March 3, 2025 • 9 mins
Journaling is a powerful tool that can help us process our thoughts and feelings while providing a peaceful pocket for reflection and creativity. We discuss how different styles of journaling can enhance self-awareness and foster happiness.
- Beginning the journey of journaling and early struggles
- Sharing the 3 journals that I currently maintain:
- The importance of having a Meditations journal for personal reflection
- Insights gained from creating and maintaining a Crafted Today Journal
- Exploring prompts and their benefits with a dedicated Prompt Journal
- Understanding journaling as a form of self-love and acceptance
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Richmond (00:05):
Hi, you're listening to Pockets, a podcast about
finding joy, meaning and purposein life's simplest moments.
I'm Richmond Camero.
Let's dive into today's journey.
I started journaling aroundSeptember 2020, but I wasn't
(00:34):
regularly writing in my journal.
That reflective journal thatI'm using back then is the same
one that I'm using now.
Before 2020, I had attempts onstarting a journal, but I wasn't
sure what I wanted to write,and the ones I attempted to do
did not appeal to me.
Should I write what I did thatday, or maybe I should write 10
(00:54):
things that I'm grateful for?
It took several trials anderrors before I found what
worked for me.
Today, I'm going to talk to youabout why and how journaling
becomes an important pocket inmy life.
As with all things, let's startwith our why.
(01:15):
Why am I journaling Withoutthinking too much about the
benefits yet, the primary reasonI journal is to process what I
think and feel.
I write in order to think.
I have to unload what I carryin order for me to understand.
Yes, I can spend time analyzingall of those things in my head,
(01:38):
but having that second brainallows for more clarity.
Maybe it's similar to drawingor molding a clay.
You might have this vision inyour head, but it might
translate differently once youput that into paper or started
shaping the clay.
It took me a while to finallyget into the rhythm of
(01:58):
maintaining a journal.
This year I'm maintaining threejournals and I'll walk you
through how I use them to sparksome ideas on your journaling
adventures.
The first one is my Meditationsjournal.
The idea of naming itMeditations comes from the book
with the same name, meditationsby Marcus Aurelius.
(02:21):
Marcus Aurelius was a Romanemperor and is often linked to
Stoicism.
This book contains hisreflections and the processing
of his thoughts and emotions.
It's a good motivation thatyour journal will become a book
one day.
Right, so I'm using mymeditations journal to capture
my deepest and lowest thoughts.
(02:42):
This is where I can free myselfand just say what I want.
This is a journal that I keepfor myself and it's not for
everyone, and I think that'simportant to understand that.
Journaling is for yourself.
You have to protect that pocketof safe space to provide
yourself with an avenue ofauthenticity.
Imagine a journal where youhave to censor what you want to
(03:05):
say.
It's difficult and weird.
My meditations journal helps meclear my thoughts and clarify
my intentions.
With that said, I don't writein this journal on a daily basis
.
I write in this journal whenI'm stressed or when I'm trying
to figure out a problem or whenI want to slow things down.
(03:26):
My second is Crafted TodayJournal.
I read something from an authornamed Joanna Penn.
She said Measure your life bywhat you create.
It was an aha moment for me.
I've always wanted to putsomething out.
I want to tell stories, I wantto write, I want to do art, but
(03:47):
I never got the habit ofpursuing my creative endeavors
regularly.
Then I realized if I want tomeasure my life by what I create
, then I have to measure my dayby what I create.
It's a very simple change,really, but powerful, and it
reinforces two habits that Iwant to do to create something
(04:08):
on a consistent basis and tojournal regularly.
Crafted today is my dailyjournal.
In this journal I write aboutwhat I crafted or created that
day.
Most of it would be somethingthat I wrote a draft for a
podcast episode like this one, afew paragraphs for a chapter in
a book I'm writing.
(04:29):
It could also be some other artform that I'm trying, or a
social media post maybe.
In this section I just listwhat I brought into the world
that day.
Then the second part is for meto write about what I think
about the things I created.
It could be the realizationthat I had for the creative
session, or it could be areflection of my mental state
(04:52):
while I'm creating.
It's also helpful for me toexamine what strategies I can
adapt in terms of my art.
My third journal is my promptjournal, but I'm still
experimenting with this one.
I'm using it for reflections onexternal prompts.
I'm using it for reflections onexternal prompts.
If my meditations journal isfor the things that I want to
(05:13):
figure out internally, this isif I want to actively have a
journaling exercise from aprompt or external source.
Usually, I write in thisjournal when I'm answering
prompts like when do I feel mostat peace or what am I thankful
for?
I also use this forassimilation of non-fiction
(05:33):
books I'm reading.
When I'm reading, I'mhighlighting or taking note of
passages.
Then I will write that in myprom journal and think about why
that passage resonates with me.
For sure there will be someoverlap with my meditations
journal, but I wanted todistinguish this one from the
thoughts and feelings I want toprocess.
Now that I've walked youthrough how I journal, I wanted
(05:57):
to talk about what it brought meand why journaling has been a
reliable pocket of peace For me.
Journaling allows me to slowdown and be mindful.
There was one entry in mymeditations journal where I did
test this.
I was anxious because of thethings I wanted to do back then
(06:18):
and I recognized that I neededto take a break.
This is what I wrote in thatentry.
Okay, firstly, I'm trying tofind out if the actual physical
sensation of journaling willhelp me slow down and relax.
So far it does, as I payattention to the ink of my pen
and the words I'm writing.
I know and I believe thatjournaling is always associated
(06:41):
to slowing down, but with thistest, every journaling session
matters and it provides reliefin those moments.
Journaling also gives mesomething to look back to.
Sometimes I skim through myentries from a few years back.
Then I would see that there arebehaviors that I still do since
(07:02):
then and there are behaviorsthat I have changed.
I would be able to identifypatterns and common themes and
from there I would see how Iresponded.
It gives me a snapshot of thethings that I've been through
and what I've become because ofthem, and sometimes I'd feel a
sense of appreciation, like, hey, I've been through that and I'm
(07:25):
okay and content.
Right now I am at peace.
Third, journaling helps me shapewhat I want to do with my life.
My Crafted Today journal is themost evident example of this.
That journal ensures that I ammindful with how I want to spend
my day and therefore my life.
(07:46):
My meditations journal allowsme to think how I want to behave
and it challenges my beliefsand principles.
Even my prom journal has a partin this, providing mental
exercises in differentsituations.
Lastly, journaling is a form ofself-love and self-acceptance.
(08:09):
Self-love seems to be pairedwith journaling a lot of times,
but this is how I break it downin my head Self-love and
self-acceptance mean allowing usto be ourselves, so that means
being comfortable with our ownthoughts and feelings.
It takes a bit of practice andit would feel awkward in the
(08:31):
beginning, but journaling helpedme to be comfortable with my
own skin.
I think it's important toaccept yourself first before
seeking acceptance from others,and journaling allows me to show
the authentic me.
There are so many ways to dojournaling.
I actually attended a creativejournaling workshop Nica by
(08:52):
Cosio last Nick last January andit gave me ideas on what else I
could explore.
One thing that stuck with me isthe creative use of scraps and
ephemera tissue papers, ticketsor paper placemats as materials
for your journal.
It was such a wonderfulworkshop and I'm looking forward
(09:14):
to trying out things from whatI learned In the end.
If there's one thing that Ishould say as a must for
journaling is that you do it foryourself.
It's your own pocket of space,and in that space you're not
looking for permission, you'renot looking for approval, you
are being you, and that, myfriend, is more than enough.
(09:39):
You've been with Pockets.
Thank you so much for sharingthis space with me.
Now go embrace the moments,build your pockets of meaning
and keep curiosity a sure guide.
Hi, you're listening to Pockets, a podcast about
finding joy, meaning and purposein life's simplest moments.
I'm Richmond Camero.
Let's dive into today's journey.
I started journaling aroundSeptember 2020, but I wasn't
(00:34):
regularly writing in my journal.
That reflective journal thatI'm using back then is the same
one that I'm using now.
Before 2020, I had attempts onstarting a journal, but I wasn't
sure what I wanted to write,and the ones I attempted to do
did not appeal to me.
Should I write what I did thatday, or maybe I should write 10
(00:54):
things that I'm grateful for?
It took several trials anderrors before I found what
worked for me.
Today, I'm going to talk to youabout why and how journaling
becomes an important pocket inmy life.
As with all things, let's startwith our why.
(01:15):
Why am I journaling Withoutthinking too much about the
benefits yet, the primary reasonI journal is to process what I
think and feel.
I write in order to think.
I have to unload what I carryin order for me to understand.
Yes, I can spend time analyzingall of those things in my head,
(01:38):
but having that second brainallows for more clarity.
Maybe it's similar to drawingor molding a clay.
You might have this vision inyour head, but it might
translate differently once youput that into paper or started
shaping the clay.
It took me a while to finallyget into the rhythm of
(01:58):
maintaining a journal.
This year I'm maintaining threejournals and I'll walk you
through how I use them to sparksome ideas on your journaling
adventures.
The first one is my Meditationsjournal.
The idea of naming itMeditations comes from the book
with the same name, meditationsby Marcus Aurelius.
(02:21):
Marcus Aurelius was a Romanemperor and is often linked to
Stoicism.
This book contains hisreflections and the processing
of his thoughts and emotions.
It's a good motivation thatyour journal will become a book
one day.
Right, so I'm using mymeditations journal to capture
my deepest and lowest thoughts.
(02:42):
This is where I can free myselfand just say what I want.
This is a journal that I keepfor myself and it's not for
everyone, and I think that'simportant to understand that.
Journaling is for yourself.
You have to protect that pocketof safe space to provide
yourself with an avenue ofauthenticity.
Imagine a journal where youhave to censor what you want to
(03:05):
say.
It's difficult and weird.
My meditations journal helps meclear my thoughts and clarify
my intentions.
With that said, I don't writein this journal on a daily basis
.
I write in this journal whenI'm stressed or when I'm trying
to figure out a problem or whenI want to slow things down.
(03:26):
My second is Crafted TodayJournal.
I read something from an authornamed Joanna Penn.
She said Measure your life bywhat you create.
It was an aha moment for me.
I've always wanted to putsomething out.
I want to tell stories, I wantto write, I want to do art, but
(03:47):
I never got the habit ofpursuing my creative endeavors
regularly.
Then I realized if I want tomeasure my life by what I create
, then I have to measure my dayby what I create.
It's a very simple change,really, but powerful, and it
reinforces two habits that Iwant to do to create something
(04:08):
on a consistent basis and tojournal regularly.
Crafted today is my dailyjournal.
In this journal I write aboutwhat I crafted or created that
day.
Most of it would be somethingthat I wrote a draft for a
podcast episode like this one, afew paragraphs for a chapter in
a book I'm writing.
(04:29):
It could also be some other artform that I'm trying, or a
social media post maybe.
In this section I just listwhat I brought into the world
that day.
Then the second part is for meto write about what I think
about the things I created.
It could be the realizationthat I had for the creative
session, or it could be areflection of my mental state
(04:52):
while I'm creating.
It's also helpful for me toexamine what strategies I can
adapt in terms of my art.
My third journal is my promptjournal, but I'm still
experimenting with this one.
I'm using it for reflections onexternal prompts.
I'm using it for reflections onexternal prompts.
If my meditations journal isfor the things that I want to
(05:13):
figure out internally, this isif I want to actively have a
journaling exercise from aprompt or external source.
Usually, I write in thisjournal when I'm answering
prompts like when do I feel mostat peace or what am I thankful
for?
I also use this forassimilation of non-fiction
(05:33):
books I'm reading.
When I'm reading, I'mhighlighting or taking note of
passages.
Then I will write that in myprom journal and think about why
that passage resonates with me.
For sure there will be someoverlap with my meditations
journal, but I wanted todistinguish this one from the
thoughts and feelings I want toprocess.
Now that I've walked youthrough how I journal, I wanted
(05:57):
to talk about what it brought meand why journaling has been a
reliable pocket of peace For me.
Journaling allows me to slowdown and be mindful.
There was one entry in mymeditations journal where I did
test this.
I was anxious because of thethings I wanted to do back then
(06:18):
and I recognized that I neededto take a break.
This is what I wrote in thatentry.
Okay, firstly, I'm trying tofind out if the actual physical
sensation of journaling willhelp me slow down and relax.
So far it does, as I payattention to the ink of my pen
and the words I'm writing.
I know and I believe thatjournaling is always associated
(06:41):
to slowing down, but with thistest, every journaling session
matters and it provides reliefin those moments.
Journaling also gives mesomething to look back to.
Sometimes I skim through myentries from a few years back.
Then I would see that there arebehaviors that I still do since
(07:02):
then and there are behaviorsthat I have changed.
I would be able to identifypatterns and common themes and
from there I would see how Iresponded.
It gives me a snapshot of thethings that I've been through
and what I've become because ofthem, and sometimes I'd feel a
sense of appreciation, like, hey, I've been through that and I'm
(07:25):
okay and content.
Right now I am at peace.
Third, journaling helps me shapewhat I want to do with my life.
My Crafted Today journal is themost evident example of this.
That journal ensures that I ammindful with how I want to spend
my day and therefore my life.
(07:46):
My meditations journal allowsme to think how I want to behave
and it challenges my beliefsand principles.
Even my prom journal has a partin this, providing mental
exercises in differentsituations.
Lastly, journaling is a form ofself-love and self-acceptance.
(08:09):
Self-love seems to be pairedwith journaling a lot of times,
but this is how I break it downin my head Self-love and
self-acceptance mean allowing usto be ourselves, so that means
being comfortable with our ownthoughts and feelings.
It takes a bit of practice andit would feel awkward in the
(08:31):
beginning, but journaling helpedme to be comfortable with my
own skin.
I think it's important toaccept yourself first before
seeking acceptance from others,and journaling allows me to show
the authentic me.
There are so many ways to dojournaling.
I actually attended a creativejournaling workshop Nica by
(08:52):
Cosio last Nick last January andit gave me ideas on what else I
could explore.
One thing that stuck with me isthe creative use of scraps and
ephemera tissue papers, ticketsor paper placemats as materials
for your journal.
It was such a wonderfulworkshop and I'm looking forward
(09:14):
to trying out things from whatI learned In the end.
If there's one thing that Ishould say as a must for
journaling is that you do it foryourself.
It's your own pocket of space,and in that space you're not
looking for permission, you'renot looking for approval, you
are being you, and that, myfriend, is more than enough.
(09:39):
You've been with Pockets.
Thank you so much for sharingthis space with me.
Now go embrace the moments,build your pockets of meaning
and keep curiosity a sure guide.
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