Using writing for overcoming negative aspects of myself?

[Western Buddha]

Hey,
I usually writing my feelings in a diary every morning.
I'm adding to it some practice of writing the best stuff that came out of bads things that happened to me - my intention is to make myself see the negative incidents in my life as good ones.
Recently I have been thinking about doing the same with qualities in my inner character.
For example, I know that I like to compare myself to other humans all the time (and I'm suffering because of that), and I want to write myself every morning why should Istop with this kind of behavior.
What do you think? will it work?

[Forestluv]

Journaling is a useful tool for many people. There is a sub-forum for personal journals. You can start one if you like. 

[linxx]

Hi.

Have you heard of scripting? This is something I've started doing and I really like it. The idea is to journal your thoughts and feelings but instead of just writing how you feel about it now or how things are bad or how you want them to be, you write everything as you want it to be as if it already is. That is the key.

This has a lot to do with LOA if you're interested in that which deals with the concept that we create our reality. If you want to think of it scientifically, then you can think in terms of neural programming. Thinking and repeating the same thoughts over and over create neural pathways that train the brain to repeat the same patterns of thought. With scripting, your are training the brain to think in new ways, which then grow stronger the more you do it, and the easier it is for your brain to think positively.

Emotions are a key aspect as well. The more powerful an emotion is behind a thought, the more powerful that thought becomes. That is why you want to write things as if you already are that way, so that you can feel what it feels like now. Here is an example of what you might write. 

Regular journal entry - I am always comparing myself to others and it is constantly making me feel bad about myself. I need to stop doing that and learn to accept myself as I am. 

Scripting - I go throughout my day seeing the beauty and uniqueness of everyone, including myself. I know that we are all meant to be different and each have our own strengths and assets. I feel so at home in myself when I am around other people because I deeply accept and love myself. 

See the difference in how those feel? As you do this every day, you'll find that it gets easier and easier and after awhile you might find that what you write is actually coming true for you. I also recommend gratitude journals. I script in the morning and give thanks every evening. 

[Commodent]

Writing down my authentic experiences and feeling in my journal has done wonders in me getting in touch with myself. It was not very helpful when the journaling was just neurotic and full of self-criticism.

@linxx This is a good one, but I'd like to recommend a variant:

You write down the worldview you would like to have and then you read it every day in the morning. A practical tip for getting your ideal worlview down would be to go through recurring experiences in your life that are causing distress and then you visualize what kind of mindset you would like to have in this situation to handle it better. I think this is a bit easier, as it only requires some initial effort and then you can just read over it every day. It's a really powerful way of reframing your worldview.

[studentofthegame]

22 minutes ago, Commodent said:

Writing down my authentic experiences and feeling in my journal has done wonders in me getting in touch with myself. It was not very helpful when the journaling was just neurotic and full of self-criticism.

Would this be using a different method to the left-brain, right-brain dialogue you talked about in another thread? That style of journaling appeals to me, to write the most brutal and raw thoughts and feelings down on paper, and then to reframe them as i go along.

But this idea of writing down experiences and feelings in a journal sounds interesting as well. Can you say a bit more about it?

 

[Elham]

I've been doing it for a looooong time and it's one of my best habits. It helped me to overcame many of my bad behaviours by making me conscious of my exact feelings. It will help you alot.

 

[Commodent]

@studentofthegame I do both First I write down anything significant that happened during the day and how I felt about it, in addition to any important insights. Just writing down my whole experience of the day. And then if there's any inner conflict that has been going on for some time I adress that troubled part of me like in the example I gave you. The former is very useful for awareness and emotional health in general, and the latter is very useful if you feel stuck in some way.

Again, when adressing a part of you it's very important that you do not let ANY other parts interfere. For example if you're feeling rageful over something then give the rageful part of you the sole attention. The right brain / left brain dichotomy can be a bit unnuanced, as sometimes a condeming left brain part for example might try to interfere. This notion might be a bit confusing, but when the Higher Self (as you might call it) is talking you really feel it. It's positive, solution-oriented, validating and wants the best for everyone. Like you ideally would talk to a small child or a loved one. But yeah, simply adressing the right brain (or Inner Child) is a very good way to go on with the practice. It's just worth having in the back of your mind that there might be multiple parts of you trying to interfere. Like, a harsh and cold left brain part trying to take the place of the Higher Self, or a guilty part getting upset with the rageful part.
With time you will notice the Higher Self increasingly becoming your default state of mind in all facets of life. It's really amazing how well this form of self-therapy extends to external relationships.

Edited August 14, 2019 by Commodent

[studentofthegame]

@Commodent thanks for explaining things a bit more. I can see the potential benefits in the different styles of journalling and i think i’ll give it a go. There is stuff that i can’t bring myself to express in therapy, usually very angry stuff, so to write it out on paper might be the better option. Reframing with the left brain sounds like a source of self-care.

Edited August 15, 2019 by studentofthegame