
Memory keeping: Whether you mean to or not, you’re saving a memory every time you capture a thought or a moment from your day.That holds true whether you’re training to run a marathon, pursuing a degree, de-cluttering your home, or striving to read a hundred books in a year. And journaling about your experiences as you work toward a goal can help you find meaning in the journey.
Goal setting and tracking: Goals have a way of becoming more real when you commit them to paper. Many people find value in journaling as part of daily prayer or devotional time. Spiritual growth: Whether you’re praying on paper, journaling in response to Scripture, or mindfully writing down little holy moments throughout your day, journaling can help you develop your spiritual side. Whatever your skill level, a journal can serve as a playground for creativity-a safe place to try and fail, to explore, and to grow cool ideas. Journaling also has value for more visually oriented creative folks, who might incorporate sketches, doodles, photography, scrapbooking or design work into their journal entries. Creative expression: Clearly, a daily journaling practice is an essential way for a writer to hone his skills, develop a voice, and explore ideas. See our article on journaling for self-care for more. Especially when negative thoughts start looping in your mind, journaling can open up the loop and give those thoughts a more productive place to go. Simply getting your thoughts about current circumstances or past events down on paper can help you process feelings, and get the distance you need to view things more objectively. Therapeutic value: Writing about what’s going on in your life has proven mental health benefits. The potential benefits of journaling are endless, and you’re not limited to just one. You can keep your journaling short and sweet, or go on and on…it’s really up to you! You can choose the tools and approach that work best for you.
You can tailor your journal to a particular interest or goal. In many cases, people are also taking their journals public, sharing them as a blog, a social media feed, or other type of online journaling. But increasingly, journaling has moved beyond pure writing to incorporate photography and other visual expression. When you think of journaling, you might picture a brooding teenager furiously scribbling in a diary, which she takes care to lock and hide later. Inspired? Create and share by tagging is journaling anyway?Īt its heart, journaling is simply documenting the moments and events of your life, along with your thoughts and feelings about them.