Therapeutic writing is an avenue to write about your thoughts and feelings and in turn become more self-aware. It involves taking a deeper look and gaining a better understanding of our wants and wishes. According to Lynda Monk, “Writing is a way to express our authentic voice, dreams and desires; it allows life to be explored, observed and shifted in creative and authentic ways.”
For Lynda Monk, personal writing has sparked many significant positive life decisions. It helped her choose to leave her first marriage and move to an island when she was 30 years old. It helped her leave her job and start her own thriving business. It helped her make other choice points that started as ideas, dreams and musings within the pages of her journal and expanded out to be choices and growth in her life. Lynda Monk is a registered social worker and wellness coach. She is also the author of the book Writing Alone Together: Journaling in a Circle of Women for Creativity, Compassion, and Connection.
Personal and therapeutic journaling can help us identify our true longings and then take action. In other words, writing can be our compass, and without it, without delving into our minds and hearts, we do not often know where to go.
So when it comes personal journaling, where do you start?
You can begin with prompts, such as those below:
- Right now, what I really want is to ___________.
- My deepest desire is to ____________.
- If I could change anything in my life, I would ___________. Write about what would be different in your life after making this change (in as much detail as possible). Write about the future as if it were the present.
It can also be helpful to ask ourselves questions. Powerful questions are at the heart of growth and transformation and they are one of the cornerstones to personal growth through writing, according to Lynda Monk.
Some of Lynda Monk’s favorite questions include:
- If you imagine that you have enough, are enough, what might you do differently? How would this impact you and others?
- If you imagine looking back on your life, as if looking in a rearview mirror, what experiences stand out as peak experiences?
- What needs to change? What is at stake if you do not make those changes?
- What do you feel really proud of? What do you want to celebrate and acknowledge about yourself?
Lynda Monk also suggests creating your own list of questions about things that you’re curious about in your life. You can print these off and put them in a bag to make your own grab bag of journaling prompts.
When we sit down and put pen to paper, we give ourselves the opportunity to be heard and to take the first step in taking action to support ourselves. It really does not take much; even a 5-minute journal entry can lead to new insights and growth.