By now you probably know that I am a huge proponent of journaling. I journaled a lot between the ages of 12 and 16, but then stopped because it started feeling like a chore and I felt like it was impossible to keep up with every day. A few years ago I started journaling again and chose to message myself on Messenger during the day because that would give a time stamp and made it so much easier to add thoughts to during the day. I highly recommend this method.
Anyway, I want to talk about how my journal has given me a space to see how I view and react to other people. Kind of like getting a bird’s eye view on my life. A specific benefit I have appreciated this year is the ability to stop taking things so personally. I still struggle with this, but it’s getting better as I read through months at a time and see how I felt betrayed by people at different moments in time, and then also see how they were truly kind at other times, and how they might have felt betrayed by me at different points in time too. It’s helped me see that everyone has so many sides that make up their authentic self. We all struggle. We all hurt each other. We all are at different stages of maturity. We have times where we work to improve ourselves and other times where we feel stuck and give up on ourselves for a while. We are all humans.
My journal allows me to step out of the moment I’m living in. I get to look at several hundreds of true moments with details I might’ve forgotten within a span of a few pages. Stepping outside of the immediate moment helps me avoid overreacting. It gives me data to fight any “absolutes” that pop into my mind (such as, “He always does that to me!” or, “She never listens!”). People change and adjust all the time and are very rarely one thing or another. My journal reminds me to not label in my frustration and to be more patient and gracious instead.
On top of that, looking at the bigger picture makes me think about God. He isn’t limited to past information, he’s seeing every moment of our past, present, and future. He says we must be patient and kind and gracious. He knows our weaknesses. He sees the worst and knows the best of us. He knows all of it. He can see all of it.
It’s easy for us emotional people to let our emotions loose in difficult situations, but if we can learn to mentally step back and look at the bigger picture, we will react better in the moment we’re in.
Your big emotions are meant to be a GIFT, but they must step aside and let your mind make the first move.
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