Journaling on a regular basis can be life changing. Putting pen to paper is one of the surefire ways to not only document, but to reach goals and collectively improve the quality of your life. I wish I knew about journaling years ago, but there is no better time to start now, and I’m going to explain to you why.
Benfits of Journaling
There are so many benefits to journaling, but I’m going to focus on the three that I believe are important to improving one’s life. They are (in no particular order); Journaling increases your self awareness, Journaling helps you achieve your goals or commitments, and Journaling promotes emotional wellness. Now, let’s dive into each and find out why you should pick up a pen and start journaling today.
Self Awareness
I’ve talked about Self Regulation in one of my previous articles, “The Psychology Behind Staying Committed,” and I believe that self regulation goes hand in hand with self awareness. Self awareness is “the ability to focus on yourself and how your actions, thoughts, or emotions do or don’t align with your internal standards” (Costakis, How Self Aware am I?, https://mccormickcenter.nl.edu/library/self-awareness-102522/). When we think about self awareness and how journaling impacts your awareness levels. We need to reflect on how you document your thoughts and feelings. The better you document your thoughts and feelings, the better you will understand yourself, your actions, and your life. The more you know yourself and what makes you tick, the better leader, manager, friend, parent, teammate, and person you’ll become. Self awareness is a skill that you learn over time, while reflecting on yourself.
Road Rage
Let’s use an example, let’s say that while driving to work today someone clearly didn’t see you while they were merging and they inevitably cut you off. You immediately became enraged with hatred for that person. “How dare they cut me off and jeopardize my health and wellbeing…who do they think they are?” You tailgate the person and throw your hands in the air! “That will show her to never cut me off again!”
Now, take those feelings back home and grab your journal. Why are you so mad? If you were at a baseball game and a foul ball almost hit you, would you have the same reaction towards the batter or would you be thankful that you got out of the way? How is either situation different? I’m sure the driver has the same intentions as the batter, right? Now, I will preface, some people drive like maniacs and have no regard for others, but still, does it make any sense to lose control and get that upset?
Journaling Tip
In your journal, write down your emotions without any judgement. What are you feeling? Try to figure out why, it may not always be clear at first, but the more you practice the idea of writing down your feelings, the more likely you will be aware of yourself next time you become triggered. This will allow you to check yourself and will eventually lead to being more mindful. Becoming more mindful has many benefits, some include; stress reduction, relationships, pain relief, mood, and focus.
Did you know that people who write down their goals are 42% more likely to achieve them? Also, did you know that only 1% of people even take the time to write their goals down? Antoine de Saint-Exupery wrote in Le Petit Prince; “A goal without a plan is just a wish.”
Steps Per Day Goal
Let’s say on January 1st you decide that your goal is to take 10,000 steps per day. Your first step (no pun) would be to write down your goal and then set short-term goals so you can keep track of your progress. Then, you’re going to want to develop a specific plan on how you will reach your goal. Remember, “a goal without a plan is just a wish!” For example, I will take the stairs instead of the elevator at work. I will walk during my breaks and lunch after I finish my meal, or instead of watching tv at night, I will walk around the neighborhood or go to the gym. The more time you spend reflecting and winning, the more likely you will be to continue your goal until it becomes a habit.
Saving for a Family Vacation
You want to plan a vacation with your family and money isn’t as available as it once was. Journal about how you’re going to find a way to save $10,000 to take the family on vacation next year. Write your goal down and start thinking about your plan and how you will go about achieving it. Set micro goals by month on how you will reach your goal. Maybe you can sell unused items sitting around the house for $2,500. Also, maybe you can save another $250 per month by only eating out once per month instead of every weekend. Pretty quickly, you’ve got a solid plan and have saved more than half the cost of the trip! Now, you need to find a way to save about $375 more per month or just $12.32 per day!
Everyone has a different financial situation, but the point is this; write things down and journal, you’re so much more likely to accomplish your goals! The best part is that journaling is simple and very inexpensive, in fact a notebook and pen costs less than $5!
Emotional Wellness
Lastly, Journaling promotes emotional wellness. In a world where you feel judged on EVERYTHING, journaling provides a safe space to write your thoughts and feelings. The other great thing that journaling does is that it allows you to identify patterns and boost your self awareness (as mentioned above). When you journal, you aren’t posting on social media for likes or for satisfying comments, you’re doing for you.
One of the biggest questions people have is, what do I journal about? The great thing about this question is you can journal about anything and everything! I love the idea of writing about goals, but you don’t have to journal just about that. One helpful free tool that I found was put together by Montblanc (they sell awesome pens,watches, and leather goods) that was a 100 Day Writing Challenge. Brittany DeSantis, who owns Peak Paper Company hosted the class and it was excellent! There is a workbook available as well that actually provides you with a question each day. Please note, this class was mostly full of people who enjoy writing, luxury pens, and specifically Montblanc, but there are some great questions that Brittany put together.
Conclusion
I have a strong suspicion that I will be writing more about journaling in the future, but I’m hoping this quick read is enough to get you to realize that a few minutes per day journaling will do your mind, mental health, and body a lot of good! Take away 15 minutes of screen time today and give journaling a try! I bet after a week you’ll be hooked!