Let me start this by taking you a few months back. I was feeling extremely anxious, overwhelmed, and highly stressed. As a result I wasn’t sleeping well, I was waking up early and going to bed late and using endless amounts of coffee as fuel. This coping method was creating an unhealthy environment for myself, causing panic attacks, even less sleep, poor food choices, and poor performance in my workouts. It seemed like an endless cycle. 

I became introduced to the idea of journaling through Janine. Janine is a client that I have been training for the past few years. When she suggested that I try journaling, my immediate internal thought was uncertainty and mild panic... I don’t know how to journal, where would I even begin. Janine provided some much needed advice and also explained that even writing down only a sentence or two in the morning could be enough, journaling did not need to be complicated.

As I began journaling, I noticed that it helped me to set my intentions for the day, clear my head, and acknowledge any emotions I may be feeling. I found that acknowledging my feelings took away the overwhelming power I thought they had over me. Each day I started my journal by writing down and asking myself the questions below. After answering these questions I would journal any other feelings or thoughts that are on my mind. 

1. What goals can I set for myself today?

2. What is in my power to control today?

3. What can I take into my body to support and nourish me today?

4. What can I stay away from that brings me more pain than pleasure?

I am a big believer in total body wellness. I am on a mission to help create healthier, happier humans and I truly believe that you need to understand what is going on inside your body in order to understand what you see reflected on the outside of your body. I often find that we tend to push our emotional needs and responses to the side and only focus on what is happening on the outside of our bodies. My own experience with journaling has helped me to greatly improve my sleep level, sets my intentions for the day, and helps me maintain a healthy stress level. When I saw my stress level improve, I saw my sleep improve, and in return, my athletic performance began improving. This insight made me want to share how journaling could be a useful tool on your own journey of health, fitness and wellness.

Below are questions that I asked Janine about her expertise on journaling and how it could be a great tool to help with stress levels and result in improving your athletic performance.

Q: Hi Janine! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I am a writer and a teacher of creative writing and journaling. I love reading and writing. I’m a big fantasy reader, but also love women’s fiction, historical fiction, comedy. I read picture books, middle grade and young adult as well. As a writer, I want to be at the heart of what people are reading. 

I have been training with Brenna for a number of years. I am very competitive and enjoy lifting weight, practicing yoga, and riding my bicycle. I also ride a Harley Davidson GX 750. There’s nothing like the freedom of riding.

I have two rescue dogs: Zoey Shadow and Dakota Kenny. I work from home, and they let me know when it’s time to take them for a walk. 

Q: How do you get started journaling?

I kept a diary when I was in 7th grade and over the years I dabbled in writing about what happened in my day and sometimes about my emotions. I was very on and off until I became pregnant with my first son. I began a journal to him and then also to my second son who was born two years later. It evolved into scrapbooking with photos, but I was always detailed since I considered myself the family historian. 

The in-depth, healing type of journaling came when my older son, Nick, was diagnosed with cancer. It was an outlet for my fear, a place to write about decisions, and notes about his care. When I lost him four months later, my journal became a pyre of my anger--a place where I could spew my grief, sadness, and desperation. 

Eventually, I saw how journaling became a place of solace and now it encompasses my daily posts, calendar, emotions, problem solving, doodles--basically my life. I still keep a detailed journal for my younger son.

Q: What advice do you have for those who are new to journaling?

There is no wrong way to journal. It’s such a personal practice and you can always change what you do once you write for a while. Feel free to pick a time of day to develop a practice. In the morning to write down your dreams or daily intention or the evening to write about your day. One sentence or five minutes is a great way to start. 

Also get a journal that you love and personalize it with stickers, drawings, color, and washi tape. Make it yours and fun.

Q: I think a lot of people have a preconceived notion in their heads that journaling needs to be a long, complicated, and “dear diary” type of entry which can be intimidating. Can you explain more about how simple or complicated an entry needs to be?

Posts can be as long or as short as you want. Sometimes once you start writing about a friend you saw at the store, it can morph into a memory that you had about them in high school. Keep a daily post simple:

--Who were you with?

--What did you do today?

--Where did you go?

--How did you get there? Maybe it was by bicycle or motorcycle or old car.

--When did you go?

--How did you feel doing this?

Goal oriented prompts:

--Did you meet your goals?

--Did your morning intention improve your day or make your day worse?

--In what way?

--What will you change for tomorrow?

--What do you need to get off your calendar?

--Who can you ask for help?

--Do you need to adjust your goal or add to it?

Q: How can journaling be a tool to help with understanding our emotions or stress?

I call my journal my Pause Place. It has helped me navigate strong emotions before I blasted someone. I take the time to write out what I’m feeling and why, but then I also see it from that person’s point of view as much as I can. Then I can approach the situation calmer and with a clearer insight.

Once I understand the emotion and where it came from, I can decide if I need to approach that person immediately or wait. Maybe I need some self-care and distance. Self-care can seriously reduce stress and journaling is one of the best ways to do that.

Q: Although we all have different methods of coping, emotional or stress eating can be a struggle for many people. How can we use journaling as a healthy alternative when we start to feel emotional or stressed?

I am a very emotional eater. It’s been a struggle for me my whole life. I’ll use my journal to jot down what I eat as a guideline and accountability to make sure I’m eating healthy foods. The only way a journal will help with healing and reducing stress is if you’re honest in it. If you write down that you had an apple when you really had a chocolate cream donut, then it’s not going to help. 

Journaling as a pause before eating that donut might help to pinpoint what you’re reacting to or trying to stuff down. Once you know what triggers that reaction, then write about why and if you need to take action to remove or heal that trigger. It’s a worthwhile process.

Q: Quality of sleep and stress levels play a huge role in athletic performance. How can people use journaling as a way to relieve stress and improve sleep quality?

I journal before I go to bed. It’s my form of meditation. If I write about my day, add items on my to do list, then my mind is clear to sleep. I don’t have all these reminders going through my head. 

Then when I have a dream in the night, I’ll record my dreams in my journal. That’s another way to use dream journaling for guidance. I’m teaching a class in July on that!

Q: Many athletes and those who are fitness enthusiasts typically keep logs of their workout to track their progress and the exercises they have been doing. How do you think that journaling before or after your workouts may be helpful?

There are some fabulous tracking ideas for your journal for food, workouts, and habits. I have a bunch of them on my Pinterest page. You can also google ideas. Keeping a written log holds you accountable, provides a written history of where you’ve been and where you are now. It’s so easy to forget how much you may have struggled in the beginning of a goal and how far you’ve come. 

If I have a physical goal, I’ll log my activity, but then also journal about how I felt emotionally and physically. By recording food, I began to understand the correlation between healthy food and a stronger body. 

A journal is your personal support system. When I go back and review the previous month, I get a clear picture of what I’ve done, how I’m mentally, physically, and spiritually. It provides a clear picture of how I want to live my life and spend my time.

Q: Do you have any upcoming journaling workshops or other resources for people who are looking to learn more about journaling?

I teach monthly journaling workshops at The Clifton Park-Halfmoon Public Library. Currently, they are virtual due to the pandemic. 

I’m excited to share that I will also be teaching other workshops (all virtual), but on a deeper basis about dreams, healing, awareness, and wellness. They all can be found on my website. 

Q: Is there anything else you would like to share about journaling or writing?

Journaling saved my life. It was a place where I broke apart and then built myself back up again. It holds me accountable, lifts me up, and guides me on how to live my best life. 

Anyone can journal. All you need is a notebook and a pen. I hope you’ll join me and find out how.