A Favourite Journaling Practice for Difficult Times

Journaling has never been something that I enjoy doing out of routine. Rather, it’s something I turn to when I need help processing something inside of me, or when during recovery all I could hear in my mind were eating disorder thoughts, but I knew that once my pen hit the page, or fingers hit the keyboard, that after just a few minutes a wiser, softer, confident and intuitive side of myself would come through, that through journaling I would have access to her and her wisdom for me.

There is one journaling practice that I discovered sometime during my recovery journey, and I can’t remember now where I learned of it. But it quickly became my go-to journaling practice for when I was feeling lost, and confused, or hopeless, and desperately yearning for some clarity and a hopeful message about the future, as well as intuitive guidance on what my next steps should be.

I call it, ‘journaling from my future self’, and that’s truly what it is, and how it feels.

So, how do I do this? And how could you as well?

My favourite way is to sit down in front of my computer, in my journaling program (for years I have loved and used Penzu, their pro version), because this allows me to write my thoughts down quickly, and with my eyes closed.

So I close my eyes, and I begin my entry with a title, such as, ‘Message from my 45-year-old self’. And here, choose whichever age in the future comes to you, one where you feel a sense of perspective and wisdom. It could be one year in the future, 5, 10, or even 50. Mine have always been about 5-10 years in the future for some reason.

Then, I start my entry with, ‘My dearest, dearest Sarah,’ or whatever term of endearment comes to me. I have always noticed that when I do this exercise, the tone of my writing becomes very motherly, very caring, very wise, very tender and affectionate, because this is how it feels that this future version of myself views me.

And then, I write out what I feel she wants to say to me, what I feel she wants me to know, about my future predicament and suffering, any guidance she has for me, and mainly, lots of reassurance about how my future turns out, and how wonderful I am in this moment, even if current me can't see it. Sometimes I do get specific advice on how to proceed from where I am, and I then do my best to listen to this, to put it into practice, as over the years I have truly come to trust and honour this inner voice and wisdom that comes from her, this future version of me. And over the years, it has never steered me astray, has always brought me a sense of calm and hope, and sometimes, the vision of my future that she paints for me, is eerily and magically exact….

Let your writing flow. Don't think too much. Let this future, wise version of yourself's voice come through in an intuitive way, let your logical brain rest and take a backseat.

I hope, if you choose to try this practice, that it brings you as much reassurance, comfort, and wise guidance as it has for me. There is no better guidance I feel, than what comes from the wisest part of our own selves.

With love, and confidence in your journey,