Okay, so I know what you’re going to say. Journals and dairies are for kids. Not so. Journals and dairies are for everyone. There are several reasons why everyone should keep a journal. I hope to expound on some of those reasons in today’s post. The reasons I’ve picked, are the reasons why I like to try and keep a journal. Other people may keep journals for other reasons. These are just a few of mine. I hope that after reading this list, that those of you who don’t keep a journal consider starting one.
I’d like to go on record though and let you know that I’m not very good at keeping up with writing in my journal. I go through phases where I write in it a lot and phases where I don’t write anything in a year. How you decide to do yours is up to you. Just remember, it is okay to let a lot of time pass between entries and it’s also okay to make several entries in a day. A journal is all about you and there is no right or wrong way to keep one.
Writing is Therapeutic
If you have ever kept a journal, you know that simply writing about that day’s events somehow allows you to better process it. Whether it was a good day or the worst day yet. Writing it out and allowing yourself to process the events on paper, helps. With social media use being at an all-time high, it isn’t uncommon for people to use social media as their journal. This can help some. But I personally think keeping a private journal is the way to go. By making social media your outlet, you are letting in the influence of other. Rather than allowing yourself to process your thoughts and emotions.
Remember Who You Were
Many times in life, we don’t realize how much we have changed until years later. Keeping a journal can help you by allowing you to track your growth. When I was younger my journal entries were all about boys and boy issues. Nothing really to do about anything else. That was my life. Trying to figure out if this boy liked me or if I liked that boy. Now looking back, I can see that I have grown. I can see the transition from worrying about boys to focusing on being the best person I can be. Keeping a journal allows you to look back to see how you have matured. It also allows you to see areas where you have changed that you didn’t really want to change. Not all change is good. Keeping a journal can help you track your growth so you know if the growth is good or bad.
To Keep Yourself Focused
I don’t know about you but there are times that something consumes my mind. I can’t think about anything else until I’ve talked about every bit of it. Having a journal can help with this. You get it all out on paper and now you’re able to focus on other things. Keeping a journal can also help you to stay focused on goals you’ve set for yourself. You’ve written it down on ink and paper and now you feel this sort of commitment to it. You don’t want to let anyone who reads this in the future down because you did not keep your word. At least that’s how I feel. Even though we probably all hope no one ever reads our journals. Journaling is just another way for us to push ourselves to do what we’ve said we would do. Which is a great characteristic to have! I mean, who doesn’t want to be a person who keeps their promises?
It Can Be Anything You Want
When you think of journals and dairies you probably think of pages and pages of words. This doesn’t have to the case. If you want, you can draw, or put down quotes. You can make a hybrid of journal types. One of the newest things is Bullet Journals. It’s kind of a mix between a traditional journal and a planner. You can make pages for movies you want to watch. Book’s you’d like to read. Your plans for the day. You can even keep track of what emotions you feel throughout the day, week, month, or year! A journal doesn’t have to be any one thing. It is just a safe place for you to get all your thoughts, feelings, and emotions out so that you can process them.
Thank you for reading!
I hope this post encourages you to start a journal. Or if you keep a journal but haven’t written in a long time, I hope this inspires you to start back! We’d love to hear from you! Do you keep a journal? If so, what are the reasons you keep one? Let us know in the comments!
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