Progoff Intensive Journaling (named for famed psychologist, Ira Progoff)

The Method: 

The Intensive Journal Method is an integrated system using writing exercises in a setting of privacy and quiet to help you: 

- Gain awareness about diverse areas of your life.- Connect with your real self.- Develop a more meaningful life

PART I: JUMPING OFF

DIRECTIONS:

• FOR THE NEXT FIVE MINUTES, YOU ARE GOING TO WRITE ABOUT WHAT IS GOING ON IN YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW. YOU CAN WRITE THIS IN THE FIRST PERSON, OR YOU CAN WRITE THIS IN THE THIRD PERSON; I JUST WANT YOU TO SPILL OUT EVERYTHING THAT IS GOING ON IN YOUR LIFE CURRENTLY.

• YOU CAN WRITE ABOUT SCHOOL, SPORTS, RELATIONSHIPS, OR FAMILY MEMBERS. THE IMPORTANT THING IS KEEP MOMENTUM FOR THE FULL TIME!

• BEGIN YOUR DESCRIPTION WITH “IT HAS BEEN A TIME IN WHICH…”

Part II: Stepping Stones

Directions: Sit, think, and then list the 10 most important moments in your life. These events can be personal, social, familial, or medical.

*You don’t have to write anything about the moments yet, just list them from 1-10.

Mrs. Douglas’ 10 Stone1. Birth of Kyncade2. Birth of Kadynce3. Marriage4. NEH 5. Job at Champe6. London the City7. London the Dog8. Harvard9. Skydiving10. Spinal Diseases/Issues

Part III: Roads Taken

Directions: Examine your list of 10 life events. Choose one event (it can’t be the most recent event in your life) and record your impressions and memories of that event. Write about what was going on in your life at that moment, the feelings your were experiencing, and the people you were sharing your life with.

Part IV: Roads Not Taken

Directions: Examine your life stepping stones once again. Select one event and write about what your life would be like if that event had never happened. This writing will be fiction because you are assuming what your life would be like. Imagine where you’d be living, how you would be feeling, who would be involved in your life, and how you would be getting along.

Part V: Open Roads

Directions: Describe your life in five years. Where are you? What do you see? Who are you with? What are you doing? What are you feeling?

Don’t say, “In five years, I want to be….” just describe what you see when I ask you to look in the future.