Write to learn what you already know deep inside.
(c) Jill E. Williams
This bit of wisdom is on a beautiful piece of artwork a dear friend gave me when I completed my Masters degree.
My finger traced over those words when I first opened the gift. This, I thought. Those words perfectly captured what I had discovered about journaling in my teens and twenties. Every single time I questioned what I needed to do or was feeling, I turned to the page. I opened my journal and poured everything out of me, words flowing effortlessly and endlessly.
“Oh, so this is what I think about this,” I felt so many times when I went back and read those pages. “This is what I need to do.” And it was always right. But I only found those truths by taking the time to learn what I knew deep inside.
Do you journal? Because of my work with women on authenticity and empowerment, this is a question that I am asked weekly. The truth is I spent so much time journaling my way into myself that I don’t feel the need to journal regularly in the traditional way that I once did. All of that work really gave me what I most wanted, an intimate familiarity with myself that informed me of how I needed and wanted to be in the world. But I do return to journaling every time I hit a roadblock that needs some mental sorting for movement and, more than that, I now incorporate daily reflection into my life, even if it doesn’t happen on the page.
One small question
My daily reflection habit takes the form of small questions. Small, you say? Just how small are they?
Well, the reality is that the questions themselves are really not that small, but the answers I expect, given the time constraints of what it is like to be a woman today, are small. I regularly choose a check-in question for myself that I then answer- in about a sentence- every day for a week. My goal is to have a deliberate daily moment that gives me a sense of how I am doing, what I need, and whether or not I am growing, enjoying myself, or need a change. I pose the question in the shower, in the car, on a walk, while I am drying my hair. The moment for my question each day can change but the intention behind it never does. Do I know how I am doing? Is there anything I need to do about it?
For the next few weeks, I will pose a small question here. Ask yourself the question each day. Pay attention to your daily answer and the string of answers over the week. Do what you need to do because of the answers. Learn what you can learn. And, please, feel free to share your answers here as a way to support one another on the journey.
This week’s question isn’t small, they never are. But in your one sentence answer, you might just find that small insight you’ve been seeking.
What challenged you today?
