When you were young, did you ever own a diary? A secret notebook that kept all of your most important thoughts and memories. For your eyes only. What about a blog?
There was a time when people used to share all of their real personal emotions and thoughts that way too.
Now, we call it journaling.
There are a lot of different ways to keep a journal today, either through an app, a blog, or the 'old-fashioned' way by writing it down in a special notebook dedicated to your daily life journey.
It's a great way to document your life, keep track of habits, successes, failures. Life.
It may look daunting to start, many are scared to wreck a blank page or think they need to write down a novel every time they sit down to write, but you don't have to.
You don't even need perfect grammar. You just need yourself, your thoughts, and your journal.
There are a lot of benefits that can be traced to keeping a journal mental, physical, and emotional. A 2018 study found that writing your emotions down through storytelling led to physical and emotional benefits. To get the full benefits of journaling, don't just recap your day; you have to go through the experience emotionally. Write about your epiphanies, worries, triumphs!
But more importantly, get used to the habit of writing. And how you write can affect how much you journal. You can start with an entry every day that keeps it simple. Then add on to that by recounting an experience. Pick a time of day when you feel like you'd be at your most creative, and go for it!
It also helps to know what kind of journaling experience you're going for. Some people use it as a health tracker, some as a gratitude journal, and others prefer the more traditional way of documenting their lives through pen and paper for a few minutes daily.
One of the most important things about keeping a journal is a judgment-free zone! These are your thoughts and experiences for your eyes only.
So write away. You might also feel the pressure to edit as you go along, don't do that! Your brain can't flow and edit simultaneously, and you'll stop any creativity you've got flowing.
Journaling is a way to do some tremendous inner work by helping you become more mindful, a way for you to recognize negative behaviors and track triggers.
If you don't know where to start, try some journal prompts.
Instead of writing, try drawing.
Daily Affirmations.
Make lists of your goals or something you're grateful for.
Write a letter to someone (you don't have to send it)
Journaling is whatever you want it to be. It doesn't have to be for the whole year, it can be for a few months. Journals are for your thoughts only. Ernest Hemingway said, "All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know."