Have you ever used your journal purposefully as a way to cope successfully with change?
Though change never stops and our lives are long strings of one change after another, this is something we mostly realize in hindsight. In the moment, we may not be conscious that things are changing. For that matter, we generally tend to prefer predictable stability over change.
But then there are changes we know are coming. Big transitions that we can prepare for, like starting a new job, moving to a new house, going on a trip, or retiring are highly anticipated – whether happily or not. Being able to envision your future doesn’t necessarily mean you feel in control, and often fear plays a huge role when we’re looking at change.
Journaling the process of the change gives you back a lot of that control. Bringing your journal along through every step of the way is like bringing along a lantern when you walk a path at night.
That’s because change interrupts, disturbs, confuses, and otherwise, well, changes things! If change is occurring around you and you do not take the time to examine what’s happening, you remain at the mercy of the wind. If, on the other hand, you take care to journal about what’s going on then perception clears, understanding increases, and more options become available.
What if you’re planning a move, for instance, to a new home in a new area. You plan out the move, maybe make some lists. You recruit the help you need and deal with things that go wrong in the process. At the end of the transition, you have been successful, you are now living in your new place. How do you feel? If the answer is, “I don’t know,” you have distanced yourself from the change and missed out on a rich opportunity for growth, empowerment, and satisfaction.
Using your journal to stay intimate with the change that’s going on is how you can make love to the change and thereby make it work beautifully in every way for you.
- Soon as you know the change is coming, dedicate a journal or a section of your journal to it.
- Update daily, even if the big change is actually not your primary focus today.
- Include logistical, physical, or practical details as they unfold, but especially keep track of your emotional and spiritual states.
- Be on the lookout for signals in the world around you: anything that might give information about the change, even nonsensical indicators like the flight of a bird or a traffic jam or a child’s smile. Include each one of these in your journal.
- Journal the change write through to the end of the experience and then for a little while afterwards as well. For example, journal your move to a new house and then come back to your change journal a day, a week, a month after you’ve lived in the new place. The experience isn’t complete without reflection after the fact.
Journaling the big changes in your life not only gives you a way to navigate them smoothly. You also end up with compelling sagas; stories to tell your grandchildren or perhaps books to write or, at the very least, rich remembrances for your future self.
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Journaling Morning Pages is a good way to establish a strong change journal. Here's my how-to on this life-changing journaling practice.
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