Positive journaling: what Soraya taught me about the power of words
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
Updated: 4 hours ago
Some messages reach us at exactly the right time. Soraya's was one of them.
“Thank you again for this notebook. I didn't think it would happen, but it's doing me so, so much good.”
I reread that message several times. Because that's exactly why I created this line, this site, this entire concept of writing therapy. So that women like Soraya (name changed), who didn't believe in it at first, could discover what their own words can do for them.
From survival journaling to positive journaling
Soraya admitted it to me straight up: she didn't believe in writing therapy at all. It really wasn't her thing.
And yet!
She started, like many of us, by writing down the good things. Then, little by little, her notebook became a space to release the harder ones too, with this idea in mind: I'll read these again one day, to see how far I've come.
Today, the way she uses it has evolved even further. She writes mostly to anchor the good things that happen to her. Every beautiful moment, she notes it down with pride, so she never forgets it. So she can remember it in harder times.
That's what I call positive journaling! Focusing on the beautiful, the good, what's going well, rather than on what eats away at you. A simple practice that reduces rumination and keeps you from spiraling into dark thoughts. And that, oddly enough, tends to attract even more good things to write about.
When positive thinking meets its limits
What I love about my exchange with Soraya is her honesty. She already knew about positive thinking. She also lives her spirituality intensely. But she shared something precious with me: sometimes, when everything is falling apart, even while doing everything to stay positive, positive thinking becomes hard to hold on to.
I recognize myself in that. Positive journaling and therapeutic journaling have also helped me find strength and courage again, in moments when I could have given up on everything.
A trio that strengthens itself
For Soraya, faith, spirituality, and writing work together. Three independent pillars, yet interdependent ones, that come together to strengthen the self.
My path of faith isn't the same as hers. But I have the same combination, in my own way. And I deeply believe that, whatever you believe in, this union between the inner self and writing holds something powerful.
What about you?
If you already keep a notebook, does it serve you more to release what weighs on you, or to anchor what does you good? Both are valid. Sometimes, the two meet on the very same page.
If you haven't started yet, positive journaling is a beautiful way in. No need to fill entire pages. Just one line, every evening: one good thing that happened to you today.
And the EstellyHappy Happy Moments Journal is designed exactly for that. Available in the EstellyHappy shop.
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And to start your own positive journaling practice, the Happy Moments Journal is waiting for you in the shop, along with the Madras & Pearls bookmarks.
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