Experts vary on how often or if at all, one should reread their own journals. Some burn them without looking and others (like me) keep them around like old photographs and LPs. I usually wait a few months to reread an entry. Any sooner, and I can’t see what I was trying to say.
Often, however, a theme or familiar perspective shows up. Especially if it’s been months, even years, since I first wrote the entry. It can trigger a new insight (e.g., it’s time to move, get back to yoga, drop the relationship, etc.) and reassure me that issues I’ve struggled with in the past have been resolved (e.g., moving to a new city, taking a different medication).
The best way to approach reading an old journal is with detached compassion. Be gentle with yourself. This is part of your past that at the time was something you needed to process on the page.
Because most people write in journals when they are upset, don’t be surprised if your pages are filled with angst, tears, and fears. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking it’s a reflection of your whole life.
Your journal is your “friend at the end of your hand” and a good friend has your back. You need to return the favor and peek back at the person you were before. Set with your thoughts. What did you learn? Breathe through it. Make room for new thoughts one small step at a time.
Here are a few ways to reread your journals with detached compassion.
• Further your career – Is it time to change jobs? There may be a clue in an old journal when you faced a career change before that can help you now. What helped you make the decision in the past? What seems to be happening again?
• Learn to be grateful – Blessings, daily acts of kindness, unforeseen victories, special tender moments, and miraculous beginnings are just as uplifting when they first happened as they are when you read about them again. They’re mood elevators when the going gets tough. All good stuff.
• Recognize your purpose – We all want to know “what is my purpose?” “Why am I here?” Reading an old journal may hold clues to how you approached life in the past and how it fits with what you’re doing now. A trend may emerge that isn’t evident with just one day’s entry.
• Appreciate your own growth – Amidst any major change in life – retirement, divorce, pregnancy, unemployment – it’s difficult to take a 30,000-foot perspective on how it changed your life. Looking back through an old journal, you’ll better understand your own resiliency and ability to face challenging times. This can give you the courage to face uncertainty again.
For more information on the healing power of journaling, check out my coaching session The Write Way Home.
