Creating a journal that you will want to write in everyday is very important to your mental health. It doesn’t have to be a “dear diary” type of journal. It can be any style you want! There are many different ways to accomplish the perfect style of journal for you. It has to work for YOU, not someone else. Journaling has many health benefits, and experts say it is one of the best ways to de-stress.
First, journaling is a great way to promote mindfulness. It allows you to stop and think about your day, how you felt about it, what choices you made, and what you could do better or differently in the future. It allows you to really enter the deep parts of your soul and mind to see all of the little things that you have in life to be grateful for. As you write, the anger, fear, sadness, bitterness, resentfulness, and grief melt away. You are able to feel all of your emotions and connect with them. It allows you to address your emotions and allows you to build empathy to others who may have these same emotions. It encourages emotional clarity, wellness, and intelligence. Mindfulness also creates peace within yourself. It allows you to get all of the “bad” out. You become a better person through the words that you write on that page.
Journaling is also a great way to become more self-disciplined. Creating the habit of writing expands your mind and encourages mental growth. Habits that encourage growth, respect, admiration, and ambition help you to achieve your goals. In this way, keeping a journal will allow you to write out your biggest dreams and see how you are moving closer to them. A vision for the future and creating the habit of continually working toward it and recording your progress has been proven to get you to the prize even faster.
Healing is another major benefit. By writing out your words every day, you are becoming mindful of your hurt and healing your heart and mind. You are working toward that emotional maturity of letting go of any animosity. Journaling has been proven to lower stress, anxiety, depression, and enhance better sleep.
Do you lack confidence in yourself or put yourself down? Most people do. Writing about a positive experience allows your mind to relive the happiness and joy of that particular moment. This, in turn, releases endorphins and the “feel good” chemical in the brain known as dopamine. This will give you a record of when you did great. Self-esteem can waiver if we don’t have a record of the greatness we can achieve. However, if you record your thoughts every day, then you will see how wonderful you are!
The goal you are working toward is allowing the words to just flow, regardless of how they come out. Make note of the good things that happened, the blessings you received, and the small goals you accomplished. Make note of the things that happened that made you feel sad, lonely, angry, fearful, and allow your heart to feel those emotions. Now, allow yourself and your mind to create solutions for forgiveness, for healing, and for emotional clarity. Write down how this experience has helped you grow as a person.
If you make it a habit to write in a journal almost every day, I guarantee you will start seeing a difference in your life. You are going to heal. You are going to be happier. You are going to be more in touch with your emotions. You are going to have more empathy for others. You are going to expand your mind and your intelligence. You will be more self-disciplined. You will be more mindful and find your inner peace.
That, sisters, is what our ultimate goal is: to find peace in the light. Journaling is a great start. There are many different styles of journaling (I personally love bullet journals!). Find one that works best for you and run with it!