Developing My Writing Habit

I enjoy writing things out with a pen on paper. Writing gives me a chance to slow my racing brain down and complete an entire thought. Writing with a pen on paper also gives me a chance to use my damaged right shoulder in a different way than using a mouse and a keyboard. I also get the pleasure of practicing my handwriting which has always been important to me but something I have not focused on for a long time.

Using a pen on paper to put down a thought that's been rolling around in my head is also very therapeutic for me. The slower pace of handwriting can really bring the details out and help me discover new things or different paths and ways to accomplish goals.

I started keeping a journal quite seriously as a teenager in high school as part of an assignment for my English class. As a 17-year-old, I did not fully grasp the profound effect that writing out my thoughts, feelings, and ideas would have on my life but I kept up the practice for many years.

When my twins were born I recall writing a very negative journal entry about their absent, biological father. A few days later, upon re-reading that entry, I realized two things: 1) That I did not like this negative and hateful woman and 2) I did not want this negative, hateful woman raising my precious daughters.

The reading is that journal entry was a very humbling and eye-opening experience. I had visions of a life with my children that I knew I did not want to come to fruition and I knew that the only one that could change that was me.

Since that profound experience, I worked hard to develop a more positive attitude and focus on moving forward as a loving, single parent of two beautiful girls. However, the almost daily habit of writing in my journal slowly dwindled to nothing which is sad

The loss of my journal practice means I did not document a lot of my thoughts, feelings, and insights during my girls growing up years. I sporadically wrote but I don't recall my writing as being as profound as that highly negative entry that initiated a much-needed change in my attitude and outlook on life.

Here and there I have picked up the practice of consistent writing only to let it dwindle and disappear again. I often wonder if the eye-opening effect of that awful journal entry triggered something deep inside me that equated negative thoughts and feelings with journal writing as a practice. I wonder if that subconscious, erroneous connection is what drove me away from my faithful practice of writing.

As I look back I recall all of the excuses I used like lack of time or energy. Spending money on a new journal was a waste because there were so many more important things to use that money for. I sometimes just felt like I had nothing important to say so why bother writing?

As a whole, I feel that regular writing is a practice I truly want to bring back as a daily routine whether it be journaling or blogging or working on book ideas. I feel like writing is a vital part of keeping my brain in check and my soul soothed.

What are your thoughts on writing? Do you have a regular writing habit?

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About Yvonne

Hi, My Name is Hafeez. I am a webdesigner, blogspot developer and UI designer. I am a certified Themeforest top contributor and popular at JavaScript engineers. We have a team of professinal programmers, developers work together and make unique blogger templates.