From problem to No Problem.

I didn't know I had anything to say to my written journal this morning but picked it up just to be on good working terms with it.  Because of my process of using my journal to work out my quandaries, (I've been journaling almost daily for 25 years), I worked through a problem that was in the back of my mind.  Here's the dynamics of what happened:

When I began to write I defined the problem.  To solve a problem you have to know what issue you are operating in the midst of, so bringing it from the back of your mind to your awareness is the first step.  Then you can set it on paper, "sit" with it (or walk with it) and "weigh" it and see if the fear of it can be sort of shaken out of it. 

If you are new to journaling or just not too clear about your problem, it might take you awhile of writing before you define the issue -- that's ok, just write whatever comes to your mind until you come to a problem you want to solve.

You then pin it like an insect on your notebook and the fear-inducing vexingness stops for a minute and your common sense comes back, which arises from your body and clear mind.  

Then you can begin to examine the issue, run it through the filter of your common sense, and see whether the problem even makes sense. 

Once you get in this habit, journaling pulls things out of you like you are a dentist doing self-surgery-- were you really so irritated and annoyed, or was it just this thing you extracted which had been stuck in your teeth that had been bothering you, this insect that had been jumping around in your nose. 

Once you separate the problem from yourself and take a breath and evaluate, was it just a fear you had?

Then you can clearly see and choose how to proceed and be glad you didn't bother anyone with your little quandary.

This is one of the most effective ways I use my written journal, to do my best to handle my own problems before bothering anybody else by asking for advice.