8 Life Changing Benefits of Journaling
Indeed, there are great benefits to journaling!
According to Catharine Cox Miles, a
psychologist known for her work on intelligence and the habits of
geniuses, all 300 geniuses she studied (including Isaac Newton,
Leonardo Da Vinci and Copernicus) were avid journal keepers.
In contrast, for many of us, the concept of keeping a journal
conjures up images of documenting our high school crushes, dubious
triumphs, and inconsequential events which we never expected to
take
seriously or deem valuable.
So where does that leave us? It leaves us with science
intervening and alleviating of our skepticism. Here are 8 life
changing
benefits of journaling:
The Benefits of Journaling
1. Improves Communication Skills
Putting your thoughts to paper forces you to articulate your ideas
and,
in turn, find words that express those ideas accurately and
concisely.
The more you journal/write, the better you get at it and the more
your
communication skills improve.
2. Boosts Memory and Clarity
When you write down your experiences, thoughts and thought processes
in
the form of journaling, it gives permanence to those thoughts and,
in
turn, triggers memories of the past, of various events and even the
feelings and emotions experienced
during those events.
Clarity also gets a boost when you write down what takes place
in your life. If you are confused or unsure about a situation
jotting
down your thoughts and emotions brings focus and attention to the
issue. Journaling helps illuminate an issue and further prevents
it
from fleeing your awareness.
3. Helps achieve goals
Writing down
your goals and reviewing what
you've written daily, helps remind you
what's
important and what you must do to achieve those goals.
Furthermore, the written reminder prompts action and keeps you
focused.
4. Sparks Creativity
The act of writing itself stimulates the imagination. When you
formulate or express ideas on paper it automatically releases your
proverbial creative juices. Writing regularly helps you learn to
process and communicate complex information while at the same time
allowing you to come up with and brainstorm new ideas.
5. Helps Reduce Stress
Research has shown that journaling effectively
helps reduce stress.
In fact, both physical and emotional benefits are experienced by
those
who journal. Writing down your feelings is cleansing, illuminating
and
liberating.
Journaling is cleansing because it helps you sort out your thoughts
and
emotions; illuminating because it brings your findings to light and
liberating because it releases negative pent up feelings and
emotions.
Expressing yourself in a journal is a healthy way to release the
tension and stress you otherwise may be internalizing.
6. Increases Self-Awareness
When you journal on a regular basis you learn what works for you.
You
learn what makes you happy, sad, confident, insecure; and that which
is
crucial for your overall well-being. The process of writing down
your
thoughts and feelings allows for insight into a situation and how to
potentially handle it. Equally, journaling broadens your
perspective by allowing you to
read what you’ve written and in turn, look at with fresh eyes.
7. Improves Problem Solving Skills
Along with all of the above great benefits, keeping a journal
improves
your
problem solving skills and
advances overall
personal development. When you
write about a particular problem you remove it from the abstract
(your
mind) and place it onto the concrete (your journal). This act itself
can be empowering and brainstorm inducing. When an issue is right in
front of you, you are able to deal with it more effectively and more
objectively while feeling less encumbered. Putting a problem on
paper
engages a creative process that generates more potential solutions
for
resolving problems.
8. Helps You Plan and Stay Organized
Journaling is a great way to plan and stay organized. When you
routinely
take the time to plan, prioritize and then implement your tasks by
writing them out, it much improves your overall efficiency and
productivity. Journaling not only keeps you physically organized, it
keeps your thoughts and ideas organized and coherent.
Overall journaling, or keeping a journal, is a great way to build better habits and focus your
thoughts and energies, while providing a cathartic release for
emotions
and feelings.
As Judy Willis MD, a neurologist
specializing in brain research regarding learning suggests: "The
practice of writing can enhance the brain's intake, processing,
retaining, and retrieving of information… it promotes the brain's
attentive focus - boosts long-term memory,
illuminates patterns, gives the brain time for reflection, and
when
well-guided, is a source of conceptual development and stimulus of
the
brain's highest cognition."
Tips on Keeping a Journal
✔ Find the right format for your journaling. Specifically, find what
works best for you - paper or electronic, fancy decorative paper, or
simple white lined paper; a laptop computer, or a notebook.
✔ Decide on what type of journal you would like to keep, a health
journal, a gratitude journal, an ideas journal, a diary type
journal, a
power journal (for successes, ambitions, inspiration). Perhaps you
would like to keep several different journals.
✔ Find a comfortable, reasonably quiet area where you can journal
without being disturbed. If you are constantly being interrupted
your
ideas won’t flow freely and your thoughts will be stifled.
✔ Find sources of inspiration. Reflect upon qualities you admire in
your favorite athletes, writers, musicians, or artists.
✔ Consider bullet journaling. It can be fun and creative while
keeping
you organized. You may not always have the time to elaborate on your
thoughts or write long sentences, so instead you can jot down quick
bulleted notes.
✔ Make it a habit. Strive to spend at least 30 minutes each day
contributing to your journal. The more you write, the better you
will
become at illuminating, clarifying and expressing what is inside
you.
Related:
Quotes on Journaling
Good Communication Skills - Key to Any
Success
Creating To-do Lists - The Pros and Cons