Yea I get it… Journaling?? That’s just for high-school sweethearts isn’t it? Not at all! Journaling is actually one of the most powerful tools of learning and growth that we have at our disposal.
The only way we can become better in life is to improve from our past failures. However, since most people don’t have a means of documenting lessons learned and what they want to improve on, they stay right where they are in life and continue to make the same mistakes over and over again.
Journaling sets up our brains to immediately start thinking differently and makes us aware of what we want to change in our lives. The next time you have to make an important decision, your brain will have these new pathways of information from journaling that remind it of what to do and not to do.
So many successful people write down their thoughts, gratefulness, visions, and goals in a journal. WHY? Because it gives them CLARITY, it MOTIVATES them, it REMINDS them of what they are striving towards, and helps them FORMULATE ACTIONABLE STEPS to achieve all that they want.
Today marks the 70th day of my personal development journey, and more notably my 70th day in a row of writing in a journal. And believe me when I tell you that is has helped pivot my life in directions I did not even think were possible.
Here are TEN REASONS why you should start journaling, TODAY.
Fostering Mindfulness
Journaling is a form of meditation – it brings you into a state of mindfulness as your worries about the past or future lose their significance as you reflect in the present moment. Not only will this bring more clarity and calmness into your life, there has also been a proven correlation between mindfulness and happiness.
Feeling Grateful
I think one of the most important reasons to journal is to consistently be able to express what you are grateful for. There are so many amazing little things in life that we take for granted it’s no wonder so many people are depressed. They don’t realize or appreciate all that they already have.
For example, I say things like, “I am grateful for all of the abundance already present in my life, and for waking up to this new day full of opportunities, and for the beautiful people I have attracted into my life.”
Rather than waiting until after you achieve all of your hopes and dreams, start feeling happy and accomplished now. By journaling about what you are grateful for, you are putting your brain in a better state for the whole rest of the day. Negative emotions will be blocked out as you only focus on the amazing things already present in your life.
Here are just some of the benefits of gratitude journaling:
- Gratitude makes you happier
- Gratitude makes other people like you
- Gratitude makes you healthier
- Gratitude develops your personality
- Gratitude makes you more optimistic
- Gratitude boosts your career
- Gratitude makes you less self-centered
- Gratitude improves your sleep
- Gratitude makes you more likely to exercise
- Gratitude increases your self-esteem
- Gratitude makes you bounce back from challenges easier
- Gratitude makes you feel good
- Gratitude makes your memories happier
- Gratitude helps you relax
- Gratitude makes your friendlier
- Gratitude increases your decision making
- Gratitude increases your productivity
Achieving Goals
Journaling allows you to put your dreams, ambitions, and goals into words; words that you can see and be reminded of every single day. This is incredibly powerful because the repetition of writing and seeing your goals will signal to your brain that “this is important”.
Just like when you buy a new car and then start to see the exact model of the car everywhere you go, the same will happen with your goals and visions if you consistently journal. The brain’s reticular activating system will point out promising opportunities that relate to your goals because you have emphasized their importance.
Journaling can also act as a nice record to what you have accomplished in the past; it’s a growth measuring tool and if you aren’t happy with your progress, at least you are aware and know that things need to change.
Emotional Clarity
Journaling is a great outlet for processing your emotions and letting everything pour out onto the paper. Whenever I’m feeling overwhelmingly stressed or in emotional turmoil, I pull out the journal and just start writing – I write about exactly what I’m feeling, why I’m feeling it, if I’m really justified with what I’m feeling, and then usually end up deciding whatever I’m upset about doesn’t mean anything because I am 100% happy with myself and who I am.
Journaling can also help you to better understand what others are feeling and display more empathy as you will have more familiarity with your own experiences to be able to get on the same page as another person.
Strengthening Self-Discipline and Accountability
Setting aside the time to write in a journal is an act of self-discipline in itself – The more you practice your discipline, the more you will be disciplined in all other areas of life.
In my journal, I like to write down three things that I want to improve on, and then three actionable steps I am committed to taking that day to improve. By doing this, I set intentions for the day and then when I come back to journal at night, I assess whether I actually followed through or not. If not, I take away from my free time I have set aside the next day to instead spend my time improving in that area.
Personal Development
Did you know that five years from now, most people are going to be stuck in the same dead-end job, the same unfulfilling relationship, with the same mindset that got them stuck there in the first place. Why? Because they never adopted new thoughts. Our thoughts are what attract things into our lives – like I mentioned above, it has to do with our Reticular Activating System. When we constantly think of success, we will find success in our life. When we constantly think about all of the bad in our lives, we find more bad things to get depressed about.
That’s why I find journaling so important because it gets me thinking about my dreams, being successful, and all that I have to be grateful for. I write down everything I learned each day, whether or not I served with excellence, and what I could have done better each day to prime my mind make better decisions in the future.
Boosts Creativity
Journaling is a great outlet for creative expression – especially if you can just let your thoughts flow freely onto the paper without hesitation. You will open yourself up to new thoughts that you didn’t even know you had within you and will strengthen your creative muscles. You can write about absolutely anything and who knows… maybe the next billion dollar idea will be found of the pages of your journal.
Optimize your Day
Most people let life happen to them… WE SHOULD BE HAPPENING TO LIFE. Seriously, it is so easy to fall into a routine where you wake up, go to work or school, come home and eat, then do more work, then go to bed and repeat. This cycle of not really living life can go on for years and years without even being noticed.
Journaling is an especially useful tool to combat this habit; it gives you the opportunity to plan and structure your day.
Immediately after I finish the big chunk of my journaling – gratitude, affirmations, accomplishments, lessons learned, goals, creative self-expression – I write a list of everything that I need to get that day and assign each task a number that prioritizes it from most important to least important. I then draft out a schedule for the day that ensures I get everything that I need completed, completed while still being left with time to work on my dreams and goals.
Self-Confidence
Self-made entrepreneurs, celebrities, and CEO’s always attribute a huge portion of their success to affirmations and declarations. They know that if they can make their mind believe something, their body will then go and achieve it. They self-proclaim themselves as the person they want to become and they start to become that person; it’s as simple as that.
Self-confidence is just one thing journaling affirmations can help you with – you can affirm/declare that you are the strongest, the healthiest, the most disciplined, the hardest-working, etc.
For some guidance on what to write, here is what I affirm to myself every single day:
I am confident, I am engaged, I am aware, I am calm, I am compassionate, I am kind, I am incredibly intelligent, I am beautiful, I am strong, I am courageous, I am outgoing, I am talkative, I am an amazing communicator, I am thriving in social situations, I am deserving of the living an abundant life, I am capable of creating all the success that I want in my life, I am infinite, I am rich, I am health, I am happiness, I am amazing, I am enough.
Journaling is one of the most important things to do in your life; it will change everything in your life for the better if done effectively.
You will become the best version of yourself.
You will attract all of your dreams into your reality.
Your relationships will be happier and healthier.
You will be unstoppable.
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