The Joy of Journaling: Luke Fenwick

Welcome to our latest blog series, The Joy of Journaling.

I have been journaling since I could write, and I could go on for days about the positive impact journaling has had on my life. Through the testing times and triumphs, my journal has always been there for me.

I have been trying to encourage my children to journal, but I noticed that no one close to me – my husband, friends, or family – journal. This made me wonder: is it just me that has benefited from this beautiful practice? I reached out further afield and was pleasantly assured that I’m not alone! In this first post, I caught up with Luke Fenwick, a Behaviour Strategist and Life Impact coach. I hope you enjoy Luke’s thoughts on journaling, and that you are inspired to put pen to paper too.

1. Why do you keep a journal? What do you think are the main advantages of journaling?

Why do I ask all my clients to do journaling? It enables them to explore deeper thoughts and emotions in a way not connected to emotions in the moment. It enables them to get out the raw feelings onto the paper and then step back and see the words for what they are. It is very much the opportunity for them to start to form plans and articulate them further in a way which can be revised.

2. How long have you kept a journal for and why did you start?

I have kept a journal for the last 18 months.

3. How often do you write in your journal – have you established a regular habit, or do you just write when you need to? How much do you write?

I journal in a number of ways personally, I do a weekly deep dive (which can be 1 or 5 pages) and then use my work ie: blogs and newsletter to explore thoughts in different ways. When working with clients for my 50 or 90 day programs, I ask them to journal for that period of time.

4. What sort of journal do you write in? Do you write by hand in a notebook or electronically on your computer or other device?

Paper and pen. I find the process connects in a very different way vs a computer.

5. Do you have any challenges journaling, e.g. not writing as consistently as you’d like, not having time to write, not knowing what to write, finding the right journal, etc.

My recommendation to people is to ensure they are setting prompts for when they journal. Morning should be used for exploring the mind first up and then intention setting for the day. Evening journaling is great for reflecting. If they really struggle put the journal next to their bed, keep it in sight.

Luke Fenwick is the Founder of ‘Dawn of Legacy’, a Behaviour Strategist and Life Impact coach. He is also the author of ‘That’s BS!’ newsletter which is all about behaviour and strategy including how a shift in mindset can shape our world! Luke’s mission is to impact 1,000,000 people by 2025 and people’s ability to recognise their patterns of behaviour and learned stories, which is critical to re-educate and forge forward to success. Over the last 18 months Luke has seen an absolute avalanche of people looking to create change in their day-to-day habits, mindset and long held internal beliefs. Previous to life coaching Luke worked in organisations such as LVMH and Melbourne United the Basketball club, where the environment was very much driven by the mindset that you embraced. Luke has built his extensive knowledge from what he has seen and coaches on these topics. Learn more about Luke here…