Journaling: The Art of Making the Implicit Explicit

I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say — Flannery O’Connor

Expressing your emotions in an autonomous space and articulating your thoughts very well can be revitalizing to a fault. But some things are not destined to be shared with anyone else, and not everyone has the luxury of having a dear friend. This is where journaling comes in handy. Journaling is an act of writing down your thoughts, emotions, and life events on paper so that they are not trapped inside your head, causing chaos.

People can have various reasons to journal. For Marcus Aurelius, journaling was an act of spiritual combat. Anne Frank made best friends with her diary and called it ‘Kitty’. As a president, John F Kennedy was an intense note taker and doodler. It helped him to think clearly and keep a record of it. Unlike any other sort of writing, journals are for the writer. Not for the reader.

Whatever be your reasons, here are some of the advantages of keeping a journal :

• Helps you think clearly and organize your thoughts.
• Improves cognitive processing and emotional expression.
• Track your goals, progress, and growth.
• Develop self-awareness and confidence.
• Better decision-making.
• Improves writing and communication skills.

Now comes the vital question, ‘How do you journal, and what exactly do you write about ?’ The answer is, you can write about anything you want however you please. There is no right or wrong way to journal. Your journal is a place for you to get all messy. From the happiest to the most embarrassing and cringe moments in your life, you can write anything. What do you feel at the moment? What are your thoughts and worries? What makes you sad? What makes you happy? You don’t have to worry about grammar, spelling, or stopping in the middle of a sentence. Remember you are writing for yourself and not to impress anyone else. Feels like doodling? You are absolutely free to do so. Fill your notebook with stickers, photographs, quotes, or your favorite Taylor Swift lyrics. Or don’t. The best thing about journaling is that there are straight out no rules.

With that being said, there are mistakes one could commit to bring resistance to developing a habit of journaling. If you are someone who has tried and failed at habituating journaling in the past, here are some tips/advice that might help you :

• Make it fun: Buy a nice notebook. Use color/glitter pens. Try out stickers and color tapes. Make it as fun as possible that you would want to show up and write consistently.
• Make it a ritual: Find a pleasant spot in your home where you can sit comfy and journal, sipping your favorite drink while the music of your choice plays in the background. Sounds delightful, doesn’t it?
• And finally, keep in mind that you don’t have to make it perfect and start with low expectations.

As the old saying goes, the answers you seek are within you. You just have to ask yourself the right questions to reveal the answers. Journal is the best place to start listening to those answers.

Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart — William Wordsworth