Journaling is the practice of writing down your thoughts, emotions, goals, experiences, and just about anything one can think of. When I began getting into personal development, many people would tell me about the benefits of journaling. To be quite honest, I thought it was all talk. I believed forcing myself to write in a journal every single day would not help me in the slightest. If anything, I thought I would start resenting it. While it is true that writing down your problems does not make them disappear, it does help accept them and see them as they are with nothing clouding what one is currently going through. Our minds are like the streets of New York City, constantly moving and packed with traffic. Journaling helps us track our dreams, food intake, workouts, tasks, future goals, past experiences, etc. This helps us spot growth where it might not be evident if we don’t jot them down. It helps us view our lives from a birds-eye view or in the third person, as well as, boosting our creativity and helping us think deeper into our thoughts to discover things about ourselves. It is not an obligation as there is absolutely no pressure to fill up an entire journal and become obsessed with the idea of journaling over actually doing it. Some days are better than others and that’s normal. I suggest not to write in it just for the sake of writing because it will just become another dreadful task. I write every day because there is always something on my mind, even if it’s just a small prayer I want to write down. However, I do it because my body speaks to me and tells me it wants to journal, not because I force myself to write anything. Everyone is different.
Your journal is a safe space to write down and let out all the emotions you’re feeling, whether they are positive or negative. Some things are too taboo to feel or talk about. Therefore, human nature is to repress those dark thoughts and emotions. This creates emotional blockage because those feelings are never acknowledged and subconsciously affect us, which leads to addictions to help us cope. The page is not going to judge you and no one is going to read it. This open freedom allows yourself to help figure out who you are. The healthiest way to release any emotion is to write them down. A weight is lifted off your shoulders. Also, when we can read your thoughts from a third-person point of view, we can declutter them and understand the patterns. Perhaps, even find hidden secrets in the depths of your mind. Through journaling, one can connect to their dreams, passions, and intuitions. You become in touch with your conscious, inner morals, and gut feelings.
As time passes and you have written in that particular journal for a long time, you can revisit the emotions or experiences you were going through 8 months ago, for example, and you can see how much you have grown since then. In a way, it is like preserving your life lessons. No one in the world has had your own experiences, through your eyes, since everyone is unique and situations are unique as well. We all have our perception of reality and our truths. In terms of growth, the only person you can compare yourself to is yourself. So, reading back, you can understand where and when you went right or wrong, which gives you enough clarity to get rid of destructive habits.
By pouring yourself into your writing and making your ideas physical you are reducing your anxiety, depression, and stress, or the chances of experiencing them. These three things come hand in hand and if one of them is decreased, the other two will have the same reaction. Anxiety, depression, and stress are also linked to our physical bodies. As you are allowing yourself to slow down and focus on one thing for an extended period, this is considered a form of meditation. This is where the scientific power of journaling comes in. Cortisol is the body’s main stress hormone and essentially, the more cortisol your body is producing, the weaker your immune system becomes. When journaling, one is distressing and releasing, so it leads to decreasing anxiety, stress, and depression. Thus decreasing cortisol levels and strengthening your immune system. This is a healthy form of healing.
In your journal, you don’t need to be formally writing, you just simply let your mind be. This is a method of self-love, self-care, self-growth, and all of the above. How you are with your daily habits is how you are with your life, so in essence, everything comes full circle. Journaling will lead to an open mind, which will leave more room for energy to be creative. It may lead to painting, exercising, dancing, or any hidden talent. It improves communication and relationships with others as well because you are centered and well-composed. When you encounter stressful situations or events, you can react to them with a clearer mind. Life can be chaotic at times, but it is not expensive or too time-consuming to grab whatever journal you have and a pen and release it all through freedom of expression (shoutout to the First Amendment of the United States). The practice of journaling can, however, be used the wrong way by focusing too much on the wrong things and complaining. Try to constructively write to help yourself, not self-destruct. If you don’t know where to start, there are two journal prompt lists linked down below that may help you get in the zone. The purpose is not writing in the journal for likes or views, just simply being for yourself.
https://lovingthyself.net/25-journal-prompts-for-self-development-acceptance/
https://sheslivingherbestlife.com/personal-development-journal-prompts/