Challenge Your Own Identity

Journaling is one way to become more aware of the joy and mystery of life. Get comfy, relax. You may want to devise a ritual to help set the mood. Light a candle, make a cup of green tea, or wear your favorite slippers. You may also want to go to a unique place away from work or home such as a library.

It is best to find a private spot. You may want to destroy or hide what you have written. It is enough to deal with your own emotional upheavals. You don’t need anyone else judging you or being offended by what you write. It is not necessary to show what you write to anyone to receive the health benefits of journaling.

Writing privately is a good way to explore what is at the center of your life. Write for twenty minutes about your sense of who you are. Begin with the phrase “I am…” For example: I am a person who loves children. I am often happy. I am sometimes frightened. I am confused about my work. I am strong…etc. Feel free to change the sentence structure and follow any line of thought. Without censoring or judging the sentences, simple keep writing continuously for at least twenty minutes. If you feel like going longer, feel free to continue.

Notice what you wrote. Notice what you feel when you read it. Are there certain themes, things that repeat? What predominant impression do you come away with? …Which sentences seem most troubling? Which seem most accurate?

Which phrase seemed most important? Tomorrow or the next time you write in your journal, spend a while reflecting on this single element, the one that felt the most powerful when you wrote it. Become aware of what it may want to reveal to you.