Journaling. Something the “it girls” do in the morning while sipping matcha, what enlightened individuals opt for instead of doom scrolling before bed or what that cool indie guy with a tote bag does on a bench at Plaza of the Americas. Honestly, you’ve thought about giving it a go as well. But what in the world are these people actually writing down? And a probably even more pressing question: Why even write things down? One of my favorite quotes sums it this phenomena up perfectly:
“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.” — Anaïs Nin
Similar to how some people believe, “Pics, or it didn’t happen,” I like to think, “Write it down, or it didn’t happen.” And honestly, it’s kind of true. Just do a quick Google search on memory, and you will be told repeatedly how faulty our memory is and just how little of our lives we actually remember.
That’s actually why I started journaling and why I have been doing so since elementary school: I’m scared of forgetting. But besides having a way to document your life and effectively tell those who happen to stumble upon your archive, “I was here,” writing down your experiences forces you to slow down and make sense of events, thoughts and emotions. You’d be surprised by what you can learn from your own writings.
However, with so many possibilities as to what you can write, it can feel very overwhelming getting started in journaling. The questions I personally use to guide my entries have remained pretty much the same these past several years, and maybe they’re ones you would like to try to use as well:
- What happened today?
- How did those things make you feel, or what did they make you think?
- What’s something your future self would like to hear about?
Apart from these more documentary questions, I like to treat my journal like a dumpster, somewhere I can put some junk from my brain into so I feel more clear-headed. Some guiding prompts along this vein are:
- What is occupying a lot of my mind right now?
- What is worrying me? What steps can I take to alleviate that worry?
- Random shower thoughts
- Things I wish I could say but can’t say or don’t have the guts to say yet
And of course, a little cliche, but I do find myself treating my journal as a place to spill my gratitude.
- I felt really happy when…
- Today I realized how fortunate I am to have/be/etc…
Maybe the idea of writing every single day is what stops you from starting. That fear of not executing something perfectly is something I totally get. The great thing is that you don’t have to journal every day! You can write when you need to and take a break when you feel like it. The goal shouldn’t be militaristic consistency. Instead, make it a goal to write intentional entries that allow you to learn and grow from your experiences.
And if you do want to make journaling a daily habit, instead of aiming to make every entry an entire therapy session or a running list of everything that happened that day, make the goal simply to write something. Some of my entries literally sound like: I got Starbucks today, and they didn’t put on enough caramel drizzle. The end.
Journaling doesn’t have to be a complicated, pick-apart-every-neuron-of-your-brain activity. I encourage you to grab some paper and a pen, and just see what ends up on the page. Worst case scenario, you get a hand cramp. Best case scenario? You just might end up discovering who you are.