The Joy of Journaling: Nikki Lane

The Joy of Journaling: Nikki Lane

By removing all pressure from her journaling practice, Nikki Lane ensures that her journaling experience isn’t a ‘chore’ or just another thing on the To-Do list, but rather “a peaceful, sacred, special time”. Nikki shares some of her other top journaling tips below:

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

Self awareness, self awareness, and a little more self awareness!!!!

When I am in my head, throwing around problems with solutions and other people’s thoughts and opinions, I get confused, I get stressed and I never find a solution that feels right for me.

When I journal, it’s like having a direct insight to my soul that provides me with so much awareness of my “self”; my thoughts, my beliefs, my struggles, my feelings… that I receive clarity and perspective which enable me to take action.

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

In 2005 I left my marriage for no other reason than I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t being abused, we didn’t fight, and we didn’t hate each other. I just looked at my life one day and wondered, ‘How on earth did I end up here?’ This wasn’t the life I wanted to live and neither was my husband the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I decided that living a mediocre life wasn’t enough for me, so I left.

That event started a 16 year Change Journey to discover who I was, what I wanted from life and what makes me happy. One of the main processes I have used during this time to discover who I am is journaling.

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 write when I need to. When I realise I am too much in my head and need to find clarity, my journal is my go-to place. Sometimes I write daily, other times it could be once or twice a week.

How much I write is also dependent on what is going on. I always write intuitively, seeking answers from my higher self. Sometimes the wisdom is deep and goes for pages and pages, other times the message is short and succinct and only half a page.

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?

I have a selection of beautiful notebooks that I journal in. I choose the one that feels right for the moment. Up until this year, I have been writing by hand, but as I get older, if I have a big journaling session, my poor little hand starts to cramp up as it can’t keep up with the speed of the messages coming through. So I have just started typing-journaling on my computer. Whilst I still get great insights and clarity and the typing doesn’t stop the process of journaling, I still prefer the beautiful calming experience of sitting in a nice spot somewhere and hand writing in my journal.

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.

No… my journaling is a peaceful, sacred, special time… so I ensure there is no stress about it and go with the flow. If I feel like writing I do, if I don’t, I don’t. If I feeling like handwriting, I do. If I feel like typing, I do. Journaling for me is all about flow, so there is absolutely no need to bring any challenges into the process.

Nikki Lane is a self-awareness advocate, author and coach. She is passionate about bringing self-awareness to women so they can choose to live the life of their dreams. Which sounds so cliché… but in fact with just a little self-awareness and a few changes to your perspective… it’s really easy to start enjoying your life. Learn more about Nikki and her work at www.thechangejourney.com.au

To help you with the journaling I’ve also created a FREE Journaling Guide with 100+ prompts, as well as tips and info on the benefits of journaling.