Mindful Writing: How Words Helped Me See Clearly
I’ll let you in on a secret — I’m not a talented writer. However, I rarely go a day without throwing my nerves like magic lanterns on my computer screen through words.
Writing for me is an exercise in mindfulness. It has helped me get to know myself and develop both mentally and spiritually. The best part? You don’t have to be the next Stephen King to reap the benefits — anyone can use mindful writing for personal growth.
What Is Mindful Writing?
The best part about this practice is that writing stimulates ongoing awareness, making it an inherently mindful activity. The act of putting words on paper grounds you in the present moment and helps you sort through what it means to be human.
Often, we grow overwhelmed by emotions that we don’t know how to articulate. These feelings drive our behaviors and can cause us to act erratically. Sometimes, we do things that undermine our happiness without fully understanding why.
The human brain can make considerable mischief when left to its own devices. Like a wayward toddler running loose in a department store, it disrupts all kinds of things that are better left alone. That momentary concern about a missed zero on a budget report balloons into an abject terror that we may lose our jobs.
Once you get caught in this pattern of racing thoughts, you can unwittingly create a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you toss and turn all night with fears of “how will I live without my paycheck” racing through your head, you’ll clock in feeling exhausted. As anyone who has ever failed a test despite pulling an all-nighter can tell you — you make careless mistakes when you’re sleepy.
Keeping a journal on your nightstand can restore you to sanity and help you get needed rest. Putting your thoughts on paper gets them out of your head.
If you want to give mindful writing a try, here are 10 methods for which I use the process — you can do the same. Don’t worry — you need not concern yourself with grammar or spelling, nor do you need talent.
10 Ways I Use Mindful Writing to Heal and Grow
I’ve had some fairly traumatic experiences. Mindful writing helps me heal, which is a prerequisite to moving forward in a positive trajectory. Fortunately, the process aids with that endeavor, too.
1. I Vent Uncomfortable Emotions
Our society favors positive thinking so much that it can sometimes feel like you’re not supposed to have negative emotions. Of course, that doesn’t invalidate your feelings — and mindful writing gives you a safe place to vent.
Freewriting: In freewriting, you refrain from censoring yourself. If you want to drop f-bombs or let even more colorful cuss words fly, feel free. No one will read what you write — you can destroy it when you finish. However, rereading it when you feel calmer could give you a laugh.
Unsent letters: If you need your paycheck, it’s probably unwise to storm into your micromanaging supervisor’s office and demand that they stop acting like a raging narcissist. However, you could write a letter that you never plan to deliver. I suggest doing so with pen or paper — you don’t want your kitty walking across your computer and pressing “send.”
A heartbreak healing ritual: This is one ritual I created to help me heal from a toxic relationship. I had broken all contact with this individual, but the things I left unsaid burned me up inside and kept me awake. I poured out every resentment onto paper and then folded it into a paper boat. I took it to a nearby stream and gave it a Viking funeral — all the while imagining the pain of the past going up in smoke.
2. I Analyze My Past
We often unconsciously imitate our parents’ behavior, even if they weren’t the best role models. I’m aware enough to know that I have issues, but I don’t have much time or money to lie on a therapist’s couch.
I use my journal to analyze my past. For example, I now understand how the toxic relationship I referenced earlier mirrored how my mother and father interacted. Knowledge is power — once you recognize the patterns that drive your present behaviors, you feel empowered to change.
3. I Identify My Triggers
I’m imperfect, and my mouth has uttered many words when angry or upset that I later wished I could revoke. You can’t rewrite the past, but through mindful writing, I was able to identify the triggers that provoke my outbursts.
When you sit down to write, reflect on the last time you said something in the heat of passion you lived to regret. What was it about the situation that raised your hackles?
For example, once I figured out that a recent pandemic moving experience made me frantic because of past homelessness, I could cooperate with property management to find a new pad. Through reflection, I could understand my previous landlord’s plight and turn a negative situation positive.
4. I Work Through Challenging Situations
Have you ever felt trapped in an impossible situation? Sometimes, mulling things over in your mind only sends you down dead-end streets. Once you clarify your thoughts on paper and evaluate your options, you can often find an acceptable, if not ideal, solution.
5. I Create a Path Forward
Remember that lyric from the “Friends” theme song — “feels like you’re always stuck in second gear?”. Sometimes, your goal seems impossibly distant, and the daunting amount of work you must do makes you want to throw the covers over your head. By getting out a pen and paper, though, you can break the task into manageable chunks and plan a course of action.
6. I Gain Insight Into Others
Because I understand better now why I sometimes behave unwisely, I question what motivates others to act as they do. The process of mindful writing lets me reflect on the influences that sometimes makes people do objectionable things.
I build considerable empathy — even toward people I dislike. The clerk who I thought was rude might have achy feet from standing on concrete or zero patience remaining after dealing with mask-objectors all day.
7. I Reframe Negative Thoughts
Your mind can be your worst enemy. I can’t count the times where one mistake threw me into a panic about possible job-loss and homelessness.
Through mindful writing, I can go from “I’m doomed” to “I now know what not to do next time.” The objectivity may not happen in two seconds flat, but eventually, I can find the lesson.
8. I Express My Creativity
Reading has always been my refuge from stress. Someone has to write those stories — I let myself play by inventing original tales. Many of them never see the light of day, but they set my imagination free, which boosts my mood.
9. I Try to Help Others
That’s not to say everything I pen ends up in the circular file. Sometimes, a piece turns out well, and I realize that it can help others. When that occurs, I polish my ideas and share them with the world. Hey, if I make one person feel less alone or more inspired, I have accomplished a worthy deed.
10. I Let Myself Be Me
Society can make you crazy. There’s so much pressure to behave correctly in every situation. It’s why the internet explodes with self-help articles like “how to give a firm handshake” and “how to dress to impress on the first date.”
When I write, I don’t have to act appropriately or mind anyone else’s sensitivities. I can be my sometimes goofy, sometimes cynical, always glorious self.
Mindful Writing: This Practice Can Help You See Clearly, Too
Mindful writing has helped me transform my life and maybe help a few others along the way. Why don’t you give the practice a try and see if it enables you to see more clearly?
Mia Barnes is an avid health and wellness writer that loves to write about the impact practiced mindfulness can have on wellbeing. She is also the Editor in Chief at BodyMind.com.
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