Gratitude Journaling - Writing freely

Hello, my friends,

I hope you are having a lovely day. (The sun is shining where I am today, and I can feel the happiness coursing through me!)

It has been wonderful hearing your stories about how you are getting into journaling. It has been truly inspiring.

A few of our subscribers have asked about the process and steps of our gratitude journaling campaign.

The campaign is broken into two parts:

1. Journaling - We are nearly done with this section.

2. Journaling with Gratitude.

We have broken the campaign into two parts because both journaling and journaling gratefully are learned and practised activities.

Delving straight into Gratitude Journaling without covering the standard journaling steps could be somewhat overwhelming, so we are breaking down the barriers we all face when starting to journal.

We have implemented a brand new category on our website where all previous publications can be found. Here is the link:

Gratitude Journaling Campaign

Writing freely

A critical skill writers learn early in their careers is the difference between drafting and editing.
When writers draft, they write without worrying about grammar, spelling, punctuation and, most importantly, self-censorship.
They do this to keep the creative mind at the forefront and limit our critical eye's self-censorship.

Drafting is called something else in the work environment.

We call it the flow state.
Do you recall when you started working and suddenly three hours passed? Your back is sore, and you’re suddenly hungry? We all have said … ‘Is that the time already?!’ That is flow state.

Journaling doesn’t require an extended three-hour flow state; we only journal for a few minutes daily. But we should try to write without self-censorship, inline editing, or a critical eye. We should try to apply the drafting mindset.

So, how do we do that?
Overarchingly, through practice.
We write consciously and keep reminding ourselves to push back our critic.

And, another effective way to keep creative drafting at the forefront is to ignore what we have written and return to it in a few minutes. It may seem counter-intuitive initially, but not reading what we have just written removes the desire to edit … criticise… or judge.

I sometimes journal and never read what I have written. I get thoughts out of my system and onto the page. It is liberating.

What we are talking about today is not the easiest thing to achieve. We have been taught from childhood that editing is a must. That our writing needs to be ‘correct’.

This is not the case when you are journaling. (Of course, if you like to keep your journal tidy, then by all means, come back and edit, but try to limit it to after you have let your thoughts run freely.)

You get to journal what you want to journal about. It’s your sanctuary, and nobody else’s.

Begone critic!

Gratitude Gem

Conversation Corner

Jack opened his journal, a spark of enthusiasm in his eyes. ‘Jill, I've discovered something incredible about journaling. Ignoring the urge to edit while I write has completely changed the game for me.’

Jill looked curious. ‘Really? In what way?’

‘I stopped correcting my grammar and spelling and completely let go of self-censorship. It’s been liberating,’ Jack said, showing her a page filled with unfiltered thoughts.

‘And it doesn’t bother you, the messiness?’ Jill said.

‘Not at all,” Jack said, chuckling. It’s raw and genuine—the real me. The point isn’t to make it perfect but to let my thoughts flow freely. My journal is a direct line to my inner self.’

‘Doesn’t part of you want to tidy it up later?’

‘Yes, and that is ok to do later,’ Jack said.

‘So, by not editing, you keep the conversation with yourself open and true?’ Jill said.

‘Exactly. It’s about embracing the imperfections and seeing where my mind goes without constraints. It’s made journaling so much more fulfilling,’ Jack said.

‘I might try this approach,’ Jill said. ‘It will be interesting to see what unfolds.’

‘To unfiltered thoughts and discoveries,’ Jack said, raising his journal.

Jill smiled, raising hers. ‘To explore without limits.’

Next week

Over the next few weeks, we will examine journaling tools.

We will be breaking this up as there are many ways to journal, but essentially, they fall into analog and digital categories.

Journaling affirmations and prompts update

This week, we will send out a separate email with instructions for subscribing to our daily journaling prompts and affirmations.

Don’t worry about missing it; we will supply the link in a future newsletter.

Last week

We at Unbound Gratitude wish you the best and a grateful new week.