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the answer lives in you
what is a conscious journaler?
With a little intentionality you can squeeze so much more out of your journaling practice to go deeper and really get to know who you are behind all the conditioning and begin to consciously create the life you've always wanted.
Journaling is one of those things that lots of people talk about and do, but not many approach as a true practice. I like to compare journaling to running, in that they both have a low barrier to entry: to run, all you need is a pair of sneakers, and to journal all you need is a pen and paper. This creates a dynamic where we think we don't need any training, but this often leaves lots on the table in terms of benefits we can get from both.
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I have been journaling consistently for over 5 years. I started because a book told me I should if I wanted to be successful. Like the good achiever I was at the time, I diligently wrote my affirmations out every morning along with my gratitude list, and then my daily goals followed by a bit of a word vomit of what was running through my mind at the time. But to my dismay, I wasn't able to achieve the success that was promised to me with this practice.
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Over time I realized that in order for me to really make traction with my journaling practice, I would need to dig deeper. I worked with my life coach over the years to learn new techniques and ways to
conscious journaler quadrant
which quadrant are you?
Depending where you are on your journey as a journaler and with consciousness, you will find yourself in one of these four quadrants. Each one speaks to your level of journaling expertise and whether you approach journaling consciously or unconsciously. This is an easy way to visualize where you are so you can work towards becoming a conscious journaler. You can read the descriptions below to feel into which quadrant best describes you, or take the quiz!
conscious journaler quadrant descriptions
A person who is unconscious, meaning they have a lack of awareness of their thoughts and feelings
They often identify as their thoughts and feelings and think that if they feel/think it then it must be true
They go through their life almost in a trance and doing the same things without much understanding of why they do what they do
They don't have a current journaling practice
A person who is conscious, meaning they have an awareness of their thoughts and your feelings
They likely have a high emotional intelligence and understand why they do what they do and know that they are not their thoughts, they're the observer of them
They don't have a current journaling practice, because they've never tried journaling or when they did, they didn't see the value
A person who is unconscious in relation to their journaling practice, meaning they could have self awareness
They journal mindlessly or in a way someone told them that they should without a rooted intention guiding their journaling practice
Once they're done with one journal, it's onto the next one without referring back to past journal entries often (if ever)
They find themselves writing out the same goals and about the same problems, but they are not making much traction on the things that got them started with journaling, or their progress is unpredictable
A person who is conscious in life and in relation to their journaling practice
They understand why they do what they do and use journaling as a tool to deepen that self awareness even more
Their journaling practice is fluid and guided by their own internal compass combined with techniques like shadow work and inner child work
They utilize past journal entries to move through blocks more quickly, find limiting beliefs, and their past entries are a source of encouragement and wisdom for them
They make traction on the things that got them started with journaling more quickly than when they were an unconscious journaler