Keeping a journal is a wonderful way of charting and mapping life’s journey, of keeping a record of personal thoughts, feelings, experiences and activities. And it’s easy. All you need is a pen, paper, a little of your time and some effort and you have your very own friend, philosopher and guide.
How to begin your journal?
• Select a blank notebook. It can be any ordinary or fancy anything that appeals to you. If you want to maintain an online diary, the computer will be your best friend.
• Use a pen that feels most comfortable in your hands.
• What should you write about? Start by jotting down your activities. It’s not like to write all the things you do in your daily routine but the quotes that you want to memorizes and apply in your life.
The write rules:
• You will not share. Keeping it exclusive will help you be completely honest when journaling. If you write thinking you may share your reflections, you may be tempted tow rite for another person or even worse, you may begin writing to that person.
• You will be honest in self-expression.
• You will not feel obliged to spell correctly, write complete sentences or even use the right verb.
• You will date each entry in the journal. You may not see a reason to do this at that present time. But later, a reason will appear to give some perspective to the past.
You must know yourself: For this you must know yourself. Journalizing lets you see the pattern of your activities, emotions, moods and thoughts. It makes you introspect and understand. When things go wrong, you can ask yourself what triggered a particular reaction, why you lost your cool, why you yelled at a loved one, what is the transgression limit of your comfort zone? Keeping a journal lets you address all these issues with complete honesty.
Words linger on: We meet different people and face different situations all the time. Each day brings forth new lessons and new understandings and we need to remember them. A journal allows us to revisit those experiences at will and choose to learn from them or lose the moment to become distant memory.
Release pent up emotions: Enjoy giving full expressions to all those devilish thoughts within your privacy. You can vent your anger with full force and only your journal will know. It will not flinch in horror or disapproval. Keeping a journal brings about a feeling of catharsis and it is possible that a solution may also emerge.
Count the other joys of journaling: Journaling can be used to organize thoughts and to set goals. Once you write down your goals, the act of journaling can serve as an internal motivator to move you towards them. The act of writing has been proven by scientists to somehow stimulate the body to produce more T-cells, an invaluable component of the immune system.
Start today: Journaling is an investment in yourself; it helps you live a more intense life. Writing your journey unfetters and frees you. So catch the moment and pin it down. And gets that ink flowing.