Do-Overs in Life? Procrastination? Can Your Fake Journal Help?

If you're still sitting on the fence deciding whether or not to keep a fake journal this April for IFJM let me throw another consideration into the mix.

I'm not a person who dwells on the past and regrets. My dog Emma taught me that approach was pretty silly. Even before her presence in my life I'd worked out a little plan that was quite fun—do-overs in my fake journals. An alternate Roz, in an alternate universe who experiences what this Roz (the one writing now) experienced, and an entirely different outcome results. Sort of like the "Sliding Doors" movie, except without all the sadness and loss.

I'm still not advocating an historical fake journal, one that takes you back in time. You'll need to fudge things so the action takes place in April, 2011 so you can journal about it. And I also wouldn't advocate churning up painful past memories that you dealt with long ago. Let them go (that's part of the joy of living in the present moment). But if something is bothering you now and you think you missed an opportunity, well, go ahead and rewrite it on a daily basis this April. See what unfolds. See what new ideas come up that you can use in your current life in positive ways. All journaling helps us see avenues for improvement in our lives, even fake journaling.

Also in some years I've had decisions to make that I put off, using the excuse of being immersed in daily life. On a few occasions I've written a fake journal about a character who actually deals with those decisions. My life wasn't that way, and didn't turn out the same way as the characters', but it always did help my thought processes begin to move towards a decision in my real life.

My mind just needed a push—and my hand moving across the page provided it.

Either way, when the fake journal is filled and closed I've always found a profound sense of gratitude for the life I do have (without the capability of do-overs), or for the ability to problem solve and move my mind forward.

I can't guarantee that the process will work for you that way, but it might be worth a shot.