Why to Journal — A Conversation with Yourself
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Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart. ~William Wordsworth
Have you ever awakened from one of those blockbuster dreams where you believed you had found the answer to happiness or peace or discovered the hiding place of the largest buried treasure ever and the whole world was applauding your wisdom?
You jump out of bed, your mind whirling with inspirational ideas and dizzy with possibilities. Your dream was so real and vivid that you have no doubt that you will recall every moment. But, by the time you have had breakfast and prepared for work, it is merely a hazy recollection and the key points have begun to disappear like grains of sand on a beach after the tide rolls out.
As you see your nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize slipping away, you know in your heart that you should have written it all down right then and there. But where would you record those thoughts at dawn or in the middle of the night? If you had scrambled for a scrap of paper or a pen it would have taken too much time and effort and your brilliant dream would have still faded.
The Value of Your Dreams
Your dream-thoughts, like your clear-headed, rational daily viewpoints are often doors to new ideas, innovations and improvements that motivate you to action. Sometimes they don’t make a lot of sense or they happen at an inconvenient time. Yet, if you don’t capture them when they materialize, you won’t be able to take advantage of the insights offered when the right moment or occasion comes along.
The truth is you never know when that great idea will show up and you never know when something important will happen in your life that you want to hold onto, explore, understand or find your way through. However, you can be pretty sure that it will happen at some point.
You can wait until that moment arrives or you could start now to learn a skill that will change your life — journaling. Journaling records daily events, even moments, in your life and binds them together in a Journal that becomes your personal storybook.
Create the Magic
As the journalist, you decide the topic, the format, the best time and place to write the private tale of the experiences and event that make your life meaningful and memorable.
The magic is found in many areas:
· Concerns
· Sorrows
· Triumphs
· Self-discoveries
· Experiences
· Emotions
· People and places
· Relationships
· Work and art
The purpose of your Journal is a personal decision. It is a chance to converse with yourself when no one is listening, or interfering or prompting you to speak.
You may want it to be your secret and keep it secure from curious eyes. It is possible you are writing it to share with your grandchildren when the time is right and thus include inspiring words, anecdotes or family legends that will broaden their understanding and knowledge of the past.
Journals are written with the thought of publication, perhaps untangling a misunderstanding or shining an unexpected light on the truth. Perhaps a chance to clear your conscience.
Choose something that reflects you, either as the world sees you, how you visualize the real you or a chance to include some color, fun, and laughter into your lifestyle.
Your Journal can be an ornate, retro-design binder that you keep tucked away in your dresser drawer, sheaves of paper bundled in a paper folder or a contemporary iPhone app like Journal X.
Consider the possibilities
The unique and exciting visions, schemes and solutions looming in your dreams are caught in your Journal as notions to translate into creative concepts and designs.
Some ideas to consider
· Journaling is fun
· Journaling lets you toot your own horn
· Journaling helps you plan and prioritize
· Journaling provides clarity for decision making
· Journaling is a way to deal with stress
· Journaling gets you through the sadness
· Journaling daily raises the bar
· Journaling changes your life
When you write down your successes and good deeds, it brings back forgotten memories of the good old days brimming with friendly smiles. You can bask in the warmhearted, wistful feelings of nostalgia and joy in accomplishing something noteworthy. You may be inspired to share the fun with others who in turn are encouraged to tell their stories.
What a great way to build and deepen friendships!
Rather than simply reacting to other people’s demands or expectations you can journal your priorities, your prospects and strategies, review, revise and add to the list as needed, contributing clarity and purpose to decision making as you define your ideal life path. In the fast-paced world we live in, it is rare that we set aside a time to focus on our purpose in life.
Journaling can be your island of opportunity.
Snippets of ideas, desires, expectations, and longings float around in our heads. When we take the time to put them in writing we draft a blueprint for the purposeful life we were meant to live. It is often the first step on our journey.
Journaling lessens the pressure from the unrelenting demand of decision-making, providing you the freedom to disconnect and detach from work stress and spend more time with your family and loved ones. Refreshed and rejuvenated, you are more resourceful, energetic and joyful.
Sometimes life becomes so overwhelming and intensely emotional that you are nearly paralyzed for hours, perhaps days and possibly even years. Journaling becomes an outlet as you truthfully, honestly and openly spill your fears, lost hopes and feelings of abandonment into your Journal.
It is easy to become content tucked away in your comfort zone. Why change things? That philosophy may work for many, but if you journal you cannot ignore the difference in you that wrote the first journal entry and the you that puts pen to paper years, months, or even days later.
The changes may be subtle or glaring but they focus on the challenges you have faced, accepted and conquered. You know your capabilities and you probably feel unstoppable. Go ahead and raise the bar. You’ve got this.
Day by Day
Daily input works in these ways:
· Places the focus on you
· Captures ideas for future action
· Solidifies and advances your goals
· Focuses your creativity on outputs
· Helps you retain what you have learned
Daily journaling becomes a powerful habit that evolves into a delightful, daily ritual that you anticipate, keeping you from falling back into old patterns that didn’t work. You can start with a few words, sentences or paragraphs or pour your heart out; just don’t overdo it too soon or you might quit before you give it a real chance.
Done correctly, the daily goals and visions you write in your Journal become rooted in your subconscious mind, allowing you to respond spontaneously in your best interest. This mindset flows easily and naturally into other areas of your life, one success building on another.
Journaling about your goals helps you clarify what you want and encourages you to consider the why and how not just the what. Reflecting on goals in writing continually reminds you to take the next action necessary to achieve them. Your words serve as a tool for identifying what you should prioritize on a daily basis, and what you must let go.
Keep Your Options Open
The form of journaling that you choose may depend on the current mood or circumstances and may vary from session to session. There are no limits to what you can do.
You are not limited to the written word in your journaling. Try these
· Doodles
· Drawings
· Paintings
· Creative Arts
· Photography
It is difficult to relive the pain and hurt suffered when you are dejected and sad and looking for answers. If you snap a selfie as you journal and add it to your record, you preserve your feelings etched into your facial expressions, a positive and beneficial means of therapy.
You can become the person you were meant to be and realize your ideal life and purpose. As you become better and more relaxed journaling, your relationships become happier and stronger and you gain a heightened sense of productivity and accomplishment
Use the art of journaling to ask questions, for therapy, inspiration, to confess your true feelings, or as a devotional message. You can journal about almost anything:
· Your goals
· Your struggles with weight loss
· Depression
· A memorable journey
· School
When we consider our goals we often limit ourselves to what we want to do. However, when we are ready to take actions, it hits us that we haven’t considered why we desire to achieve this goal and how we are going to do it. Journaling on a daily basis is a reminder that you can only take the next step if you know your priorities and have ruled out what not to do.
Look for apps that offer these benefits such as Journal X.
Inspirations
As you journal, you will likely find your curiosity expanding. You want more information about ideas that flash through your mind.
· Is it possible?
· Has it been done?
· Where do I find answers?
· What is the key to transforming a wish into a reality?
There are many resources to inspire you. Your choice depends on the nature of your question. Is it spiritual, practical, inventive, self-motivated, philanthropic or world-changing?
Here are some resources to consider:
· Topical Books
· Affirmations
· Meditation
· Religious and Spiritual Advisors
· Social Media
· Motivational Speeches such as Ted-Talks
· Networking Groups
· RSS Feeds
· Websites
· Blogs
· Educational and technical publications
Inspiration inevitably triggers research, time commitment and preparation but is always an uplifting process and can lead you to other interests and insights that will keep your mind active, creative and inquisitive. The possibilities are intriguing.
The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
Conclusion
When I was a teenager, I kept a diary under my mattress. I waited until everyone was asleep (or so I thought) to retrieve it, shape the covers over my head like a tent and confess the skirmishes, doubts, delights and disasters that had besieged my day without fear of being judged or punished. When I finished, I would giggle with relief then snuggle in to sleep with a clearer head.
The name has changed (Diary to Journal) but the concept remains. Journaling is simply writing down your thoughts, emotions and feelings to clarify, enlarge and understand them so you can cope with them.
Journaling is therapeutic because you reveal your stress, anxieties, pain, fears, despondency, and insecurities onto empty pages that transform into words of acceptance, forgiveness, courage, and understanding destined to help you gain control of your emotions and improve your mental health.
As a Journalist, you select the audience, the purpose and depth of the content you share. You design a unique style, set the best time and finest place to write an exclusive story of the moments, experiences and events that make your life extraordinary. It is a treasure chest and you are the prize.
When journaling is a daily pleasure, it becomes a life-changing habit that allows you to tap into enhanced creativity and expand your mind. You become more than you thought you could be and you can’t imagine stagnating.
As neurologist and teacher Judy Willis explains:
The practice of writing can enhance the brain’s intake, processing, retaining, and retrieving of information… it promotes the brain’s attentive focus … boosts long-term memory, illuminates patterns, gives the brain time for reflection, and when well-guided, is a source of conceptual development and stimulus of the brain’s highest cognition. (Judy Willis, The Brain-Based Benefits of Writing for Math and Science Learning, edutopia, 2011)
A major plus in journaling is that there are practically unlimited options, resources, and motivations tailored to anyone who has the desire, feels the pull and fascination or is merely curious about the possibilities of such a fulfilling pursuit.
Your Journal is a personal space to express your feelings and emotions. What are you waiting for?
