Do you find yourself staring up at the ceiling late at night before falling asleep? Do you catch yourself mindlessly daydreaming throughout the day? Are you simply lost in your own thoughts? Maybe you should consider taking up journaling to curate all of those thoughts into a safe and organized place.
Keeping a journal is a great way to find peace within yourself. There’s no right way to journal, it’s an opportunity to explore yourself at your own pace. It’s also a great way to detach yourself from the negative energy possibly weighing you down; harboring it in the trenches of your mind does not always serve you well. Try to let it out in a healthy manner. You do, in fact, have full control over it.
You might ask, what happens to the content of my journal? That’s totally up to you. You can share whatever you want from it, if anything at all, or decide to keep everything private. There is no right preference.
What is the content of my journal? It’s whatever you want it to be. Ideas vary per individual. Content can range from a daily to-do list to planning your own future autobiography. Who knows? There is no precise answer, per se.
How do I know what I want to include? Start from the heart. What is the first thing that comes to mind? It can be a random thought or something you have been heavily thinking about for awhile now. You may find yourself potentially expanding on it later. What’s important though is that it allows you to do as you please.
With that being said, I have four particular reasons as to why I think you should consider journaling:
- You Can Establish a Creative Outlet
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There is good fortune in channeling your creative side, whether you think you have one or not. Creativity is a way for the soul to express itself. You don’t have to be a variant of Picasso or Kerouac to venture into the arts, nor do you need to have writing expertises to write down what you feel or ponder about. The objective journaling brings forth is the ability to find yourself through words. Feeling happy? Express it in great detail. Feeling upset? Vent all about it on paper. No matter the emotion, there is a way to let it out. If you fancy writing, then you might even engage with it as inspiration for craft one day.
- You Can Keep Track of Personal Growth
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If you’re anything like me, you may indulge in the idea of obtaining all you’ve ever wanted one day. Take a career plan, for example. Do you know what you one hundred percent want to do with your life? Is there a specific plan set? Are there alternatives? Use a journal to set those goals for yourself. Write it into existence. No more admiring it just in theory. Let journaling motivate you to check up on yourself and your progress. You are your biggest supporter; so when you begin to acknowledge your personal growth, you will set yourself up for success.
- You Can Conquer Insecurity
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You are probably wondering, how can a journal do that? Can journaling really help boost self confidence? The answer is maybe. I would argue that that’s still better than a solid no. How is that possible? Well, that is up to what you make of it. I suggest using a journal to write down whatever personal insecurities you may find yourself dealing with. The journal should be your safe go-to place. It shouldn’t make you feel uncomfortable; rather it should hopefully encourage you to embrace yourself one day at a time. Another approach at this is to use this as a way to figure yourself out. Are there things you can’t say out loud? Is it because you can’t find the right words? Use the journal to help you construct your thoughts the way you want.
- You Can Collect Your Memories
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I’m a sucker for thinking back on my fondest memories. Journaling is a perfect way to capture them in detail. I consider myself to be the friend in a group that recalls all the memories because I’m keen on expressing myself artistically with what I experience. A journal can very much be a memory book; it acts quite literally as the chapters to an aspect of life. A journal abides by what you want to store in your memory, so by journaling you would help yourself keep a hold of everything you want to remember forever.
Hopefully you will consider taking up journaling. Maybe it will bring out a part of you that you didn’t know you had in you.