“I write to remember. What I don’t write is blown by the wind of oblivion.” Isabel Allende
Journaling is the act of transforming your daily experiences, thoughts, and feelings into words. It is a simple practice that helps you process abstract concepts into clear ideas, one that serves for self-reflection, self-discovery, and a better understanding of those around you.
Many benefits can be gained by expressing yourself through journaling. By writing about your experiences, thoughts, or feelings, you reflect on such insight and perspectives of life on a deeper level, which promotes a positive and resilient mindset. Keeping in touch with yourself also greatly improves mental health, and self-awareness, and makes you attuned to personal growth or change. By practicing the act of journaling, you can:
- Release some stress: Journaling is a good exercise to develop stress management. When negative emotions or thoughts crowd your mind, treat journaling as an outlet for those difficult feelings.
- Boost your confidence: Approach journaling as a way to keep yourself organized. You will find that being more prepared reduces anxiety, and helps reinforce that you are capable and intelligent.
- Practice positivity: Use journaling as a way to practice positive self-talk and encourage yourself to be kind. This helps improve your relationship with yourself.
- Improve your memory: Journaling about events or experiences in your life helps you cement those memories in your mind because you are taking the time to express them. Reading old entries is a great window of remembering past moments in detail.
After a long day of nonstop responsibilities and tasks, the opportunity to reflect and journal may not present itself easily. Yet, as mentioned previously, internal reflection through journaling provides a lot of benefits. Therefore, here are a few tips to start your journaling journey and enjoy its benefits:
- Choose the style you like best: Journaling can take many forms. Some examples include gratitude journals, single-word exercises, online journals, and photo journals. Try different approaches and stick to the one you enjoy the most.
- Try to write every day: Try to set aside some time every day specifically for self-reflection and journaling. Incorporating it as a routine will make it easier to write regularly and meaningfully.
- Get creative: There is no set rule for how to process your thoughts, and it necessarily does not have to be done through prose. Do not be afraid to express yourself through poetry, drawings, or anything that comes to mind. Journalism is supposed to be a free-of-judgment exercise to let your ideas flow, so most of all, have fun with it!
