Last updated on October 6th, 2022 at 07:46 am
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We tend to hear about journaling a lot. We always hear that it’s good for you and many people do it but do you know exactly why journaling is a beneficial activity?
This blog post will cover this question. I will also share how journaling changed my life.
Let’s go.
How Journaling Changed My Life
1) Keeping A Piece of History
When you are journaling, you are keeping a piece of history.
Memories aren’t all that reliable but your journal is. You are documenting your feelings and your situation at the given moment. It’s something tangible you can refer back to in the future.
It’s a place where you can always look back on.
The best part is that you get to keep it with you forever.
I can’t tell you the number of times when I’ve forgotten a memory had it not been for my journal. Then I would read about it and it sparks my memory. Oh yeah! That happened.
One of my first memories of writing a journal entry was when I was in grade 7. I had this scented diary (is this still a thing? If not, it should be) where I wrote about being middle school classmates in Toronto with my elementary school classmate in Hong Kong. What were the chances we both ended up in the same school halfway across the world?
If it weren’t for that diary entry, I wouldn’t have remembered much of that day in detail. It still makes me smile thinking about it although so many years have passed since then.
There are so many things your brain is thinking about on a regular basis. You’ll forget a lot of moments (or even big moments) in your life.
By journaling, you are keeping a piece of history with you. Forever.
2) Improve Your Writing Skills
Having good writing skills is key to working in any industry. In almost all industries, you’ll need to write emails. That’s on a basic level too. You must know how to write emails to communicate your point across.
If you’re working at an office job, you’ll highly likely use your writing skills in other areas as well. So you want to improve on it.
How do you do this?
You practice, practice, and practice some more. Eventually, you become a better writer since you’re writing nonstop.
Journaling is an informal way to practice your writing skills. While writing in your diary, you are putting your thoughts into words. It’s also a judgment-free environment to express yourself.
In turn, writing helps prepare you for more formal settings like school or work.
This is another example of how journaling changed my life (although I still have plenty of room to improve my writing skills). After all, you can never be too good at written communication skills.
3) Process Emotions
Although you confide in your friends and family about what’s going on, there will be times when they are not available. For a variety of reasons.
For example, all my closest friends are currently living in other countries. With the time difference, I can’t ring them up whenever I want to.
What happens then? What can you do when you’re itching to talk about a problem right this second?
You turn to your journal.
Journaling is a terrific way to process your emotions. It’s also always there for you (although sadly, it can’t talk back).
When you are having a conversation with someone else, we often only have seconds to think about what we want to say.
When your emotions are all over the place and you’re not even sure how you’re feeling, a conversation might not be the best way to go.
How can you share with someone else what you’re feeling when you don’t even know yourself?
By journaling, you can work out the confusion. It’s on your terms how to word something properly. You have time to reflect on how you’re feeling.
If you need minutes to work out your feelings, you have that luxury.
Journaling almost forces you to confront your feelings because you have to describe your emotions with words.
Writing it all down when dealing with an emotional tsunami can be extremely therapeutic.
Journaling to process emotions is the top reason for how journaling changed my life for the better.
Trust me, it really does work.
4) Personal Growth
While most of us spend our time looking ahead, it’s also important to turn back and see how far we’ve come.
You might not even realize how much you’ve matured because growth can be slow.
The words in your journal will help you realize how much you’ve changed.
For example, when I was younger, I was stubborn about not buying secondhand luxury goods because I refused to buy other people’s used items. Now that I’m older, I understand the reasons why people buy preloved and love shopping at platforms like Vestiaire Collective.
Your past journal entries are evidence of your personal growth. It’s a never-ending learning journey even as you continue to age.
It’s proof that your experiences shaped the person you are today.
Your journal can help you see how you’ve grown into a better version of yourself (and hopefully keep growing).
5) Having Alone Time
When people think of self-care, people might think about getting a facial or massage. That can be a lot of money and make you hesitate to spend when you’re trying to cut out expenses.
Journaling is a cost-effective type of self-care.
It’s free!
Okay so you might have to spend a couple of bucks buying a notebook and pen but most people have these extra items lying at home anyway.
Or you can use an electronic journal; in that case, you only need your laptop.
Not everyone has the luxury to have hours of alone time, especially those who live with others.
Journaling is a relatively quick self-love activity that can help relax you.
Use those 20 – 30 minutes to yourself. This precious time is when you can be alone with your thoughts.
You might want to find a quiet area during that time so you can hear yourself think.
It’s harder to relax if there’s all this noise around you. Or you can always put in your headphones and play some music or grab a pair of earplugs.
6) Remembering the Good Times
I’ll be honest.
I find that I gravitate towards my journal when I’m having a hard time. In my 20s, feeling lost in life is not something new.
It soothes me but I also tell myself that I need to write down the happy moments. It’s a reminder of how good things also happen to me. This is especially useful when I’m in a bad mood.
When you get so caught up in all those negative emotions, you tend to forget the good memories as well.
Reading back on past entries can help lift your mood. Document those feel-good moments so it’s something that can make you smile when you’re feeling the total opposite.
How Often Should You Journal?
Ideally, you should dedicate some time daily to journal but don’t feel like you must adhere to this rule.
There are periods when I journaled every day for a week but then would rarely write in it for weeks. It all depends on how I’m feeling.
For example, during my hotel quarantine stay in HK, I spent a lot of time journaling because I was worried about moving back home.
But in my normal life, journaling isn’t as regular, especially since I post on my blog weekly now.
There’s no hard and fast rule about the right way to journal. It’s all about your needs.
Final Thoughts – How Journaling Changed My Life
Journaling has changed life for the better for millions of people out there, including mine.
I can’t even list all of the ways and examples of how journaling changed my life. There are just too many. This blog post would be way too long.
If you’re still not convinced by my blog post, read this article by Insider about the health benefits of journaling.
Now to You – How Journaling Changed My Life
How has journaling helped you? If you haven’t journaled before, what’s stopping you from taking the first step?
Let me know in the comments down below!
Xoxo,
Nicole
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