Even if I do not agree with everything he says, I do believe in these quotes. I do not journal often, but when I find that my mind is filled with junk, worries, things to do, ideas, and whatever else, I like to journal. You know how we text or call friends and family to communicate with each other? Well, journaling is like communicating with ourselves. It may sound strange or trivial but the act of writing things down when you are troubled or in a messy mental state will immensely help you clear your mind.

Other than journaling what is on my mind, let me give you a very good tip. Write to yourself through the eyes of someone else who is unbiased, caring, compassionate, and wanting for you to succeed. For example, “Hey [insert your name], you are trying so hard. I am proud of you and want you to keep going, ok? You are capable of becoming who you want to become through hard work. Take care.”. Whether you believe these words or not, write them down and after a few days, weeks, months, even years, you will look back and smile. You will smile and feel more hope, more drive, and more compassion for yourself. You will learn to talk to yourself better, treat yourself better, and try to understand yourself better.

Do you notice how I keep saying to put your name when talking to yourself? Why is that? Well our names are very important to us and are a part of our identity. When you use somebody’s name in a conversation, it adds a sort of bond between you and the person and adds more meaning to what you want to tell them.It may feel funny, but reading it back it really feels powerful hearing compassion directed to you using your own name. It is kind of like somebody is addressing you.

Now, let us look at the first quote by Jung that I mentioned at the beginning. “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate”. What even is introspection? According to Oxford Languages, introspection is “the examination or observation of one's own mental and emotional processes”. We do know ourselves. I mean you should know yourself since… you are you. But, do we really know the process behind our actions? Maybe we have a hidden desire that we cannot put into words or a bad habit that is controlling our lives, but we do not want to face it. Introspection can be uncomfortable because we do not always want to admit why we do stuff or try to face the problem head on. The more we practice introspection, the more we understand ourselves. Now, what can we do with that practice? We can try to be more open-minded with others since we practiced it with ourselves and we can take accountability.

However, I want to leave you with a very, very important warning. Use introspection correctly. Usually, when we look at our mental and emotional processes to understand the “why”, we tend to jump to the easiest and most plausible answer. After we find a few, we stop due to our confirmation bias within ourselves which causes us to go with reasons that already confirm and agree with our beliefs. It is uncomfortable, but we must ignore our confirmation bias to really understand ourselves. I try to do this by asking a close friend or family member. Then, I have a way wider perspective and more plausible reasons as to what is behind my actions. Lastly, avoid asking yourself “why” and rather ask “what” (e.x. “what am i feeling”) because asking “why” tends to put us into a victim mentality (refer to source). So, ask “what”, introspect, and move on.

Our relationship with our loved ones is vital but what about ourselves? We beat ourselves up, yet praise others. We put others down, yet put ourselves on a pedestal. We need to find a balance within ourselves and journaling is key to that. You do not need a fancy notebook to journal and there is no “perfect” way to do it. Just write it all down, ask yourself “what”, find solutions, be compassionate and motivating to yourself, and move on. When you are at peace with yourself, nothing and nobody can destroy you. When you are at peace with yourself, you can use your strengthened traits to help others and see the potential in them. And, when you are at peace with yourself, life becomes so beautiful.