Have you ever journaled or had some kind of a diary? If not, have you ever considered it? If you’re not already writing and reflecting on your life, I highly recommend it!
As a kid, I remember there were a couple times I started journalling, and by started, I mean I may start a new notebook and write about a recent event, but that was it. Around middle school, a friend gave me a very beautiful journal as a gift, but I didn’t touch it until Grade 11. For the rest of high school, I journalled nearly everyday. Afterwards, as life got more boring and mundane, I may only journal a few times a month, but I still make an effort.
Journalling, for me, is a way to record some events, along with thoughts and emotions from that moment in time. As you get older, it’s amazing how quickly you can forget what happened last week, especially those small funny moments, or you find yourself mixing up dates and who was where and so on. Even if I don’t read my journals, it’s comforting to know that I can refer to it when I need to..
But the few times I did look back, it was certainly eye opening. I can see how much I’ve grown, how much better I am at expressing myself, and for those times when I was miserable and hurting, I’m proud of myself for pushing through and building a better life for myself.
Not many people journal though, and I find I’m the only one who still makes new years resolutions and seriously work on them, but if you’re open to it, I hope this article will push you to buy your first journal and start writing asap!
1. It’s An Autobiography (& You Are Special)
Who are you? What have you done in your life? Where will you be in a few years? It’s easy to feel like you haven’t accomplished much or that life doesn’t have much going on for you when you have no record of it. How are you documenting your life so you have something to look back on? Some like to take photos of every event while other’s may use social media or blog about their lives.
What makes journaling special is not just having that record, but being able to see who you were internally at a certain point of time. What were your thoughts and feelings, what were you struggling with, what seemed like a big deal back then, what were your goals and dreams? You can also be more open since you no one else has to see what you wrote.
You’re not just another human being passing through life, you’re going through things and you’re achieving things and battling things and changing things. Your life is a story, just as unique and interesting as anyone else’s. You never know what you would like to recall or remember when your memory starts to fade. No one can write your story except you.
2. It’s A Way To Analyze Who You Are
One thing that I find so disappointing in this world is that many people lack self awareness. They don’t know why they do things, they don’t know why they feel a certain way, and they don’t know why they’re doing what they’re doing. They’re just going through the motions, following other’s advice, and making the same mistakes over and over again.
Your first journal may be quite shallow as you’re not used to opening up and it can be weird writing deep thoughts and secrets, especially if you fear someone will read it, but with time, things will get easier. Maybe you’ll look back at your older journals and wish you wrote in more detail, and thus you’ll work on that moving forward. As you do so, you’ll keep digging deep inside, figuring out the real you and confront yourself.
Maybe you’ll realize your inner thoughts don’t match your actions, or that you’re only doing things to please others. Perhaps it hasn’t occurred to you before that you’re actually quite miserable, you just haven’t thought about it much before. You’ll analyze recent moments and ask yourself, Why was I angry? What does that person irritate me? Why did I say that back then? Only when you find out who you are and why you are the way you are can you start to change for the better.
3. You’ll Realize Things Sooner
You ever have these negative feelings or hunches, but not sure why? Things may seem odd to you or may not make a lot of sense, but you don’t take a moment to really question it? Maybe you’re trying to figure out if your friend or significant other is toxic, but you brush it off and focus on the positives instead.
When we don’t take the time to reflect on what’s going on in our lives, it’s easy to ignore the red flags or assume that things aren’t as bad as it may feel. Once you’re writing and start analyzing all that’s going on and the parties involved, patterns become more noticeable.
You’ll remember writing about a similar incident a few weeks back, and you can always refer to previous entrees to put the pieces together. If you’re dealing with a narcissist or gaslighter, your journal can be the evidence you need to prove you’re not crazy or imagining things like they’re trying to make you believe. Maybe if you realize your toxic friend has done many negative things to you over the years, it’s a lot easier to finally end the relationship.
Life moves too quickly sometimes, and that’s why it’s extra important to take a moment every day or a few times a week just to recall things, people, events, comments, and feelings so if something happens again later, you know for sure that you’re not imagining it and can quicker take action.
4. It Reduces Stress & Anxiety
In today’s world, everyone is stressed, anxious, and depressed, but how do you personally deal with this overwhelming emotions? Some try to ignore it, some rant to loved ones then then try to move on, other’s may take out their frustration at the gym or via another activity. Some will pursue more negative means like drinking and sleeping around.
While these may make you feel alright in the moment, you’re just bottling up these emotions. Something can always retrigger those memories and emotions, and you’ll become more irritable and cold over time. These are the same individuals that may hurt others or themselves when things become too much to bare.
Let’s not get to that point. If therapy isn’t an option, journaling is a wonderful way to write out how you feel and get to the root of these issues. Sometimes, problems may seem big to you, but once you write it out, you’ll realize you can easily deal with it and work through it. If you’re anxious about the future or the outcome of a scary event, you can write out what’s happening and create a plan of action if things were to go down a certain way.
Perhaps you’ll figure out that these feelings started in childhood. You can look back and figure out if it’s rooted in trauma or if it’s just a part of your personality. After you acknowledge this, you can start doing research to figure out how to cope with it or if there’s any treatments. Again, once you acknowledge something, it’s a lot easier to take action and work on yourself.
5. Your Ability To Focus Will Increase
In today’s world where everyone is using phones and computers all the time, you may find that your attention span is waning. Many have self diagnosed themselves with ADHD because it’s hard to focus on anything outside of a 15-second TikTok. There’s just so many distractions!
When I journal, I will put everything aside and prepare to write for 30+ minutes. Maybe I’ll fill up 1 page, maybe I’ll fill up 5. I usually avoid breaks, but if I do need to check something, it’s very easy for me to redirect my focus on my writing once I’m done. More so because I’m a perfectionist, so I really hate making typos. I have to use a lot of my mental energy to recall events, figure out what order to write em in, and create sentences in my head in advance.
Due to this intense concentration at least once a week, I don’t find it too hard to focus on other things that may need my intention. Even for blogging or reports for work, I can sit down and just focus for hours if need by until it’s completed. Even if I have many tabs up and notifications are going on, it’s not hard for me to focus on the task at hand.
6. It Makes You Think About Your Future
As you begin to write more and you analyze your current life and your past, you’re bound to start thinking about you future as well. Am I where I want to be? Is this what I’m going to do for the rest of my life? It’s time to consider if what you’re doing now will lead to a future where you’re most happy and fulfilled.
If you’re in a job or career that you don’t really like, journaling will open your eyes to that. You’ll notice yourself complaining and feeling miserable regularly, and you’ll feel motivated to change careers. Same with who you’re dating. Do you see yourself having a long happy future with this individual? Are you just dating them because you’re lonely or because they put you gifts?
Life is too short to keep dealing with bullshit or toxicity or things that don’t make me feel good. Aim to live a life without regrets, one with the least amount of stress, frustration, and pain. Aim to build a life where you enjoy journaling because you have many positive moments to share and you can talk about your passions more often.
7. It Encourages & Reveals Growth
As you start thinking about your future and working towards a better you, you’re going to change, and this is the most vital time for journaling. Journaling is not just a way to record your past, but to create goals for the future and keep track of your growth over a longer period time. This doesn’t just go for hobbies and skills, but personality traits and toxic habits.
One reason people never start on their goals or new year resolutions is because they never wrote it down or truly acknowledged it. They may tell someone or feel like that new year will bring change, but if you didn’t write down that goal nor put a plan into place, it just won’t happen. And you can brush it off and pretend it was never a goal to begin with so you won’t feel disappointed in yourself.
Second reason people give up early on is because they don’t see their own growth. The end seems so far away and they no longer think they are capable since they aren’t as good as others. Or maybe they started a business but they have yet to make any sales. Even if they were once passionate and motivated, it can be crushing when you don’t see the finish line in sight.
But that’s what makes journaling beautiful. You’ll be writing about those small steps you made and the new things you learned. You’ll be excited to write about finally being able to do something you couldn’t do before, and your first couple sales or followers. After say, 4 months, you may feel like you haven’t gotten anywhere, but you can look back at your journal and see just how much progress you made. You really are changing, and that may be all the motivation you need to keep at it.
8. It Increases Happiness (Gratefulness)
When you journal honestly and start recognizing those happy moments and your blessings more regularly, your general happiness will improve. It’s so easy to focus on the negatives of life and the few things that go wrong that we rarely ever pay attention to all joyful moments, all the love and gifts we’ve received, or just how beautiful the flowers or the skies are. That’s why prayer is so great for one’s mental health since they would say thank you before asking for anything else.
Even if life sucks right now, you’re alive! Do you know how many people die everyday? How many people had their lives cut short through accidents, natural disasters, and diseases? Chances are, you’re quite healthy or capable too. There are people, young people, who had big dreams but they can no longer pursue it since they lost a limb or were diagnosed with cancer. And here you are, wasting precious time, feeling bad for yourself for what?
If you can walk and talk, that’s a blessing! If you got to go to school and can get a job, that’s a blessing. If you don’t have to fear for your life every single day, that’s a blessing. If you have family or friends that love you and keep in touch with you, that’s a huge blessing! There’s just so much to be grateful for. As bad as your life may seem now, it truly could be way worse, and there are many people who have less than you.
Don’t be envious of other’s cause we have seen millionaires, celebrities, and influencers who are still depressed and unhappy. People are envious of them thinking they have great lives, while they would have preferred a simple life like what you have. What you have will never make you happy if you’re not satisfied with what you have now. So start journaling, and start realizing all you have to be grateful for.
9. It Improves Communication and Writing Skills
With technology and computers, not many people actually write these days. And even though people may type everyday, acronyms, slang and typos have become so normalized that people don’t blink an eye. Or one can always use spellcheck or Grammarly to fix up their writing. Thus, when does one really have an opportunity to really work on proper language and grammar skills, or self-editing skills?
I am a writer. If I’m not using a pen, I’m texting instead of calling people. But even when I text, I do my best to communicate properly and avoid bad habits. I prefer reading messages because I can wait until I’m mentally free to take it and reread it and previous messages to ensure I made sense of it. Thus when I write, I also want to ensure I’m clear. Writing does take a lot of practice. When I look back at my old journals, I can see just how much my writing improved, and it’s continuing to improve.
If you feel like your penmanship is sloppy, or that you’re writing isn’t clear, or you’re always making spelling and grammar mistakes, try journaling. Force yourself to not rely on spellcheck anymore, and to make clearer sentences on your own. Read your journals later on and see if you can spot your own errors. Incorporate new words and practice using them. If you practice this, you’ll find yourself easily writing reports, emails, and so on.
10. It’s Meditative & Good For The Soul
Chances are, your mind is constantly racing as there’s so much to do and think about in your day to day lives. Then, when you have free time, you fill it up with shows or mindless content because you just need a break. But when do you ever take a moment to sit in silence with your thoughts and truly live in the moment?
The whole point of meditating is to quiet the mind and control your thoughts. I find that when I journal, I will only focus on recalling memories and what I am feeling. It may require a bit of mental energy, but that’s because I truly want to put down any important memories or feelings that I have. But after that, I feel at peace. My mind is lighter and quieter because I don’t need to think about those things anymore.
If I don’t write for a long time and a lot has happened, I’m more eager to write so I can quiet my mind once again. Otherwise, I will find myself constantly recalling things so I don’t forget them. If you feel like there’s a lot going on in your life or in your mind and peace seems far away, journal it out. Fill up 100 pages if you need to. Sometimes my journal entries are 4-8 pages long, but I feel refreshed after ^^
Conclusion
I hope this article has convinced you to start journaling. I wouldn’t recommend it if I wasn’t truly passionate about it or saw the benefits of it. You can start with any notebook, even one from the dollar store, but you may put more care into it with a beautiful hard cover from Indigo.
If you’ve never journaled before, consider buying a book with prompts. My first journal was a gift that had that. The space was limited which did suck on exciting days, but it was a great start as it gave me something to reflect on and write about, like ‘What happened today?’ ‘How did you feel?’ ‘What are you grateful for?’ ‘What are your goals for tomorrow?’.
A journal is yours to do and write what you will. You can just recall events, you can be emotional like you would a diary, or it could be focused on your goals and your future. Have fun figuring out your writing style! I like to address my future self and talk like I would a friend. When I go back to read, I sometimes find myself laughing at jokes I made. At least my humour hasn’t changed much haha.
Have fun with it! Be as light or as heavy as you want. It’s yours, and only for your eyes unless you chose to show others. It’s an autobiography that only you can write, and it’s an irreplaceable gift for your future self.
If you liked this article, feel free to subscribe or support me with a tip on Ko-Fi!
Also, check out my other self-improvement articles on my blog <3
Happy writing!~
Pingback: How To Set Goals Properly & Prepare For Success ⋆ Chromatic Dreamers