“I am not writing a dear diary” – 5 reasons you should start journaling…
“I am not writing a dear diary, I am not a five year old child”
My initial reaction and the story I share a lot when I was first introduced to Journaling.
I sniggered at it, dismissed it, and then approximately five years later here I find myself speaking about it as the ‘go to’ tool for self-help, and the field of mental wellbeing and personal growth is now my full-time profession. Full circle to say the least.
Today I am going to share with you five benefits to Journaling and how it could serve you.
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‘Emptying your head’
For me, I have a LOT spinning around in my head at any one time.
The problem I had for so many years is they were doing just that. Spinning around and around and around…
The minute I started taking such thoughts and placing them down on paper, I started to feel like I was releasing a burden. It was an immediate sense of relief. Instead of circulating with no real place to put them. I learned to ‘empty my head’ onto paper.
Journaling has sometimes been called ‘Therapeutic writing’, ‘writing therapy’ or ‘Journal therapy’ and for good reason, it can be just that. You can start today by making a few scribbles about your own thoughts. What is troubling you? Try placing it down on paper.
There is a technique also called ‘rage on a page’ and that is just that. Getting all troubling thoughts out onto paper. Journaling allows you to see your thoughts visually in text, which allows you to make more sense of them. Its extremely calming.
2. Boost your ‘Emotional intelligence’
Now to start, this is not saying I walk around in a state of zen all day now (far from it!), I still have emotional challenges like everybody else.
The great thing with Journaling, it has allowed me to understand my emotions a little better. As a man, this is even more important. I personally believe that men struggle to open up because from a young age we have been led to believe that ‘big boys don’t cry’ or to put on a ‘brave face.’ My opinion is that as a result of it we have more ‘manly men’ scared to open up about their emotions. We are seeing scary figures with male suicide in particular, and it’s part of the reason I do what I do.
I am not saying Journaling is the antidote, but journaling allows you to write down how your ‘feeling’ and ‘why you’re feeling that way’, thus giving you an insight into your emotions. You can start to recognise triggers, emerging patterns (You can keep a mood tracker in a journal too!) and in summary you can start to recognise your emotions more.
You do not need to dismiss your emotions; you should actually learn more about them. Journaling can do just this for you.
3. Boost your creativity
Within my day I get lots of ideas, inspiration and creative moments. Having my Journal on hand allows me to document these moments so they never go missing. I might not use them right now, but I can come back to them (note: I never throw my journals away and I keep them all).
My book “the book that became my counsellor” (a metaphor for journaling) was literally created by making notes of my issues and then seeking answers to solve them. This is a far cry from “dear diary”.
Do you have creative moments? Do you ever find yourself having a ‘a-ha’ moment and then forgetting about it later? A journal space could be great for you.
4. Improve Performance
Ok this sits slightly under the planning category (another huge tool for personal growth that sits as part of a journal), but keeping a track of your life allows you to improve your performance.
You can use a journal to set goals, track your habits or review your week. You can use it to set key tasks for the day or the week and make clear priorities that move you closer towards your goals. You can schedule your time, create morning and shutdown routines, set intentions and so much more.
To add, we do not want to create anymore overwhelm (the idea of these tools is to prevent this), but I am simply demonstrating that the list and possibilities are endless!
“You review the past to assess the present and then determine what actions are necessary to change your future. You take what you know and apply it to how you want to grow. Thus, the power of journaling.”
5. Be your own coach!
“The answers you seek are already within you” – One Journey
The great thing about Journaling is that it allows for self-discovery. It allows you to uncover some of the answers that are already lying within you.
However, we can utilise powerful journal questions to uncover these.
For example:
“What do you want your life to look like three, six or twelve months from now?”
“What is one thing you could do today to move closer towards your goals”?
These are just some of the MANY questions that you can ask yourself.
Questions are powerful. Paul Mort, one of the UK’’s leading coaches in this field refers to questions as ‘the steering wheel of the mind’, and as Tony Robbins says, ‘ask yourself better questions and you will get better answers.’
Journaling gives you a space to explore, learn more about yourself, and increase your self-awareness.
There’s more…
I have only listed some of the benefits of Journaling In this article in detail, as I do not want to write you a short novel. However, there are many other benefits which include:
Reducing stress and anxiety
Improving writing and communication skills
Improving your focus
Shifting your mindset to seek out the good (gratitude)
Helping to manage trauma
Improving memory
Research is emerging in this field, so don’t just take my word for it!
For example, a study by Stice et al (2006) showed that writing in a journal can be as effective as cognitive-behavioural therapy when it comes to reducing the risk of depression when looking at young adults. There are many other studies to support this.
Want to get started today?
Hopefully, I have persuaded you by now that this tool is something you should consider.
If you want to get started today, I have included some basic questions targeted at a number of different areas to get you started right this second.
Take a pen and paper and try answering the following:
Wellbeing: What is worrying me, and what can I do to try and combat this?
Self-discovery: How do you want to be remembered?
Goals: For your life to improve, what would have to change?
Taking action: What am I making excuses not to do?
Mindset: What can I do today to add some positivity into my day?
And there you have it; if you have filled out these questions you are officially journaling.
I truly believe that improving our wellbeing and putting on us on a path for personal growth, starts with a personal decision to say “I am going to make some positive changes.”
For me, Journaling puts the ‘self’ in self-help, I wholeheartedly believe in additional support (peers, counselling, support groups and more), however, it can start with you and an easy start is to begin with a pen and paper.
“It’s the most cost-effective therapy I’ve ever found”
If you want further mental wellbeing and personal growth tips you can purchase Joe’s book ‘the book that became my counsellor, A Joe Bloggs guide to better wellbeing’ on amazon. (note this is a metaphor to journaling and also includes journal questions at the end of each chapter… obviously!)
If you work in a business where you feel journaling could support your employees, enquire today. Joe creates bespoke journals and planners for companies all aimed at improving their wellbeing and personal growth.
The best bit… they are completely unique to you, meaning there are no parts that you dislike as he consults with you to discover the exact needs of your company.
joehiltonpd@gmail.com