My Personal Journaling Journey

In today's heartfelt discussion, I share how journaling has carved a non-judgmental space for my inner dialogue to thrive, providing serenity and insight amidst life's chaos. Together, we'll dismantle the myths that may have kept you from this path and illustrate how journaling coalesces with meditative and breath work practices, laying down the keystones for mental resilience.

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Show Notes

Imagine a practice so versatile that it effortlessly molds to your life's rhythm yet stands as a testament to your personal growth. That's the essence of journaling, a beacon guiding you towards authenticity and emotional emancipation. As we wade through various journaling landscapes—from the classic written word to the vivid strokes of artistic expression—I'll reflect on how this practice can anchor anyone, regardless of their bustling schedule or creative flair. This episode is an intimate sharing of my own experiences, with no guests to distract from the purity of the message. I extend an invitation to you: let journaling be your daily retreat for introspection and watch as it transforms the way you perceive and navigate your world.

Transcript

Mikita: 0:00

Let me just ask you a question when do you hold all your thoughts, all your dreams, all your emotions? Where do you put them After a long day, at the end of work, when the stress feels heavy, when you're contemplating your next move, when you're trying to figure out your next step? Where do you place all of these thoughts, all of these emotions, all of the emotions that are entangled? What do you do with them? Hey, there, I'm Mikita, a small town girl with dreams who started a podcast with an old headset and a laptop at my kitchen table and made my dreams come true. On my podcast, time for Tea with Mikita, we chat about living life unapologetically, on your terms, from career advice, entrepreneurship, relationships and everything in between. This is your one stop shop for real conversations and inspiration. If you're looking for connection, then you found it here. Join me every Tuesday as we dive into those sometimes hard to have conversations. So grab a cup of tea or coffee and get comfy, because this is Thyme 4 Tea with Mikita, and the tea is definitely hot. Welcome back, I'm Mikita. Thank you so much for just sharing your time, your space and your amazing energy with me today.

Mikita: 1:30

Now, in this episode, we are going to be diving deep into the world of journaling. You heard me right. We're gonna be talking about journaling and why it's so powerful. So whether you've never journaled before, or if you're like me and you drifted away from it because life got crazy and it just became too much, it's okay. But this conversation is gonna be for you, no matter where you are in the world of journaling. Or maybe you've never thought about journaling before, or you haven't even picked up a pen and a paper to so-called journal.

Mikita: 2:09

Now I've been journaling in some form or fashion since I was about 13 or 14. It started with a diary, a place where my thoughts found refuge, and even when I skipped a few days back then, I always found my way back to it. So there was a time when I thought, okay, I'm getting a little too old to be writing in a diary. But then I realized that this was my sanctuary. This is where I could really put all my thoughts and find a place free from judgment, where my inner voice could speak freely. And for those who've experienced the liberation of letting your thoughts flow onto paper, you know the power of this practice, which brings me to today's quote "'We write to taste life twice "'in the moment and in retrospect'".

Mikita: 3:12

Now, today, I'm gonna be sharing why, firmly believed journaling should be a part of your daily practice. I am going to convince you why you should be picking up that pen and getting into journaling. There are many benefits. We are going to explore them all, and not only that. I am going to tackle some of the most common myths surrounding it, and there are a few, so we're gonna get into them, but before we do, I just want to say that you know, one of the three foundational keys that I use in my everyday practice in life is wellbeing, and that's mental wellbeing. Having that clarity and you're gonna hear me talk more about my foundational keys to wellness and what they are throughout this season, but for right now, we're gonna focus on the mental health and wellbeing.

Mikita: 4:13

As someone who has navigated the challenges of anxiety, I strongly advocate for anyone to find a practice that fosters their mental wellness. For me, this may look like meditation, doing breath work and journaling. Now, these practices work for me because they make me feel very anchored in my purpose and they provide a space for introspection, grounding and clarity. Yours may look different, and that is okay, as long as you are putting your wellness at the forefront. So why journaling for me? Well, for me, I journal because it's a means to feel liberated from my thoughts and emotions that are swirling in my head. I don't know about you, but I have like a thousand thoughts a day. Ideas sometimes it's like subconscious thoughts that you know come back to me, conversations that flow into my mind that I think I've forgotten about, but they're still there. So, whether it's fear, it's doubt, or replaying conversations, I believe if it's on your mind, it's in your heart, and journaling gives you a way of acknowledging and processing those feelings and emotions. It's more than just I have these feelings and emotions, but it's about recognizing what they are, accepting those emotions and then finding a solution. Why? Because if I don't understand why I feel the way I feel, there's no way I can explain to someone else how I feel. I got to understand it first. It starts with me Now.

Mikita: 6:02

Growing up in a family where emotional expression wasn't commonplace, I understand the struggle with vulnerability. I grew up with four older brothers, so they were not the type to express their emotions very clearly, so generally became my safe space to express myself and I was very hesitant to voice some of those feelings and emotions out loud. Because growing up in an all-boys environment, you had to be tough and crying really wasn't allowed, and saying you hurt my feelings wasn't the thing to say unless you wanted to get picked on and teased. So you learned how to suck it up, how to not say the thing that is hurting you the most and just go with the flow. Now, this did not make really, you know, good in relationships, because I couldn't really express myself and that's why I was writing was the thing for me. I could definitely write down my feelings and I could better understand them.

Mikita: 7:10

Now that I've had that option to like read it and write it, say it, feel it and come to terms with it, it really gave me a space to voice those, those feelings and emotions without feeling vulnerable, but just as a way of expressing myself and saying you know what this is how I feel, this is how this makes me feel, and being okay with it. So just imagine having a space where you can be unapologetically yourself, free from the need to be strong all the time, to have all the answers all the time or to be someone else's shoulder to lean on. You have a place where you can put those emotions and not have to conform to other people's expectations. I feel like journaling really offers that freedom, and it's also about giving yourself time for reflection, recognizing patterns in our thoughts and behaviors. After a while, when I keep writing certain things and I can look back at it and be like, oh my gosh, there's a pattern here, like there's definitely something here I need to, something's triggering these emotions. And this gives me an opportunity to address that. Because I don't care how much you want to fill your cup, if your cup is cracked, if it's broken, if you have not done the work to heal, then I don't care how much someone is pouring into you, how much you're trying to pour into yourself. If you are not doing the work to heal, if you are not putting in the energy to grow, your cup will never feel like it's full. You will always feel like you're missing something, that you're empty. You have to heal those cracks, you have to plug up those holes, you have to do the work to do the healing. Ever feel like you need a superpower boost of motivation with exclusive tips and tools with your goals in mind? Well, say hello to your new inspiration hotspot, the Tuesday Tea Newsletter. You're a weekly infusion of big thinking energy that will propel you to chase your wildest dreams and never shy away from using the power of your voice. Sign up for the Tuesday Tea Newsletter today at beautifullyandbalancedcom and elevate your goals to the next level.

Mikita: 9:44

Now, as we journey through this episode, I hope I am warming you up to the idea of journaling. I really do. I hope this is really triggering something and really making you think about how this could benefit you. If there's still some doubt and you're like I don't know, makita, you know, I just I'm not quite sure yet I want you to understand that journaling is more than just a place for your thoughts. It's really a sanctuary. Within its pages, you can find solace, you can find a place to become centered and grounded amid the chaos of life. If your thoughts are running at a thousand you know miles per hour, this is a place to hit pause. This is a place to feel centered, to untangle all of those thoughts, to sift through all of those emotions, to reflect and, in return, cultivate a sense of intention and presence in your daily life. Now, there are lots of benefits to journaling. You could go on the internet right now and type in benefits of journaling and you're going to get a lot of journalic answers, but true value comes from discovering the unique benefit that resonates with you personally, your personal why.

Mikita: 11:16

For me. That's generally being a compass for me. That consistently points me towards authenticity. It holds up a mirror to my innermost self, ensuring I remain true to who I am and how I want to move in the world, reminds me of my intentions how do I want to show up? What spaces do I want to be in? How do I want to serve and show up for other people in my life? It keeps me honest about my why, keeps me accountable, so that when I share my truth with others, it's unfiltered, it's genuine, it's raw, it's real, it's me, it's like a beacon of my authenticity and it's how I like to inspire others to tell their truth as well.

Mikita: 12:04

If you take away nothing else from today's chat, I want you to remember this Journaling is what you make it. And if you're worrying about well, I don't have the time, like you know, I just don't see myself sticking to it consistently. You know what, if I started and stop it Okay, you started and you stop it. You may step away from it for a while. The key is always coming back.

Mikita: 12:33

I journal most days, but there are a few days in between that I may skip it, but I always come back to it because I know why I do it. I know life gets busy, but when life gets busy for me, I'm worried about being consistent with something. So far, I say, well, I just can't do it because, you know, I just don't feel like I'll have the time to do it. Every day I give myself a challenge, so it may be like I'm going to do this for a week. I'm going to challenge myself to do this for a week and I'm going to see how this works out. This gives me an opportunity to test drive a new habit, and journaling is no exception to that. It helps you build a routine, and usually by the end of it I can genuinely see if this practice is something I want to integrate into my everyday life. So I want you to challenge yourself. If it's a week, if it's five days, if it's seven days, it doesn't matter.

Mikita: 13:31

And I also want you to think about journaling not just as a place as to write your thoughts. Maybe you're not a person that likes to write, and that's okay. Maybe you can draw, maybe you can paint, maybe you can write, maybe you can write, maybe you can write. There are so many different journals out there that will fit your unique style and how you like to express yourself. So I want you to think outside the box of just having a journal that you write in. There are lots of different journals, and you can find journals that give you daily props if you feel like, well, I don't know what to write about every day. There are great journals out there that each day has different prompt for you Whether you can really get really clear and not have to come up with something every day. If you're that type of person that's like I can't always think of something, there is something for everyone when it comes to journaling and your style of journaling.

Mikita: 14:29

Now, if you are a person that's saying I don't have the time, akita, there's just too much happening in my life right now and journaling just does not seem like something I can just sit down and do, let me tell you something, girl, I know exactly what you're thinking between work, kids, if you're going to school, if you're doing, you know, coaching, picking up kids after school practices life is busy, but, like I said before, you have to start pouring into yourself. You have to start the process of healing. You have to do the thing that's going to fill the cup for you, that's going to pour back into you so you can pour into others. And that's not spending necessarily an hour a day writing. Honestly. I spend maybe five minutes a day journaling. You know, I just take a minute and think about something that I'm grateful for, something that made me laugh the day, something that I'm very proud of in that moment. It doesn't have to be big, something that maybe just thought, that just keeps running in my head and I just want to get it out of my head and on paper so I can reflect on it.

Mikita: 15:49

Journaling is like I said, it's what you make it. If you have 20, 30 minutes on an hour to sit down and write, then by all means go for it. If not, take five minutes. Set your timer two minutes. Get up in the morning. Do the first thing when you get up. Why are you drinking your coffee or making your tea? Why are you waiting for the kids to get ready? This is your moment. You can do it before you go to bed at night, right before you turn off the lights. Take five minutes. Give it a try. Like I said, challenge yourself for those few minutes each day, for whatever time period you set it for, and let that be your starting point. So, like I said, I have these three foundational keys that I hold true and I told you, it's mental clarity for the win for me, and nothing can take that back.

Mikita: 16:52

But if you are still unsure about journaling, I want you to ask yourself who do you want to be in the next three months? What type of clarity do you want to have around your goals, around your life? Are you ready to start feeling more centered and grounded, less stressed? Do you want to have a place that you can put all of those emotions that are swirling? If you say yes, then you are ready. You don't have to spend a lot of money on getting a journal. You can go to the store and buy a spiral notebook. You know it doesn't have to be fancy, it doesn't have to be a lot of money. Start where you're at and build as you grow.

Mikita: 17:50

All right, you guys, I hope you enjoyed this episode. I hope that I have convinced you to start journaling. If you are a person and you're like okay, Mikita, I'm going to give this a try. Hit me up on my IG at mikitasmith_. I would love to support you along this amazing journey that you're on. Remember, journaling is just you putting pen to paper to express yourself. You don't have to write your thoughts out in specific detail. The beauty of journaling is that you can express yourself in whatever way you want, so you get to pick how. That is Okay. Trust yourself and go for it, because when you let your light shine, it gives others the courage to shine their light. All right, that is all the tea that I have to spill today, but guess what? My friends Join me each and every Tuesday as we spill more delicious hot tea. Please stop by, leave a review. I would love to hear your thoughts and hit me up on social. I am so looking forward to connecting with you guys. All right, until next time, my friend Namaste.