How to Use Your Journal to Access Your Inner Wisdom

This journal technique is simple and straightforward. It uses a basic question and answer format and requires no tools other than a pen and paper.

There’s just this one thing . . . you’ll be asking the questions AND answering them, which is the key to connecting with your knowledge and experience. It sounds a little unusual, but once you get the hang of it, you may be surprised to discover the depth and breadth of your own wisdom.

Accessing Your Inner Wisdom

Here’s how to begin:

Step one: Ask yourself a question, in writing, in your journal.

Step two: Answer your question, in writing, in your journal.

Repeat steps one and two until you’re satisfied with the work you’ve done.

That’s really all there is to it. Two steps repeated many times. The trick to making it work is not letting yourself off the hook.

Follow Every Answer With a New Question

Let’s say you’ve got a big decision to make, but you’re not sure what to do. You could begin by asking yourself, What should I do?

Your first and most honest answer might be, I don’t know, which is entirely okay. That’s why you’re doing this. Keep going. Ask the next question: Why don’t I know?

Then answer it.

You might not find the answers you seek right away, but don’t let that stop you from following every answer, especially the ones that seem the least helpful and the most unproductive, with a new question.

If you don’t know because you don’t have enough information, ask yourself how to find more information. If you don’t know because it’s a hard question, ask yourself why it’s hard. If you don’t know because you’re afraid to know, ask yourself why you’re afraid.

Then answer your questions and the follow-up questions they inspire, in writing, in your journal. You may find that the answers you’re searching for are already within you, just waiting to be written.

Why Your Journal Is an Excellent Place to Access Your Inner Wisdom

I love this format. It usually doesn’t take long for me to get past the I don’t knows and the I’m not sures to the core of difficult challenges and decisions. It has a lot to do with how I view my journal.

My journal is a safe place to think. It’s a judgment free zone. It’s always there for me when I need it. In return, my journal requires words. It requires me to articulate and describe, and in order to do so, I have to pay attention. I have to stop for a moment and think things through.

The results are often incredibly heartening — a new path forward, a renewed sense of confidence, a new understanding of myself that yields more intentional decisions. I don’t always find perfect answers to my questions, but I always find somewhere to start, something to do to move forward.

If you’d like to give it a try, I’d love to hear how it goes. Leave a comment below or drop me a line via email. I’d love to chat!

P.S. I’ve also used aspects of this technique in two of my printable journal pages: When You Just Need a Moment to Think and Reason 10 in my free e-book 10 Good Reasons to Journal, if you’re looking for a place to start.

Make Your Own Mini Cloud Journal

This little journal isn’t exactly practical. It probably isn’t very sensible either. It’s also lopsided from some angles and each time I make a new one, it’s never quite the same as the last.

But everything about it makes me smile — the cloud-shaped pages, the blue on blue on blue, and the lovely little bow right in the middle. It’s good for sky’s-the-limit brainstorming and head-in-the-clouds musings. It’s also suitable for noting gratitude, good things, and madcap adventures. (I’ve even done a little something with it that you might not expect. I’ll show you in just a moment.)

If you’d like to make your own cloud journal, I’ve whipped up a quick printable and tutorial for you — for moments when you’re feeling a little impractical or un-sensible and a regular rectangular journal just won’t do.

To begin, you’ll find my mini cloud journal template right here or by clicking on the image above or below. (The file includes two page sizes. The first page is letter sized. The second page is A4.)

You’ll also need extra paper to make your cloud pages, a pencil, scissors, something pointy for poking holes (I forgot to include my little sewing awl in the image below, but you’ll see it further down), a sewing needle, and about a 6-8 inch length of thread (I used embroidery floss).

Start by cutting out the cloud templates (image below, left) and tracing them onto your selected cloud paper. I cut out one of the largest clouds and two of each of the remaining clouds (image below, right).

Here’s the unexpected part. After folding each cloud in half individually — I just eyeballed the halfway point and went for it — I arranged the clouds from largest to smallest on the inside of the journal (image below, left), then did the same on the outside (image below, right), so that the largest cloud is the fourth cloud in a stack of seven. This way, there are tiny clouds on the inside and outside of the journal.

Now it’s time to poke the holes and sew the journal together. The red handled item pictured below is the awl I used to make the holes. Again, I estimated a nice middle spot and poked the first hole, then one more above and below (image below, top left).

To sew the binding:

1. Holding the journal open in front of you, pass your needle and thread through the front middle hole, leaving a tail that you’ll later use to tie a small knot and bow. (image below, top right).

2. From the back of the journal, pass the needle through the top hole to the front of the journal and then down, through the bottom hole, to the back of the journal. Make sure your tail is to one side of the long stitch you’ve just made (image below, bottom left).

3. From the back, pass your needle back through the middle hole, this time coming through the front on the side of your long stitch opposite to the tail (image below, bottom right).

Separate your needle from the thread and tie a knot in your thread on top of the long stitch in your journal’s binding. Then tie a lovely little bow and snip the ends of the thread.

That’s it! You’re finished!

I hope your time spent in the clouds while making this little journal inspires all sorts of new sky’s-the-limit adventures.

As always, best wishes and happy journaling!

3 Journal Prompts for Doing the Impossible

Whenever I think about impossible things, Walt Disney’s cheerful quote comes to mind: “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”

You have to admit, he has a point. It’s all kinds of fun to do things we didn’t think we could do, to achieve goals we thought were impossible, and journaling is an excellent way to get the ball rolling.

Here are my three journal prompts for doing the impossible:

1. One thing you used to think was impossible (but you went ahead and did it anyway).

Think about one thing you’re quite able to do now that once felt impossible. Perhaps it’s a skill you now practice with ease, a job or position at which you now excel, a good habit you’ve developed, or a project in which you’re involved that makes a difference. Write that impossible thing down.

2. One thing that feels impossible right now (but probably isn’t).

Now that you’ve already done the impossible, there’s no reason you can’t do it again. Write down the next thing you’d like to do that, in this moment, feels impossible. (For extra credit, add a few thoughts about what it is about this thing that feels impossible and a few reasons why it probably isn’t.)

3. One small step you can take toward achieving the thing that feels impossible (but probably isn’t).

Now that you’re ready to achieve the impossible, write down one teeny tiny thing you can do to get started. Make sure it’s small enough that you can do it now. Yes, right now. After all, even the most difficult tasks, even the seemingly impossible ones, start with a single step. What’s your first step?

A final thought on using your journal to help you do the impossible:

Don’t put your journal away just yet. Go out and take that first step, then come back to your journal and check it off. Jot down one or two things you learned along the way and what it felt like to complete your first step. Then turn your mind, your pen, and your actions to the next teeny tiny step you can take. And so on. Until you’ve done it again — achieved the impossible. I’ll be cheering you on all the way.

If you’d like to see more of my journal prompts, hop on over to my printables shop, where you’ll find a colourful collection of printable journal pages, including lots of free pages, full of encouragement and inspiration on your journey to make the impossible possible. I’ve also added a brand new printable to my 10 Minute Journal Page collection that was inspired by this post!

Printable mini guided journal and envelope template

I’ve had such fun creating an ever-growing collection of handmade envelopes with mini accordion journals tucked inside! I thought you might want to give it a try, too, so I’ve created a new, free printable page and a quick tutorial to get you started.

If you’d like to create your own mini accordion journals and envelopes, start by downloading and printing my mini envelope and journal template. (The file includes two page sizes. The first page is letter sized. The second page is A4.) You’ll also need a pencil, scissors, tape or glue, and extra paper for making your envelopes.

Begin by cutting out the envelope template and mini journals. For the mini journals, I like to cut just inside the dashed lines so they don’t appear on the journals.

Next, trace the outline of your envelope template onto the back of your chosen paper and cut it out. I’m making two envelopes, one for each mini journal.

Now for the folding. With your envelope paper face down, fold the side tabs in toward the center using the dotted lines on the envelope template as a guide.

For the mini journals, I like to start by folding them in half, so that the top and bottom meet and the words are on the outside of the fold.

Fold the envelope bottoms up and over the side tabs, again using the dotted line in the envelope template as a guide, and apply glue or tape to attach the bottom to the sides. Then fold down the envelope top.

For the mini journals, fold the tops and bottoms in half again so that they meet up with the centre fold.

Insert your folded journals into your new envelopes and you’re finished!

You can record your answers to the prompts now and attach your envelopes to your journal or you can tuck your envelopes into a tote or backpack for a little journaling on the go.

I hope you’ll love this little journal project. If you’d like to try making more envelopes of different sizes and shapes and more mini journals, I’ve also posted a brand new printable handmade journal and envelope kit in the shop.

As always, happy journaling, friends!

"word confessions" mini accordion journal (and handmade irregular envelope, of course)

My recent experiments with handmade irregular envelopes wouldn’t be complete without a few irregular prompts. I made a super-simple, three-prompt, mini-accordion guided journal to tuck inside my latest teeny tiny envelopes. And the prompts are . . . well, they’re a little unusual . . . a lighthearted look at the words confuse and amuse us.

My word confession for the day is that I’m never entirely sure if I’m using the word “ironic” correctly. (Is that ironic? I have no idea.)

How about you?

And then some

“Let me be who I am, and then some,” wrote Mary Oliver in her essay Building the House. (From Upstream, 2016, p. 164.)

Imagine that. Going all in on who you are. Even the parts you might sometimes hold back or worry are just a little too much for public consumption.

My “and then some” might be more experiments with uncertain outcomes, more eye contact, more idealistic enthusiasm (or would it be enthusiastic idealism? I’m not sure.)

What is your “and then some”?

10 minutes to recognize the good stuff

One of my first 10 Minute journal pages and still one of my favourites.

What things, people, and places are you adoring today?

Making today better

I almost didn’t post this one. While the notion that each of us plays a significant role in the quality of our own days usually energizes me, today it feels like a lot of pressure. I think I’m feeling a bit of proactivity fatigue, if there is such a thing.

After some thought and a walk with our pup out in the sunshine, I decided to accept the fatigue rather than fight it and, to my surprise, felt better almost immediately.

So here’s my thought on this prompt: One thing I can do to make today better is to be open to the day as it unfolds — without rushing it or forcing it, and with the knowledge that it isn’t over yet. Its proportions haven’t been fully determined. There’s still room for joy or adventure and I’m open to the possibilities.

How about you and your day?

What are you making today?

A little page to celebrate making in all its forms.

What are you making today?

Journal prompt - your day and your natural disposition

At first, this one felt quick and easy. Reading, writing, and making, in some form or another, are almost always included in my daily routine and they feel as natural to me as breathing. Done. On to the next thing.

Except . . . the more I thought about this prompt, the more I found myself considering the daily tasks that do not suit my natural disposition. (Some days it’s a pretty long list.) But there’s a sense of possibility, I think, hidden in this prompt. Perhaps paying close attention to the things that make the most of our strengths and interests might also offer hints about new ways to approach or connect with the things that don’t. I do love it when a journal prompt takes an unexpected turn!

How about you? Which parts of your day suit your natural disposition?