When I was a kid I always journaled and I used to decorate my journal in the most creative ways. Growing up I kind of stopped doing it, forgot about it, not till the past few years. I came back to journaling again and having a gratitude journal as well. I started doing it because it makes me feel great and it’s very therapeutic.
Having a gratitude journal and writing 5-7 things you’re thankful for every day, changes your perspective about things. It transforms your mind and definitely helps you to manifest better things in life.
Journaling is thinking aloud; it makes us conscious of our internal dialogues. In no small measure, journals are tools for mindfulness. They make us more self-aware and they make us more aware of our highest ideals. That is the most powerful reason of all for keeping a journal.
Journaling allows us to use it as a learning tool to not only track what we do, but why we do it. Whether writing with pen and paper or electronically, regular journaling helps us in becoming more aware of how we see the world. Our state of mind and the ability to know more about the person we’ve become is shown as the words we write speak volumes about our wellbeing. Research has shown that through our writing we not only express ourselves but show our personalities as well. How we handle stress and any obstacles or setbacks are revealed through the way we speak and the language we use. Those people who are resilient are more likely to be the ones using action-related terms such as ‘done’, ‘doing’, ‘make’, and ‘working’ being used when journaling about their intentions and their goals.
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Expressive writing not only will help a person release what they’re feeling, but it has the ability to work as a healing tool, research has shown. A person’s mental health isn’t the only improvement but medical patients have reported that their symptoms had been decreased after regular writing in their journals. Allowing patients to create a new reality with a fresher view on challenges, and the language being expressed can show the link between a person and their true self.
Creating a gratitude journal is a great way to reflect on all the good in your life and all you have to be thankful for. Bringing positive benefits to your mind and body, a gratitude journal has been shown to increase a better state of well being and people dealing with physical issues and side effects have found them to be reduced.
Solution-focused journals allow us to see what works for us and what doesn’t. It allows us to describe what we have done, how well we did it, and what we learn from that success. A helpful and empowering tool, journaling helps enhance our learning and our development.
In a study, professionals who had considered themselves least successful used their journaling as a time to report and to vent on experiences and events during the week or that day and express their feelings and thoughts on the matter. Those professionals who’ve found themselves quite successful used journaling as a learning tool. Jotting and analyzing events that had just recently happened, they use this time to create future goals as they move forward. Using their journals as a platform to evaluate their experiences, these successful people would write about corrective efforts of their performance and re-evaluating any situation after the efforts were completed. When a person re-evaluates the situation they can truly discover their strengths and weaknesses.
Besides expressing yourself, when turning your journaling experience into a daily and ongoing process, a habit becomes formed and an increased improvement in your wellbeing and a more enthusiastic and optimistic approach to life. Moving you to work towards bettering yourself and living your best possible life, having a journal can improve skills that can be used for even further your development. If regular journaling seems to be too time-consuming and an annoyance, start writing at the same time and in the same space, making it become a habit and a regular part of your daily life. It only takes a few minutes a day to do.
If journaling with pen and paper doesn’t seem right for you, there are many apps available that allow a person to access their journal from multiple devices and not just on their computer. The writer has the ability to write as they go throughout their day, especially if it’s something they really don’t want to forget. Having a journal, we are learning more about ourselves and our mindfulness, making us aware of our internal dialogues and of our highest ideals.
