Changing Your Life Narrative
Journaling Your Life Story
Do you ever find yourself feeling as though you don't understand your own motives or choices? Questions like, “Why do I always do this?” or “I don’t know why I responded that way.” If you feel this way, you can learn why you do the things you do, and change the way you respond to life’s challenges.
Life can be a whirlwind at times. Maybe you've just been too busy lately to spend time thinking about your priorities and goals. One great method to increase self-understanding and control of your future is journaling your thoughts and feelings.
The idea of keeping a journal may sound strange to you; you might not think of yourself as a writer. Even non-writers keep journals, though. When you open yourself to journaling, you experience a new wealth of self-understanding and a greater sense of confidence and self-control.
Writing bits and pieces of your life experiences can be an incredible journey. Once you start thinking about the past, you'll find yourself remembering another story, then another. Once you make an effort to recall experiences, you'll trigger memories you haven't thought about in years.
All of your life experiences have combined to make you the person you are. Your experiences and interpretations of them have taught you thought patterns, responses, and reactions. Sorting through some of your life stories will help you understand yourself and shift the way you respond to the world.
Follow these steps to get started:
1. Decide how you'll write your story. Will you use a spiral notebook and a pen? A computer is an obvious choice if you're comfortable with it, but handwriting provides a greater connection to the thought processes of your mind and memories.
2. There’s no need to start at the beginning. Interestingly, a lot of people avoid recording stories of their lives because they "can't remember back that far." Where you start the story isn't important. Starting it is.
3. Think of your life as a series of short chapters. To simplify your story, each situation you recall can be a "chapter." For example, you might remember the time your Uncle Al took you fishing and the canoe tipped over. Or, you may recall a day with a friend, a concert, or sitting on the porch with your mother, watching a storm roll in.
4. Focus on getting the story down. Things like sentence structure, spelling, grammar, and the like aren't all that important. Your journal is for you, not your high school English teacher, or anyone else. If you feel the need, you can deal with all those things later by going back through and editing the material.
5. The order of your stories is irrelevant. There’s no need for chronological order. Follow your mind to the memories that come forth without worrying about any sense of structure. If you feel the need, later on, you can reorder your memories chronologically, or by theme.
6. Document what you remember. Get down information about what happened, what you did, what you thought, and how you felt. Allow yourself time to consider how you feel about it now, how you wish you had responded differently, and any regrets or feelings of pride or accomplishment. These details will ultimately lead you to develop a better understanding of how you live your life as an adult.
Writing your life story is not all that difficult. If you follow some of these journaling methods and release any concern about a “final product,” you'll find yourself recalling more of your life. Plus, you'll learn to understand and even love yourself more than you ever have!
Start now to journal some of the stories from your life. Soon after, you'll be glad you did!