If you’re a writer, you probably already have a journal or you use or a place on your computer where you write your thoughts or anything else down. If you’re not a writer, keeping a journal or diary has some great benefits. You’re probably thinking back to the ones you had when you were in elementary school. Or the one you used when struggling through your transition from teen years to adulthood and are probably cringing at the thoughts you must have written down. It’s okay, that journal is nowhere to be seen and now that you’re older, your way of thinking and the thoughts you have are different.
1. Recording and Remembering
Journals are great for writing things down. If you have a hard time remembering things, than you should invest in a journal. When you write things down, the information is more likely going to stick and be remembered. Recording is great as well because everyone has significant moments in their life that they want to remember or revisit and our memory sometimes restricts that. When recording things, you not only write it from your perspective in a way that’s personal to you, you can also revisit it and expand when recalling it with the help of your journal.
2. Writing Makes you Think
Writing is literally a process; it has a beginning, an end and an in-between. It’s a journey and through it you have to think in a certain way. It isn’t easy translating thoughts onto a page. It takes effort and time; you’re literally deciphering your thoughts, feelings, perceptions and images. When writing, you have the chance to expand and elaborate, also explain something on a level that’s different from talking about it. It’s deeper, more intimate and extremely difficult when connecting with your self through writing.
3. Journaling is Fun
To keep a journal is fun, it’s a great way to reconnect with everything: your self, other people, events, ideas and emotions. You can have fun when journaling, you can write in different forms and languages, draw or include pictures. You can also make it specific for a certain thing like: goals, lifetime aspirations, poetry, artwork or writing down what you heard people say throughout the day. You’ve probably heard of dream journals, which is another example of what a journal can be used for. Journaling can be about anything, you don’t have to restrict yourself to a certain format.
If you’re going to invest in a journal remember to have fun with it and make it something personal. It can help you decipher the world through a lens that’s specific to you. No one else can read it after all; that is unless you want someone to.
