places with your journaling, remember that there’s no obligation to take action on anything you write about. The primary aim of journaling is self-expression and self-exploration, and it’s OK for any thoughts, ideas, and feelings you express to stay on the page for now if you want them to.
5. “I feel self-conscious”
When we have negative or ambivalent beliefs about journaling (or about what it would mean about us if we were to journal regularly) that leave our ego feeling threatened, it’s going to be challenging to maintain a journaling practice.
If you find yourself feeling self-conscious when you think about journaling, take some time to explore the following questions:
What are my beliefs about journaling and writing? Are they my beliefs or beliefs I have picked up from other people at some point?
What would my journaling practice look like if I thought no one would judge me? What would it look like if I stopped judging myself?
If you’d like to learn more about these obstacles, plus get suggestions and prompts for dealing with five more challenges, you can access a video class (plus 20+ other resources) in the Becoming Who You Are Library for free.
Photo by Martha Dominguez de Gouveia on Unsplash
