The Benefits of Keeping a Journal
The Benefits of Keeping A Journal By Doreene Clement
www.the5yearjournal.com info@the5yearjournal.com
Keeping a journal, a diary or diaries, has many advantages and
benefits. Whether you write a few lines or pages, through
journaling, you can record and track a lot of information that
can be easily retained for future reference. You can actually
see what you were thinking because your thoughts and experiences
are in a journal. When you commit to writing them down, you have
put your thoughts and experiences into a solid form. Below are
some examples of the benefits of keeping a journal.
Reduces stress - Journaling has a proven benefit of reducing
stress. Once you've journaled, you don't carry as much of what
you have written about within you. It is on the paper or in the
computer. By journaling, you give yourself a powerful form of
self-expression, and through that expression you can gain
clarity, release, and relief.
Setting goals and resolutions - You can actually see and better
understand what you want, what is important to you, and how you
feel, through journaling. Then you can create goals and
resolutions to support what you are thinking and writing about.
Organizes - Journaling your goals and what you want to
accomplish for the day, the month, the year, or a lifetime, is
an excellent tool to help you get those things done. You can
create a personal checklist of "things to do."
Helps focus - Writing in a journal creates more personal
awareness, and therefore more focus on the issues that are
important to you.
The routine and habit of journaling means making time for you -
When you set aside time for yourself, you can feel the benefit
and gain from doing something specifically for yourself. It can
show up in other areas of your life as you carry that time you
have spent on yourself within you, and everywhere you go.
Start your journal on any day of the year - Journaling is
something you can start today, stop tomorrow, and pick up again
next year. You can start and stop as you want. You can skip a
day. It is your journal.
Journal entries record the day, tracking your life - When
keeping a journal, you record your experiences, dreams, ideas,
desires, thoughts and more, for reflecting on now, and in the
future. You are telling your story to yourself.
Can better understand and accept yourself and others - Whether
you re-read your journal or not, you can gain benefits from
writing down your story, and your thoughts. You are writing
about how you see and experience life. You can compare and
explore the times of your life - Awareness of the past can teach
and support your future.
Creates a good personal reminder - As you journal the times of
your life, if you are still writing about the same things over
and over, it can help support your idea of what is working in
your life and what is not. You are creating a record, and with
that record in hand it is easier to see patterns, changes, and
shifts. You can always ask yourself, "What do I want to carry
with me?"
Provides personal growth and freedom - Journaling can be a
wonderful tool to help better understand yourself and the world
that surrounds you.
Becomes a treasured keepsake, a written scrapbook - A journal is
a catalog of your memories. Over time, your memories become an
irreplaceable treasure that can be looked at years from now, by
you, or, if you wish, by others.
Records and tracks business, personal or financial information -
There are many ways to benefit from journaling, because there
are many ways to keep a journal. A business journal can track
appointments, meetings, finances, or log data. A personal
journal can be about dreams, family, health, diets, hobbies,
travel, or any other topic you want to record and track.
Journals are great gifts for friends, family or to give yourself
- You can give the benefits of journaling to a friend, or to
yourself. With the benefits of journaling in mind, and the
insights and power it can give to someone else or to YOU,
consider journaling. If you never journaled, consider starting.
If you have journaled, but have quit, consider starting a
journal again. Remember - write it down, get it out. There is
power in the expression of writing.