Ever since I learned how to write I started journaling. When I was 7 years old, I was free writing on tiny notebooks. And I was hiding them carefully in my closet, so my secret thoughts were safe from the eyes of my parents or my older brother.
Journaling has been my favorite tool of keeping myself sane, long before I discovered psychology books, therapy and all the resources on personal development. Writing for myself is still a big part of my life that helps me bring clarity into my racing mind, detach myself from emotional turmoil, gain perspective and get in touch with myself when I feel overwhelmed or confused.
Day 14 : Practice Free Writing For (at least) 10 Minutes
Old school version: take a piece of paper or a notebook and a pen, sit down at your desk, take a deep breath and start writing whatever comes to your mind. This one is more intimate, there is something special that goes on in your brain and body when you write by hand.
Modern version: open a new document on your computer, breathe deeply and start typing.
If there is a specific issue that bothers you, writing about it will bring you clarity and diminish the constant rumination of your mind. If you feel stuck and have no idea what to write about, write what happens in the moment and allow free writing to flow.
You might start with: “I feel stuck and I have no idea what to write about…this is bullshit….aaaaa….I don’t know how to write…Why am I doing this?…because of this 30 days challenge I take part in…uhumm….” just give it a try for 10 minutes and see what happens.
You will be surprised of how things will evolve, how words will start pouring out, and what new ideas will come to light. If you have time and you feel inspired to continue more than 10 minutes, do so. Every time you feel stuck again, just state that feeling of being stuck in writing and the flow will come back.
You might also want to take a look back at the first 13 days of the challenge and write how you feel about it. Which is your favorite exercise so far? Do You think You will adopt one or more as part of your daily life?
If You want to read more on free writing and about the better time to do it, morning or evening, check out this article about 3 Surprising Benefits Of Free Writing In The Morning. I’ve always preferred writing before going to sleep, I will give it a try in the morning and see how it feels.
According to this article these are the 3 surprising benefits of free writing (that I happen to totally agree with):
1. Regulate your emotions & gain perspective
2. Discover ideas You didn’t know You had
3. Bring clarity & focus to your work
If I think of the other exercises of the challenge so far, this one is for sure the one I’ve been practicing the most and for the longest part of my life. I totally recommend you to give it a try, it’s really a great way to get rid of the emotional and mental garbage and get in touch with your gut feeling.
So this is my suggestion for today. Have fun with it as always! 🙂 If you missed yesterday’s exercise where you were suppose to get your hands dirty, check it out here.
Looking forward for your feed-back in the comments section bellow.
Share this with your friends if you feel they might benefit from it.
Stay awesome and tuned with your gut feeling! 🙂
With all my love,
Raluca
P.S.: Thank You for sticking to the challenge.
P.P.S.: I really appreciate your comments and amazing feed-back so far!
Photo Credit: Abdulghani Alsooqi via Compfight cc
Hi. I just tried this exercise and i have one word for it: WOW. Althrought i wasn’t completly present, i was for the most of the time and i write something awesome in all those thoughts. Thank you! 🙂
Thanks for the feed-back! Keep going, it is truly an awesome exercise 🙂