Diary or journal? And is there actually a difference? A new Bookshelf lesson is waiting in the Lending Library today. We’re looking at what separates recording your life from exploring it, and why most of our notebooks probably do a bit of both. Find the lesson under Lending Library - Between The Lines - Journaling Q & A

I’ve been thinking about this a lot this week, and practising it in my own journaling too. One of the things journaling can do so well is bring our self-limiting beliefs into view, especially when we ask ourselves the right questions and answer them honestly. Sometimes something appears on the page and we realise we’ve been treating it as fact when really it is an old story, a fear, a label, or something we learned to believe about ourselves somewhere along the way. This is where kindness and compassion become important, because they can help us see ourselves more clearly and from a more realistic viewpoint, rather than through criticism or an old version of who we thought we had to be. This week I’ve been working with my own inner voice through journaling and through three very simple statements: I am safe. I am loved. I am worthy. I believe those words to be true, so when a self-limiting belief pops into my head, I return to them. For me, that truth gets to carry more weight than the negative thought, the false belief, or something I may have leaned into for years simply because I had come to accept it as true. You might have completely different words, but perhaps there is something you know about yourself that you can return to when an old thought starts getting loud. Journaling gives us the space to notice those thoughts, question where they came from and decide whether they still deserve a place in the way we see ourselves. I don’t think speaking to yourself like someone you love means never having negative thoughts. I think it means learning not to believe every single one of them without question. It means giving yourself the same kindness, curiosity and benefit of the doubt that you would so naturally give to someone you care about. As we come to the end of this week, perhaps the thing to take with you is simply this: notice the way you speak to yourself. Notice what feels true and what feels inherited, outdated or unfair, and begin to lean a little more towards the voice that speaks to you with love.

I have to be so disciplined when I’m living out of a suitcase. We’re between countries at the moment, and it still amazes me how much life you can fit into 25kg. I actually find packing really therapeutic. Folding everything neatly, putting it into packing cubes, getting it all in order, everything in its place, everything perfect. Then I arrive somewhere and chaos ensues. 😂 Where is this? Where is that? The precious packing system lasts about five minutes, and before I know it I’m finding my things in the weirdest places. Nothing really has a home when I’m between homes. What is the one area of your life that becomes chaotic approximately five minutes after you tidy it?

My friend Julie kept diaries for years as a child and teenager, and I love it when she shares little pieces of them with me. It always makes me wish I’d kept a diary myself. All those ordinary days, conversations and tiny details that seemed completely unimportant at the time, captured somewhere. Maybe it’s time I started adding a little diary entry to my own daily journaling. Do you still have an old diary or journal somewhere? What year is the earliest one from?

A little chaos! This week’s photo hunt: A little chaos Photograph one piece of harmless chaos from your week. A tangled cable, an untidy desk, a leaning pile of books, an overgrown plant, a kitchen experiment, or something else that has temporarily escaped order. Share your photograph below so we can enjoy the chaos together. Mine will almost certainly not be difficult to find. 😂 For your journal: Where in my life would understanding help me more than criticism right now?