To Health and Making a Difference: An Article by Melanie Bowen from MCA

Looking Outside to Improve the Inside

Life is hard at times. In fact, for most people, there are times in life when it seems like the obstacles in your way are simply insurmountable. This is the time when it is most important to look forward and find that place of inner strength.

Journaling as a Way of Going Forward

One way to work through the issues that we face is to start writing. Many individuals find that keeping a journal is a great way to work their way through feelings and thoughts in life. In fact, journal writing is often recommended by therapists as a way to explore inner feelings.

Writing in a journal is a safe place to explore your feelings and thoughts. In most cases, your journal will not be read by anyone except you, so you can write about frustrations or feelings of anger that might be difficult or hard to talk to anyone else about. Often, when we have things in life that are hard, we feel bad about being angry or upset and have a difficult time expressing those feelings. However, a journal is a perfectly acceptable place to express those emotions without anyone getting upset at you in return.

A journal is also a wonderful way to document your progression. For example, if you are facing a difficult illness like mesothelioma or life threatening event, you can write in your journal daily as part of your process of dealing with everything. Often, looking back and reviewing your journal, you can actually see your process and how you conquered your difficulties – you can actually see your strength shining through with each progressive journal entry.

The Value of Documenting Life’s Events

Sometimes, people use a journal as a periodic tool when life gets hard. One of the values of writing in a journal is that it is a way to document what you are going through and coping with as you journey through life. It can also have an added value of being a resource later in your life. When you are faced with adversity, you can go back and look at journals from earlier in life and see exactly how strong you are and that you have the ability to pull yourself up and go forward.

Journals can also be an inspiration for other people in your life. When you document what happens in your life, you create a legacy for others to look at later. Your children or grandchildren might be amazed when they come to realize that you faced a major illness or hard time in life and you fought through that prognosis with courage and succeeded. They might use your actions as they see them in your journal as an inspiration for dealing with their own hardships in life.

Keeping a personal journal can be a source of solace, a place to turn to when you just need a place to explore your inner feelings or a way to keep track of your own personal journey through life. Regardless of what kinds of challenges you face in life, keeping a journal is a way to document your own unique ways of meeting those challenges and can be a source for future inspiration, for both yourself and for generations to follow.