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3 reasons to try out journaling

Johnny

• 3 min read
3 reasons to try out journaling

Journaling is an ancient practice that has been practiced by many great minds of history. From the great philosopher emperor Marcus Aurelius to American polymath Benjamin Franklin, journaling has been used to the great advantage of creatives, leaders, artists, athletes, intellectuals, philosophers, scientists, and so on. Let me give you three solid reasons why you too could benefit from this practice.

Reason number 1: It improves clarity of thought  

Once you put your thoughts on paper, they crystallize. This is the best way for me to explain the phenomenon of what happens. I used to think of myself as a thinker. Before I started to journal, I thought I didn’t need it. I used to like thinking and organizing thoughts in my mind. But once I started to journal, it’s been indispensable for me to catch my thoughts and bend them to my will. I can clearly see what’s fluff and what’s substance when I put them on paper.

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Tip: I’ve heard some say that physical journaling (handwriting on paper) is the way to go because it's a more visceral body-mind connection. Personally, my handwriting is terrible, and I can write much faster on a keyboard. Also, organizing the files makes them easier to use for later reference. So, you might want to try both ways and see what’s best for you. Writing on a cellphone seems to be the worst of both worlds, so I’d avoid that unless you truly have no other choice.

Reason number 2: It keeps you on the right course  

Directly following reason 1, writing your thoughts on paper (or screen) daily will make everything in your life clearer, more visible, and less murky. You will be constantly making new discoveries, and these discoveries will help you steer your course in the right direction. Writing your course down, doing it often, and journaling the process will not only help make your purpose and dreams clearer to you (what is it that you actually want from life?) but also keep the course steady in the right direction. It’s magical, the way it works. I can’t really explain it. You have to try it yourself. Note: Like all good habits, journaling is best when done often and regularly. I recommend journaling every day; there really is no reason not to. Setting up a specific time will help to solidify the habit.

Reason number 3: It improves literacy, vocabulary, and your overall verbal output.

  If you want to be a better communicator, write often. (Reading is helpful as well, but that’s another topic.) Really, since I’ve started journaling daily, I've begun to think and communicate in a more concise, concrete, and ultimately clear way. This daily habit will structure your thought process and communication skills. Supplemented with reading, it will definitely make your vocabulary grow as well.

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Tip: Try setting yourself a daily goal. Many writing programs have a progress setting. Try setting yourself a tangible, feasible goal. If you’re a beginner at this, start small. Try to write for 5 minutes per day. The goal should be something you can accomplish. At first, the most important thing is setting the habit in motion. You can worry about adding more challenge later. As you’re doing the daily challenge of journaling, don’t despair if you miss a day. Try to adopt the mindset of the great comedian Seinfield. He set to writing jokes for 15 minutes per day. His rule was that if he missed a day, he absolutely could not miss a second day in a row. Now think about this: following this rule, even if you failed to write every second day, you’d still write 183 days per year! That’s an accomplishment. But of course we won't fail every second day, so the success will be a lot greater. I can recommend a program that has a good feature for setting a daily goal. I’m using FocusWriter. It’s a nifty, lightweight, and free program. And one cool thing in particular is its handy, easy-to-use progress feature.
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Tip: Feeling like you're running out of topics to write on? There are so many: try gratitude journaling, a semen retention diary, a goal log, daily affirmations, and positive self-talk. . . . The writing can be past-oriented, future-oriented, present-oriented, brainstorming, stream of consciousness, or anything else. As long as you write, that’s the most important part! In summary, journaling will set you straight. It’s been used by many great men and continues to be a solid tool in any serious thinker's toolkit. Anyone who wants to accomplish things faster and live in a better, more structured way should try adding journaling to their daily routine.

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