Journaling for Personal Growth
Maybe you’re looking for a way to use that unopened journal on your shelf. Journaling for personal growth is one of our favorite tools at Veraki. We recently sat down with yoga instructor, Diana Schieke, and asked how she used her tool of journaling in her journey back to self-acceptance. Her method may be an alternative to how you view your own writing time.
Lost and looking for direction in her 30’s, Diana Schieke started using her journal as a way to ask some tough questions. Without the desire to “solve” anything, Diana used her journaling time to wonder, explore, and record these big unknowns. What she discovered was something she had in her all along.
Veraki: How would you describe journaling as a tool?
Schieke: “My journals help me catch and put my thoughts down. They help me with clarity. Calling a friend is almost as good as a journal. A friend listens, gives you comfort when needed; but I found that I am the best solace giver to myself through my journaling.”
Veraki: When did you start using journals as a tool for clarity in your life?
Schieke: “Consistently by the time I was in my 30’s. I have several different types of journals. But the one that I encourage people to use if they are just starting out is a journal to capture questions.”
Veraki: Can you explain more?
Schieke: “When I first started journaling, I wrote down all the big, tough questions I needed to ask myself; the type of questions I didn’t have answers to.
Start by listing the biggest questions about things you never dared to ask yourself before. Be relevant, be personal, be inquisitive. Ask about life, about growth; the good and the bad.
Don’t try to write in your journal every day. This isn’t an assignment. Keep it fresh and interesting by writing only when you feel that urge to ask a question.
The answers come over time as long as you are open. Listen, feel, and be open to the experience of the answer during your time away from the journal. The essence of your feelings have to be felt. Then they inspire new questions to ask. The more questions you pose, the deeper you can explore where your mind goes. Soon, you’ll be asking yourself, “why do I think this way? Where is my mind fixated today? What feelings come from these thoughts?” Don’t rush the process.”
Veraki: Did you ever try to answer your own questions?
Schieke: “The answer isn’t in words. I’m not searching for that. I use my journals to move closer to the me underneath the emotional layers. Each emotion, each experience, when truly felt, uncovers another part of me. My questions move me inward so I can be with all of me.
At one point in my life, I desperately wanted to sit down at the computer and type the question “What’s my next move suppose to be?” in the search bar. But it doesn’t work that way. No one else had the answer for me back then. I didn’t have it either but I could give comfort to myself and be with myself through my journals until my body and mind became friends.”
To find out more about Diana’s journey and the tools she uses, follow her @dianaschiekellc. The Veraki app includes journal exercises in several of the personal growth kits.
