Journal: Uncovering the story

Difficulty Level: Moderate

When to use: When you are triggered or your emotions or out of proportion to the situation. Any emotion. Some people think that anger is the only emotion when triggered, but often there is fear, sadness, even happiness. 

As Brene Brown says, what is the story I'm telling myself? The easiest way to do this is to journal freely until you get to a statement that is not soothing and ask if that statement, belief, or opinion is completely true. If it is …then what does that mean…

And with that more revealing statement is true, then that means what?

As most associates, I worked very hard for very little pay. I also worked in places that were more chaotic then I ever would have though prior to graduating. One moment I remember using this on myself. I had an overwhelming emotion of embarrassment and failure after an unusually difficult day. So the example of this technique would look like…

Everything went wrong today and I was brought into a meeting that I should have not have been in. The auditors were in the building and my supervisor was gone. With the director and two managers, no questions were getting answered and no one at my rank was supposed to witness this. I know too much, today was horrible, this may sound really mean but

My boss has no idea what he is doing. ITITWDTM….

I work for an idiot. ITITWDTM….

I am idiot. (yes that is the dramatic, but that was the story that was living inside me.) ITITWDTM

This is the best job I could get and I am trapped here.

Obviously, that was not the truth but now I know what thought I needed to challenge.

Reflection: I know that statement feels true, but is it?

Separately,  where did this belief originally come from?  This might be hard to acknowledge,  but very important to your healing.

Sometimes this technique helps us gain clarity to what we're trying to say and what we're trying to express other times, it may uncover core beliefs of ours that may but most likely are not serving us.

Note for empaths, you may have feelings that make absolutely no sense to you and mostly likely belong to someone else. Compassionately, give them back to their owner or transmute in the way you feel most appropriate.