Some people never look back over their journal entries. In The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron discusses not reading back over the morning pages to keep from judging what you write. She’s says it’s not about what you write, it’s about the process of journal writing.

I totally agree with that. I think the process alone is well worth the effort to keep a journal.

But what if there was one more benefit? What if your journal was a treasure chest that you simply have to open up to reveal diamonds, rubies, and sapphires?

If you’ve been keeping a journal, there’s a really good chance that you can find secrets and clues in your journal that can help to reveal some major stuff about you:

• Your dream job
• The number one way to spend a lazy Saturday
• The biggest fear you have about ______________ (relationships, parenting, starting a business, money, etc.)
• A great idea you have for a product that could help lots of people
• Your list of things you love that can make you feel better instantly
• The story of the best day you spent with the people you love most
• Your fantasy to live in the French countryside for an entire year

It doesn’t happen to every person every day, but odds are good that some days we feel stuck. Unmotivated. Unclear.

This might happen because we are overloaded with responsibilities. We might spread ourselves too thin and hey, we might have stopped journaling!

When we start to feel overwhelmed and overloaded we can start to feel disconnected. And when we feel disconnected we might start searching for answers.

We need to reconnect with our purpose or a happy memory. We need to be reminded of a time when we had fantasies and of what those specific fantasies were.

Sometimes the answers we seek are right in our own backyard (a la Dorothy).

Or maybe just the pages of your journal.

Once you find the secrets in your journal (and you’re reminded of the desire to be able to play your favorite Indigo Girls song on the guitar) you just might find something to motivate you to try something new.

What will it be? Happy hunting!