6 Journaling Prompts For Emotional Healing And Clarity For Women In Midlife

Midlife Musings: Debra Johnstone

In my coaching work, I use powerful questions to help people get to the root of a problem. I also use different types of empowering questions to guide people in finding their own solutions. My work isn’t to give them advice, it is to help them find their own innate wisdom which is always available to them. Most of us just forget how to access that information.

You can probably relate, being over 50 can bring a plethora of different kinds of issues. We hope that as life goes on the problems become less, but they just change. As a human being myself first and foremost, I also have problems that need to be dealt with. Like you, they’re sometimes issues that I find quite distressing.

So what does a life coach do when she needs guidance?

Sometimes I see a psychologist who helped me when my dad passed away. An occasional session with Karen can help me see my blind spots. But I don’t want to run to her whenever I have an issue. I decided for myself a while ago that I needed a life coach that I can just pick up whenever I need a helping hand. And my life coach is my trusty journal.

I’m not someone who writes in my journal everyday, other than to do gratitude practice. But my dear journal is always available to me in my most difficult moments. She keeps a confidence, is non judgemental, doesn’t criticize and doesn’t try to give me unwanted advice. But she reflects back to me what I most need to see and helps give me a different perspective on a situation.

Willingness To See Your Situation In A Non Bias Way Is Key:

A different perspective doesn’t come easily, it takes a willingness to see things in another way. This is because our minds work in default and we are wired to see things in a certain way. This is due to our past memories, experiences, values and beliefs.

But the only way to find peace and healing in a situation we find upsetting is to be willing to see if in a different way.

One of the great things about being a fully trained life coach is that I know the most powerful questions to help clients find their innate wisdom.

When I need to do this for myself I ask myself the same types of potent questions. The answers I find, give me a multitude of different perspectives. These release the emotional trigger that gets in the way of healing. Powerful questions are the key to seeing things in an alternate way, finding resolution and solutions.

Six Journaling Prompts For Emotional Healing – Helps You Shift Perspective In Midlife:

So what are the types of questions you need to be asking yourself when you work through a problem in your journal?

This is a question I’ve been asked in my membership in the past and I produced a class for them. It’s valid because most people don’t know how to use a journal in a resourceful way. Just recently a woman I was chatting to on the phone told me her journal triggers her. So understandably she wouldn’t want to use it. But used in the best way it doesn’t trigger you, it releases you from the burdens you carry.

1. Identify And Feel The Emotion You Feel:

The question is, “What emotion am I feeling and where  am I feeling it? You could feel it in any part of your body. By identifying the emotion and where you feel it you are acknowledging it and this makes it easier to eventually let go.

2. Clarify What Caused The Emotion:

The question is “What just happened and what am I making it mean?” This is a powerful one, because nothing and no-one has the ability to make us feel anything. It’s the meaning we associate with it that really causes the emotion. And there could be many different meanings, we are just wired to see things in a certain way.

3. Create The Willingness To See The Different Perspective:

The question is “What is this perspective or belief causing for me?” Be very honest with yourself here and really think about how you would feel without this belief and perspective. What is it costing you in your determination to see things this way? It’s not the situation that caused the feeling, it’s the way you are choosing to see it.

4. Find The Different Perspective:

This is a very simple question “What else could this mean instead?” There are usually a multitude of different meanings that could be associated with the problem. Keep asking yourself “what else?” and continue to write until you have identified them all.

5. Tune Into How You Feel Now:

Ask yourself the question “How do I feel with this new perception?” It most cases the feelings have changed. If not go back to question four and continue to explore different ways of looking at the situation. Sometimes you do need to find willingness to forgive too.

6. Decide How You Will Respond In Resolving The Issue:

The question is, “How will I respond with this new perspective and how will I resolve it?” By releasing your own emotional burdens and beliefs your awareness will have expanded. This means you will now have access to more resourceful behaviours and solutions. Writing helps release the burdens and initiates ingenuous actions.

Using Journal Prompts For Emotional Healing Is Powerful:

This process must never be done typing on the computer. These journal prompts for emotional healing are best answered by writing manually in a beautiful journal. The great thing about handwriting is that it helps us get into our body, which assists in getting in touch with our emotions. This powerful practice also activates the part of our brain that initiates logic and action.

What is also important is that we continue to write as long as we need to. We might need to write the whole story of what happened and that’s okay. I sometimes go for pages just answering one question, but it helps me be ready to find the root.

This works for me and my clients and I sincerely hope it works for you. I have a lovely collection of journals. They contain art, poetry and insightful quotes. It’s very interesting that sometimes the pages give me the exact insights I need, before I write. Be mindful of the journal you choose for this process it’s important.

Much love to you during this most transformational phase of life.

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