What I Learned Journaling Every Morning for 12 Weeks…
It is so easy to share your life these days. It is so easy to mistake a digital connection for a real one. It is so easy to be distracted. All these can contribute to a lack of mindfulness and presence in the present.
I am going in a positive direction, but still knew that I needed a personal and non-digital way to assess my thoughts and emotions. That’s where Morning Pages came in.
I chose to buy the same journal that one of my mentors Tim Ferriss uses, little did I know that choice had deeper consequences. I did not just choose a book to write in, I chose to undergo a creative recovery. Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages Journal, is a tool that I intended on using as my morning journal had a contract inside it. It isn’t just any blank journal, it is actually a 12 week program of healing and strengthening our creative faculties.
I began my recovery and journey in August of 2016. I changed things in my life to make this a priority every morning. With the size of the writing surface within the journal, the required three pages per day is quite a bit to write each morning. It often took me more than an hour.
Since I chose to put this as an area of emphasis I would set my alarm an hour earlier to get up for the practice. This continual effort during the process taught me a lot about priorities. You can only have so many. Not everything can get done, and focusing on what matters most as an early part of our day is one way to make sure that the priorities are accomplished.
Beyond rising early, I needed to write and express whatever events were transpiring, and the emotions I felt as they transpired. At this stage in my life I am proud to say that the vast majority of the 252 pages are written in a grateful, positive, and happy emotional state. A few things transpired that challenged these virtues, but I found this to be one of the best features of the Morning Pages. In this place, I could scrutinize my emotions as they were occurring and consciously detach from them. Choosing to shift my thoughts and feelings right there on the page rather than take them with me for the rest of my day.
As the days and weeks went on I found myself not only willing to set my alarm earlier, but I actually looked forward to it. Some guaranteed me time. No interruptions. And I aimed to make sure that nothing would interfere. There were times when I failed to avoid distractions, and I would find myself at a lower level of presence as I wrote. These instances were always when I would check my phone and social media before focusing on my main priority.
This ended up being a litmus test for my own relationship with the digital narrative I am telling, as well as the device that I use to tell it. My relationship with my phone and social media is one that is going to be under greater scrutiny as time passes. I found a direct correlation to distraction in my writing when I had the input from my phone beforehand. Nothing was ever vital for me to check it for anyways. Nothing was more important in those moments than a focused block of time for an exercise in mental clarity. This confirmed a firmly held belief I have noticed, and worked on applying for the last 2 years. Checking our phones first thing in the morning is not a good thing.
Without going into any of the science that backs that statement up, I am just going to leave that there. But, I will explain how this relates to what I was able to learn in my 12 week practice. I would say that the most significant thing that I learned in the entire 84 days was the power of emptying the mind. I found that every time I completed the three pages (without checking my phone beforehand), and discussed the events in my life, my emotions, and my intentions — I had a greater mental capacity for the rest of the day. What does that mean? And how does it work?
The best lesson that I learned was that we are constantly thinking, and thoughts are rattling around our psyche looking to be expressed, or addressed. We only have so much capacity for cognition, and taking time in the morning to express and assess some of our most persistent thoughts and feelings seems to free up our mind for new thoughts, feelings and information. It became like my brain was dumping out stuff that was clogging it up, and I felt lighter and able to maintain a greater awareness throughout my days. Checking my phone added not subtracted thoughts and feelings to my mind as I was attempting to purify it.
The discipline that I worked on developing with taking on a practice for 12 weeks and not giving up was a reward in itself. I was not perfect, but I did show up every day (except one), and put effort in. Actually for the first 10 weeks I was nearly perfect, only missing a few lines here and there of my 3 page requirement. These 10 weeks of commitment taught me the most. The last two weeks I honestly began to let the practice fall on my list of priorities, becoming superseded by other happenings.
This entire journey was a mental exercise and I felt it did a great deal for my mental and emotional fitness. I definitely recommend it. Even a shorter duration 3 week morning journaling practice could be beneficial, if you wanted a lower barrier to entry. But I believe, once you complete 3 weeks you will enjoy it enough and see enough value to keep going for the full 12 weeks.
As soon as my 12 weeks were over I continued the practice. I will continue it several times a week without an intention of stopping. It is so valuable I will definitely take it beyond the 84 day contract I signed back in August.
Too often in our day and age are we neglecting ourselves. Our minds and bodies are afterthoughts as we pursue some culturally endorsed vision of success. But, nobody is truly successful without a healthy mind and body. Taking time for ourselves each day is more valuable than we may think. A Morning Pages practice can compliment a fitness regime. Simultaneously increasing our mental gains in tandem with the physical. Try it out.
This is the 41st installment of Writing Wednesday an excercise began in early 2016. Please leave any feedback, questions, or responses below. Thank you for reading! If you liked it, please give it a share or a reccommend.
