My Personal Coach
When I started my self-worth journey I had a coach guiding me through my healing but I realised that my actual coaching sessions began after the in-person meetings with her when I was alone with the tools I’d been given. My journal suddenly became my personal coach as I wrote, reflected and referred back to it time and time again. In this article, ‘Being Your Personal Coach: How To Journal For Self Worth’, I’ll shed some light on the unexplored advocate within ourselves, one who can help us grow and flourish.
Why is Journaling Important?
Journaling, as simple as it may seem, plays a remarkable role in being able to work through the challenging issues we individually have to deal with. It not only provides a space to be unapologetically true about your thoughts and experiences, it also provides the opportunity to freely express ourselves enhancing that sense of personal value.
Journaling allows us to identify and recognize the workings of our thoughts and these experiences are an essential step in our growth journey. Journal entries become a place where growth is recorded, where momentary thoughts gain permanence and our silent wins are celebrated.
The key lies not just in expressing ourselves, but in learning to see our experiences from a perspective that recognizes our own worth.
I’ve always loved to write, be it for fun, academically or as part of my profession but one major impact this passion has had on me is my ability to express myself to myself in ways I typically wouldn’t to others.
I believe in journaling as a silent conversation with oneself about one’s experiences. This conversation is crucial; it can shed light on our perceptions and give us an outlet to explore our thoughts and emotions. It can also bring to light our growth in a process which helps shape our confidence and self-esteem. Self-reflection, when it becomes a regular practice, strengthens the roots of our sense of self because the more we take time to explore the nuances of our experiences, thoughts and emotions the better we get at discerning our behaviours and triggers.
In offering this personal perspective, I rely on evidence-based practices that have been thoroughly analyzed and presented. For instance, the structured prompts found on Positive Psychology, not only offer a starting point for journaling but also serve as signposts guiding us toward heightened self-awareness.
Benefits of Journaling
As we talk about the importance of journaling to nurture our self-worth I’d like to share some other benefits that the ritual of journaling can provide:
- Journaling helps you focus on the things that are true and important
- Journaling is known to present a safe space to get out your anxious thoughts, acknowledge your feelings and reinforce yourself that you matter
- Research shows that just a few minutes of journaling can help you manage stressful
- Can help you gain clarity as you work through the challenges and experiences
- Helps you build emotional resilience as you tend to figure out stuff by expressing them in your journal.
These are not exhaustive but a few positives of incorporating journaling into our lives. From here you might be wondering how to tap into the goodness of journaling. There are so many styles of journaling from colouring, bullet, drawing, painting, nature, food journaling the list goes on but when I think about using this in building a solid foundation of self-worth the list below is what I have personally tried over the years.
Strategies to Enhance Self-Worth Through Writing
Writing in your journal is like a mirror to your mind, a safe space where the written word becomes a powerful ally in your quest for a stronger sense of self. While we’ve explored journaling’s strong link to building our self-worth, let’s now have a look at some strategies that have proven to be impactful in boosting confidence.
Guided Introspection
This style of journaling is with the aid of insightful prompts that can help define and understand your intrinsic value. What do I mean by that? Imagine how just these basic prompts that ask about past successes or moments you felt proud, make you think and reflect on past experiences where you acknowledged yourself for your efforts. Answering these is like planting seeds of self-esteem that will show how much you’ve grown through the pages of your journal.
Writing Therapy Techniques
The free form writing is one of my favourites as you just write as long as you have you can. These techniques don’t just assist in airing out thoughts but also serve to reframe negative self-perceptions into constructive, affirmative viewpoints. For instance, flipping a failure narrative into a learning opportunity establishes a growth mindset and resilience. It is advisable to start writing therapy with a simple yet effective routine: a reflection at the end of each day where you ponder over a question like – What did I learn today? How did I grow? These questions can help start the writing and present an opportunity to examine your emotions, reactions and perceptions pertaining to the period you are writing on.
Daily Bulleted Journaling
This is quite a very simple technique which is mostly done by writing in bullets rather than in prose form. This style is normally used in gratitude journals, task managers, diaries etc. Bullet journaling can be a mix of different types of journals where you put down not only your emotions but also maybe a to-do. This type gives you a multifaced space of productivity and introspection. The one thing I love about the bulleted journal technique is having a place to organize everything going on with you daily is like having a personal assistant keeping the various aspects of your life organised.
There is no right or wrong way to journal and neither is there a right or wrong answer to a prompt or a reflective question. Your journal entries are your personal musings and as such your permission from yourself to express yourself through writing as you will. So, before we delve into the final steps to cultivating a regular journaling habit in our next section, remember that every word you write is a step towards recognizing your value and building your worth.
Creating A Journaling Habit: From Introspection To Action
Building a journaling habit is just like building any new habit; it takes dedication and patience. Setting aside time each day for journaling isn’t just a practice in writing, it’s a commitment to respecting your needs and valuing yourself. It’s a decision to prioritise and spend quality time with yourself.
Among its introspective purpose, journaling is also a tool that allows you to set goals, track progress, and celebrate achievements. With each page, you’re writing the story of your personal growth and affirming your needs and dreams matter.
START SIMPLE. If you don’t know where to start do some online research and find prompts that resonate with you and answer them candidly in your journal. Whether it’s ‘What am I grateful for today?’ or ‘When did I feel most confident this week?’, these prompts can help reinforce a positive self-image.
Consistency is KEY. Aim to write a little every day, even if it’s just a few sentences. This daily practice compounds over time, leading to significant insights and personal development.
Remember, the goal isn’t perfection. It’s about authenticity and progress. If you miss a day, don’t worry too much and don’t stop. Simply open your journal the next day and continue your journey.
CELEBRATE your milestones. This is very important because, in the doubtful days, such entries are gold to help you back on track and keep the motivation. So did you take a step towards a goal? Write it down. Overcome a challenge? Acknowledge it in your journal. These celebrations are powerful affirmations of your growing self-worth.
Take Home Message
Journaling encompasses many different reflective practices and while we have discussed the benefit of this on building our self-worth we are not limited to the examples given above. You might find that you resonate with a completely different form, let that be your personal coach.
Remember, there isn’t a right or wrong way to journal. Journaling for self-worth isn’t just a reflective exercise, it’s a proactive step towards a fuller, more confident life. As you turn each page, you’re not just recounting experiences—you’re actively shaping your perceptions of self-worth and writing a new narrative of who you are becoming.
Thank you for reading if you have any questions or comments kindly do share these in the comments.
Love & Light
Sheila Daisy
