#100DaysOfBulletJournalIdeas: 77 - Adding a Venting Log can help you air out what's in your heart and mind
/Welcome to Day 77 of my #100DaysofBulletJournalIdeas Project!
Idea 77: Venting Log
Venting Log
I suppose I keep it kind of rosy here on the blog about how I'm doing, when in reality a portion of the time I'm living in frustration. I do my best to focus on the current moment and remind myself to be mindful and take pauses and step back from situations to look at them from different angles, but I can't deny the fact that at times I'm just very frustrated and at times feel depleted.
I am content and grateful for the most part, but I have my moments where I struggle as well. I'm sure that you do, too.
One of the things I've mulled over is whether or not to include negative things in my Bullet Journal. Are those unfortunate moments ones that I want to keep forever written across the pages of my notebook? Do I want to be reminded of those things later? No. The answer keeps coming back as 'no.' No, I don't want to remember the frustration and sadness of whatever ended up bothering me at the time.
I think this, but then I can't help but turn to the next spread to journal about whatever is on my mind. The things that are hurting me, the things I wish were better, the things I have the power to improve, my hopes and aspirations, my struggles, my guilts, the things I'm working on and focusing on. And on and on in that nature, more or less. I write out things in my Bullet Journal and I write out things in my dedicated journal for long-form journaling. I just...write, whenever I need to, wherever I need to.
Life isn't all clear and cut, and things change often.
Venting is a necessary part of life. I believe it helps to let us air out our issues. Having a sounding board, whether it's a confidant or your journal, is a vital part of self-growth. If nothing else, it helps you unclog to let out what's in your heart and mind.
I still struggle with whether or not to write the negative parts of life in my Bullet Journal. My frustrations, the things that bum me out. I do my best to focus on the good, but life isn't good 100% of the time. I think that's normal and fine, sometimes the harder things are there to help you learn something.
So I usually turn to my journal to vent and let my heart out and scrawl out what I'm feeling. Sometimes I have journaling pages in my Bullet Journal to do that in. Lately, I've been considering having a spread called a "Venting Log" where I can simply toss down a few words to let them out of my head and onto something else. I even toyed with the idea of having the venting be useful in some way by having a portion of the log dedicated to describing what insights were gleaned. I mentioned this idea to my sweetie and he stated that you don't need to have a portion for 'insights gleaned' when venting is already a helpful act. I agree. Gotta love him and his philosophical mind :). So I think both could work - a simple venting log and also one where you could extract a bit extra if you'd like.
I feel a bit of catharsis just having written this article.
Life isn't always peaches and the people you see online struggle with things they might not be voicing. There's quite a bit of frustration over here on my end that I don't discuss online because of reasons, but it doesn't mean it isn't there. I've struggled with that considering that my slice of the internet is called 'Tiny Ray of Sunshine,' so in a way it's a place where you may find just that. Which is funny considering that I've mentioned here and there about my struggles with sadness before. At least I think I have. It's a tough subject to approach. How do you let others know that you're struggling? I think a lot of us don't voice when we're hurting because we 'don't want to be a burden on others' or some other reason like that. Everyone struggles, though.
Having a support system is crucial, that's how we survive. Having tools that can help us air out our internal dialogues is helpful as well.
I think that adding a venting log with no portioned out space, or possibly even one where you'd keep it down to a few lines, can be helpful. In my experience, journaling is cathartic. Having a friend that cares about you and lends a listening ear is also incredibly powerful. I'm forever grateful to the kind friends that truly understand where I'm coming from and know my heart and lend a listening ear. Friends and journals make life so much sweeter.
Do you vent in your Bullet Journal?
