How Journaling Helps You Solve Problems
Not sure what to do with your life? Unhappy in your job? Trying to figure out why you are so unhappy lately?
All of these are problems we often face in life, and all could be solved using a similar strategy. Journaling is a useful tool that can help you figure out just about any problem in your life.
So in this article let`s explore a little more on how journaling helps you solve problems…
Solving any problem, no matter the size or purpose follows basically the same process. This approach has been studied widely and yields the best results and even when you do not realize it, it is likely the approach you use when making your most important choices.
The steps go like this:
1. Understand clearly what the problem is.
2. Figure out potential solutions.
3. Weigh your options and choose the best one.
4. Implement that choice and evaluate its success.
Sounds simple enough, right? When you do all these things in your head though, you often miss a step. Neglect to think through each step, or you do not take enough time to consider all your choices.
Journaling can help you with all parts of this approach.
Identify the Problem
Journaling is perfect for this step because when you write in your journal every day it becomes a written record of your thoughts, moods, and emotions. It gives you incredible insight into figuring out exactly what the problem is.
Often, we may know that SOMETHING is not right but not really know what that is exactly.
Writing in your journal every day gives you the chance to write about your problems, decisions and relationships, which helps you find themes and patterns that point to genuine issues.
Identifying and Choosing Solutions
You can use your journal to make lists of all the possible outcomes of your choices. You can write about the pros can cons of each option.
Writing gives you time to consider possibilities, to brainstorm lots of ideas, and to look back to see how you have solved similar problems in the past.
Evaluating Your Decision
A journal is pretty much an ongoing evaluation of your past choices, isn’t it?
Once you have made a choice and implemented it, your journal can help you documents the results, including any lessons you have learned from the outcomes.
Your journal then becomes a helpful record for the future you who may face similar problems, or might be grappling with the aftermath of this choice.
Other Approaches to Journaling
There is an infinite number of ways you can use a journal to help you solve a problem in your life.
When you write daily, you may notice specific issues cropping up that you did not even know were problems until you started to write about them.
You can explore relationships and the influences other people have on you, which may be the source of certain feelings or outcomes.
You can get to know yourself better through journaling, which may reveal hidden hurts or emotional struggles from your past.
The real power of journaling is not just in the act of writing, which is therapeutic in nature. It is also in the reflective reading and reviewing you do from time to time.
You can start to understand the emotional influence you have over yourself as well as others and identify ways you can avoid future problems or hardships.
Final Thoughts
Exploring problems on paper helps you think more clearly, avoid rumination or circular logic, and identify gaps in your reasoning.
Journaling can help at every stage of problem-solving, including identifying the problem, finding and choosing solutions, then evaluating the outcomes.
