The Reason Why Keeping a Journal Makes You More Grateful.
It doesn’t matter if you write about bad things that happened to you, later you will appreciate it.
Did you have a journal in which you wrote since you were little? Have you read it again? Did you find it funny?
I do, when I was 22 years old I read the journal that I wrote when I was in elementary school. I was amused by what my world was at the time: abusive classmates, the boy I liked, or themes like who’s friends with whom.
And that’s fine, those were my only concerns. Blessed childhood.
Do you remember what worried you back then? Think about when you were 9 years old. What was your world? What were your concerns?
Keep the past.
I think a tip that anyone would give you when something hurts a lot is to write it down on paper and burn it. A little cliche, I know. But, apparently it works for some.
The one that I would give you is, yes, that you write down your pain and love, but in a notebook, one that you decide to keep. And you will ask yourself, “Lluvia, why keep bad feelings? Isn’t it better to leave the past?”
Dear friend, who said that the past is bad? We are changing beings! And the past is a reminder of everything we’ve been through and how cool we are now.
How to keep a journal in one simple step: get a notebook.
Write in a notebook the good and the bad that is happening to you, what made you laugh, cry, your worries, and your prayers. Even the simplest thing that happened to you on the day.
You don’t need to be a professional, you are not writing for others, you are writing for yourself. So write how it flows, curses, and everything that comes to mind. Translate your person to paper. Oh, and don’t forget to put a date, the more nostalgic the better.
Keep it in a safe place and write when you want to gossip with yourself. You are your biggest confidant!
You will appreciate it later.
I know it’s rare to think of thanking the bad afterward, but you can do it, and it will be one of the best feelings. I will tell you why:
As I mentioned before, I write from primary school, not because I was a potential writer, but as a child, having a journal was romantic, so I had one.
It recently occurred to me to read it, it was not very interesting, I only wrote about the girls who bullied me and how I felt about it, if my crush saw me or not, and also about who my friends were and things like that. The funny thing was when I realized that in just one page, I wrote about my family.
In summary, what I wrote was that we had just returned from a trip and that in a few more days we would go camping. And maybe you take for granted that I was happy about it, but no! I dared to write that I didn’t’ want to, that I was very tired.
I laughed when I read it. And really, if I could see my 9-year-old self I would say to her: Thank that you have your whole family and that they can go out! And not as advice, but as a scolding. But, also, I try to remember that this happens to all of us, at any age, since we are unable to see the good that is happening to us right now. And above all, be grateful.
Write with gratitude.
As my story of being an ungrateful child, I have more. I continued writing during my adolescence, at that stage, my world was also different. Girlfriends, boyfriends, bucket lists, and business ideas. I read the journal now, and I have many things to be thankful for, such as I have matured, have stayed away from bad companies, and have new friends.
Now, as an adult, I continue to do so because it is a way to download my feelings, fears, and stories that are worth keeping. But now, I write with gratitude.
Since I found my journal when I was in elementary school, I try to write with gratitude. Why? Because I want to be aware of all the good and bad that is happening to me, and see the positive side of it. Write knowing that all that will happen, that everything is happening for something and to be thankful for it.
When I was younger, I wrote for writing, and I wasn’t aware of how beautiful that stage was. I wrote what for me was real and my small world was there. Thank god, now that I’m older, I can still be grateful for what happened because it reminds me that my problems weren’t that big.
But don’t worry if you forget to thank while you write, sometimes happiness or sadness clouds us, but, that’s the magic of the journal! It saves our past to be able to read it later and to be grateful for what happened, and in turn, our new self.
How do I appreciate bad things?
I know that sometimes it’s hard to thank bad things, but it’s a matter of perspective.
Some time ago I read a page of a notebook that I wrote when I was 20 years old, my father had 2 months after he died and my life had become very difficult. I wrote it all down. Most of the feelings conveyed were of anger and frustration, but at the bottom of the page was one of hope, which came from writing gratefully:
“You didn’t leave weak women on this earth.”
It was a promise to myself that everything would improve, that my mom, sister and I would succeed.
And, 2 years later, when I reread that sad writing, I was not going back to the past with fear, but with emotion. What enthusiasm to read and realize how I improved! What an emotion that I no longer cry 30% of the time, now I do 20%! Haha. Progress is progress.
But yeah, I realized that I’m better now. And I appreciated it. Much. I was grateful to have been in that ugly situation, to have felt what I felt and to do what I did. Sure, at that time I felt bad, but all that formed what I am now.
Remember: it is not asking why things happen to us, but for what.
Final thoughts.
As a changing being with different versions, sometimes we decide to forget who we were a few years ago, even yesterday, thinking that we are a poorer version. We are so afraid of the past that we prefer to leave memories behind and erase all kinds of evidence.
I firmly believe that journaling will be the way to travel through time and will allow you to realize that we are not as miserable as we think, there is always a positive side and an improvement. You will know months or years later, but you will.
