How Journaling Has Made Me a Better Person
A few key reasons to try the art of consistent journaling
I started journaling as a way to get through a dark night of the soul. I was in a state where I had survived a narcissistic ex-boyfriend and I wanted to relearn myself and figure out my next steps.
I journaled daily as a way to look into my habits, the things that I really enjoyed, and what really made me feel happier or less alone.
I wanted to see what I could learn from deeper insight. I wanted to really learn myself: my own mind, my own emotions and my own interests.
Since then, not only have I accomplished that goal, but I have benefited from journaling in several other ways. The most obvious was in dealing with mental health. As a person who lives with a high functioning form of depression and anxiety, my journal became a sanctuary.
It became the place where I could document the daily struggles and what I was doing about them. It served as a record to look into in the future and it was a safe place to say everything I was scared to voice aloud.
It also helped me with mental health, because in the deepest part of my depression, I would set a timer to attempt to do things that needed done.
I didn’t have the physical or emotional energy to do very much.
At the start of every day, I would set a timer for 10 minutes. I would write about whatever came to my mind. I tried to at least write one thing I was grateful for.
It became the ground of brief routines to get me moving and getting things done again. It became a source of motivation.
The second thing that journaling became to me was a way to think things through. It was a way to process the seasons of life that I was in. Whether I was writing a list of things to write about or 10 places on the bucket list- it became a ground for dreaming and getting things accomplished.
Journaling has helped immensely with my mindfulness journey. I use it to track activities, to write down memories and emotions that I don’t want to forget and to write down progress on the goals I’m working towards.
It helps me to notice what’s around me as I’m writing an entry. It focuses my five senses to what I’m writing about.
Lastly, it has taught me to notice trends. This has helped me in every other area. It helped me to notice things like the downward spiral that begins before I go into a major depression. It’s helped me notice days and things that make me more negative. It helps to learn what makes me happy or unhappy, or what makes me feel full or empty.
Most importantly, it has also helped me to reframe thoughts, emotions and situations. Writing often leads me to looking at the big picture of why something happened and ignore a narrow focus. It helps me to think outside of my own motives and my own thoughts. It’s an insight booster.
It has also reframed my negative thoughts. Once you realize how toxic those thoughts might be, it is easy to write them down and then replace them with more positive thoughts.
Journaling has changed my life in ways that I don’t think I would have arrived at otherwise. It reminds me all of the time that it’s a practice worth setting aside five minutes for.
