I was fuming. 

My body was HOT and shaky - I wanted to yell and shout and force the emotion out of myself. I wanted to feel something physically to help me manage what was going on inside. 

But I was in the yard and neighbors would have been able to hear my tantrum... 

So instead I grabbed my journal, hustled to the stone table and chairs in our lawn, and began to write furiously. 

Oh how I let them have it!  I told them how I felt - what their actions (and lack of action) did to me and others close to me. If only they could read these words and I could make them see what they did and how it affected others, I told myself.

My pen and the crisp pages of my journal were bearing the brunt of my fury. 

What Is The Big Fuss About Journaling??

Right and left people are starting a journaling routine - bullet journals, gratitude journals, food journals, prayer journals - you name it. It seems like there is a journaling system for everything. 

And so many people that we look up to or admire and are impressed by talk about their journaling practice: Emma Watson, Mark Twain, Oprah, Brett Elderedge, Jennifer Aniston, Thomas Edison, Winston Churchhill, Tim Ferris...

So what is the big fuss all about, and what does journaling look like for moms? 

The Benefits of Starting a Mom Journal

Journaling is not just for the famous, the inventor, the celebrity, the author or thought leader. Journaling is a practice that anyone and everyone can benefit from. 

Here are 8 ways that starting a mom journal will benefit you and I - mamas just trying to raise our babies. 

1. Journaling will promote self awareness.

I don’t know about you, but when I write I have found that thoughts will flow out that I didn’t know were in there! I often gain mental clarity on a subject, or simply realize how silly I was to be angry. Writing down my thoughts and actions helps me see them from a new perspective and reveals to me what is really going on in my heart and soul. 

2. A journaling practice will help you achieve your goals. 

Journaling can be a great way to stay on top of what is important in your life and what your most valued goals are. Writing goals down and processing through those in a meaningful way will help you achieve your objective.

3. Journaling provides a quiet place to process emotions.

Huffington Post says: “Emotional Intelligence is the ability to perceive and manage your emotions, and that of others. Journaling is an outlet for processing emotions and increases self-awareness.”

Processing our emotions helps us to recognize and notice triggers - those things that make us angry, irritable, unkind….when we write, we can see what is causing the negative actions/thoughts more clearly. 

4. Writing and reflecting helps you to be able to empathize with others

Often, when you write what you are feeling and/or thinking you can start to better recognize the feelings and emotions of others. This happens in two ways: 

• Recognizing your own emotions allows you to be more sympathetic to others - realizing that their emotions are just as deep and real as yours
• Writing down your feelings and actions allows you to see them from almost an outside perspective - with that outside perspective comes a better view of others in the narrative. 

5. Journaling sparks creativity

The art of writing, and letting your thoughts flow freely, is an act of creativity in and of itself. Much like going on a run or doing a workout triggers creative thoughts or ideas, writing (which exercises a muscle - your brain) also triggers creativity. And as moms, we know how important creativity is to our everyday life with kids!

6. A journaling routine will make you a better problem solver

Journaling provides open, clear space for you to think through problems. Trying to figure out a better discipline method for your youngest who is just not responding to what worked for your oldest? Or maybe you are trying to make homemade bread and it just isn’t working right. Or you and your husband could be going through a disagreement and you can’t figure out how to work through it productively. Write about it. That freedom to write will help you think more clearly and freely through those problems. 

7. Writing will allow you to clarify your thoughts

If you are anything like me, then your thoughts often feel like a giant bowl of gumbo - you know there is some good (and some bad), but it’s hard to tell in the jumbled mess the valuable from the immature and selfish. 

Writing those thoughts down - stringing them out on a page and separating them out in a linear fashion -  can help you clarify what you are thinking; and that process often informs why you are thinking those thoughts.

8. Journaling improves memory

Journaling causes you to reflect and remember. Usually for me, once I start writing about some event or set of emotions, more memories start to flood my mind that I had forgotten about. 

And, just like writing notes in school helped you to remember and learn more effectively, writing down things in your life will help you to remember and learn from them more effectively. The author from a Psychology Today article says: “Not only can they help you feel better, but recording the small details of your daily life can help you feel more grounded, more connected, and ultimately even improve your memory!”

How to Start A Mom Journal

If you are ready to start a mom journal, but aren’t sure how to go about it, here are six quick steps for you: 

1. Find quiet space (maybe the early morning or late at night once the kids are down) and start with just ten minutes. 
2. Grab a designated notebook (sometimes a pretty one helps). 
3. Don’t edit your thoughts. Let them run wild. 
4. Don’t let your pen stop. Let the words flow. If you don’t know what to say, write “blah blah blah” until something comes to you (trust me, that works!!)
5. Decide if you want to follow journal prompts or just write free form, from the heart. 
6. Don’t judge yourself or what you are writing.

If you are new to a mom journal and don’t know where to start :

For some of us, writing comes naturally and the words will flow. For others the process is more difficult.

Next week I am going to give you 31 journal prompts for moms that will provide you with a little more guidance. These are questions to get you thinking and writing. But for now, here are four that you can start with:

1. What is beautiful in my life right now? 
2. What are 10 things I appreciate about my husband?
3. What makes each of my kids smile the most? How can I make them smile today? Write about a time you remember them smiling from pure joy. 
4. In what ways can I show a stranger love today? Write about a time you showed love to a stranger, and how that made you feel.

What Journaling Did (and continues to do) For Me. 

Remember when I was frantically spewing my anger onto the pages of my journal? I can still feel the contrasting cold of the stone table with the warm, humid air that pressed up against my skin...

But you know what? The more I started to write - the harder I ripped into those that had hurt - the more clarity I had for the situation. The hurried scribbles and anger started to turn into calm writing, praying, and - maybe, just maybe - a little empathy. 

That act of journaling - writing down what I was feeling - helped me to change my attitude and thoughts. No, it didn’t cure my anger. But it did help to chill out my mind and see things a little more clearly. 

Now it’s your turn to start a mom journal

So if you aren’t in the habit of journaling, I recommend trying it out. 

“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”

C.G. Jung

Be on the lookout for those 31 journaling prompts for moms next week - they will be thought provoking and give you some insight into your kids and marriage as well. 

While you wait, tomorrow morning grab a notebook, pen, and find a quiet spot. Start writing and work through the 4 questions above. And let me know what you discover!

I'm rooting for you!