Why you should start Journaling

1. Self-Discovery and Personal Growth
OK this is the most compelling reason to start journaling — the opportunity for self-discovery and personal growth. You know the feeling when you’re practically on autopilot going from one activity to the next? Rushing from a meeting that went over time, to picking up groceries for dinner and then making it 7 minutes late to your pilates class. With those kind of days, journaling becomes the thing that (if only briefly), takes you off the treadmill of life… it becomes your Pocket of Peace. It gives you the space to explore your thoughts, feelings, and experiences in a safe and private space. The real fun stuff happens when you’re able to keep up this habit up. After a while, when you review your journal entries it will give you a peak behind the curtain into your motivations, desires, and habits, and behaviour patterns.

Understanding Yourself: Writing about your experiences (whether it’s detailing the hot guy you checked out at the coffee shop, or moaning about the dress you loved but that looked terrible on you because of the muffin top you haven’t been able to lose), it helps clarify your values, goals, passions and irritants. This self-awareness goes a long way in helping you make decisions that align with your authentic self.
Tracking Progress: Journaling is also like the autobiography you don’t need to wait until you’re famous to write. You can track your personal growth and see patterns in your behaviour. This can be especially useful for identifying habits or attitudes that may be holding you back. Through self-reflection, journaling can become a powerful tool for understanding who you are and how you want to evolve.

2. Emotional Release and Stress Relief
Close your eyes and think back to your morning — was it relaxed and Insta-worthy? Or was it a rushed attempt to get everything done before rushing out the door? With everything moving faster than it did in our parents’ day, managing stress and maintaining emotional well-being is crucial. Writing about your day is a healthy way to cope with this stress. Because let’s face it, talking to your friends all the time is going to strain your friendships, and talking to a therapist is going to get expensssssiive.

Emotional Outlet & Stress Management: think mindfulness. When you journal, you need to slooooow down the racing thoughts to the pace of writing. And guess what, this is a blessing in disguise – it forces you to focus on the present moment. It’s hard to be anxious when you’re only focusing on the present. 

3. Enhanced Creativity and Problem-Solving
Now you’ve heard about how journaling helps you with the stressors, but you know it can also help with creativity and problem-solving. Journaling is basically creative writing about your life and dreams and brainstorming so you can unlock new ideas and solutions.

Creative Expression: Journaling gives you the channel for expression through writing, drawing, or collage. This creative freedom can help you tap into your artistic side and explore new interests. When was the last time you did something just for artistic expression as an adult?
Problem-Solving: Writing about challenges or the things you’re unsure about can help you break down complex issues and brainstorm potential solutions. Journaling encourages critical thinking and can lead to innovative problem-solving.

4. Goal Setting and Achievement
So let’s say you solved your dilemma from Point 3, you’re now ready to set and achieve your goals. Believe it or not, setting and achieving your goals is the key to developing your confidence, and journaling can play a significant role in this process – because guess what, by writing it down, there’s no way you can forget it. By tracking your goals and progress, it helps you stay motivated and focused on where you’re headed.

5. Improved Communication Skills
If you practise writing (and read enough), your communication skills are going to be elite. If you reflect for a moment, the people we admire – the one common thing they all have is effective communication skills. Because a person’s essence and expertise is shared via communication. Basically, if you start journaling, you’re going to elevate your communication skills because you will need a way to articulate your thoughts and feelings more clearly.

6. Building Resilience and Coping Skills
If I stopped to consider all the mistakes in my life, I think I’d be here for a while.  Challenges and setbacks are an inevitable part of the human experience and it’s really how humans learn. If we never made mistakes, we would never learn anything. And journaling plays a pretty big role in not only tracking your mistakes and letting you see the big picture trend, but it can help you build resilience and develop effective coping strategies to navigate difficult times.

7. Strengthening Relationships
Strong, healthy relationships are an important aspect of well-being… so we’ve got to figure out a way to build those along with a healthy relationship with ourselves. Journaling can help you better understand the status of your relationships and help you work on your interactions with others.

Self-Awareness Empathy and Understanding: Writing about your conversations and interactions with others can help you develop empathy for a point of view other than yours. Thinking through things by writing them out can can foster healthier and more supportive relationships by enhancing your understanding of yourself and others.

8. Creating a Legacy
Think autobiography. I know I threw around that word before, but honestly journaling can be a way to create a lasting legacy for yourself and future generations. By documenting your thoughts, experiences, and reflections, you leave behind a little record of your life and personal journey. Who knows how it will help future generations?

Personal Legacy: Your journal can serve as a testament to your experiences, values, and personal growth. It can be a source of inspiration and insight for yourself and others.
Family Heirloom: Consider keeping a journal so even if you don’t have a trust fund to pass on, it is something invaluable to pass down to family members. LOL. Jokes aside, something that reflects your life and legacy can be a meaningful and enduring contribution to your family.

9. Cultivating Joy and Gratitude
This is the hidden benefit of journaling – and I left it last on the list on purpose so it could be the last thing you take away and remember. And since we are all in one way or another searching for happiness, this is a great one to end on. 

Gratitude Practice: Incorporating gratitude and positivity into your journaling practise is definitely going to increase your overall sense of joy and well-being. Regularly writing about things you’re grateful for can shift your focus from a lack mindset to an abundance mindset.

Joyful Moments: Documenting moments of joy and success can help you appreciate and celebrate your achievements and experiences. By focusing on the positive aspects of your life, you’re going to find yourself feeling oh so optimistic.

So if you’re ready to embrace journaling as a regular practice, you can create a space for reflection, creativity, and self-expression. Whether you’re seeking to manage stress, track personal growth, or enhance your communication skills, journaling is going to hands-down transform your life. So grab a pen and choose a journal from our Shop, and start your journey of self-discovery and empowerment through the art of journaling. And as always, be kind to yourself and those around you!