The Power of the Pen
In our fast-paced, ever-changing world, it's hard to keep up with the things we experience in our everyday lives. Other times, it's challenging to find someone we can vent our frustrations to, or a safe space to let our emotions run free. But journaling can help with all of that—relieving stress, reducing anxiety, building self-confidence and emotional intelligence, and more. If you've ever wondered whether you should adopt this habit, this is your sign to start.
1. Relieves Stress
Journaling is a great way to relieve stress because it provides an outlet for you to jot down all your thoughts, feelings, and frustrations. Had a bad day at work? Juggling too many tasks at once? If you're looking for a place to vent without judgment, then a private journal is the place to do it.
2. Builds Emotional Intelligence
If you want to develop emotional intelligence, you need to first understand yourself and process your feelings. How? Keeping a journal allows you to label your emotions, track your patterns, and identify certain triggers. Instead of letting out your anger or frustration on others, write it down.
3. Inspires Creativity
Journaling also inspires creativity. After all, these pages are meant for you to do whatever you want, whether that's writing, drawing, brainstorming, or keeping track of reminders. As you do your entries, you might come up with different ideas and perspectives you may have never thought of if it weren't for writing them down.
4. Allows for Individualism & Expressiveness
Along with inspiring creativity, journaling allows for individualism and expressiveness. You can be whoever you want to be in those sacred pages—provided, of course, you have a lock so no other eyes can peek at what you've written.
5. Supports Goal-Setting & Tracks Progress
If your journal has a calendar (and if it doesn't, you can make one yourself), it can be a way for you to organize important tasks, deadlines, dates, and goals. You might choose to come up with three goals you want to accomplish every month, then come back every day (or two) to update your progress.
6. Enhances Memory
Because you can jot down important dates and write down specific experiences, journaling can also enhance your memory. Our lives are fast and hectic, and it's not always so easy to remember what we did last week or two weekends ago. But writing it down repeats the experience inside your brain, and allows you to come back to the entry whenever you want.
7. Improves Writing Skills
Even if it isn't your goal, journaling can improve your writing and communication skills, which may make you more eloquent or better at conversing with others. As you explore different styles and tones, you might find one you particularly enjoy writing in, and that encourages you to test new vocabulary, phrases, or metaphors.
8. Reduces Anxiety
If your brain is running a mile a minute at night, you can release those anxious thoughts in a journal. Writing those feelings and sensations down might distract you, or it may allow you to sort out your emotions in a clear-cut way. For example, if you're worried about messing up a presentation, list out your concerns, the "worst-case scenarios" for each, then possible resolutions to soothe your panic.
9. Helps Record Experiences & Keepsakes
As we mentioned earlier, journaling allows you to record important dates and experiences. Perhaps you traveled to somewhere new or you met someone you've connected well with. No matter the type of memory, jotting them down makes them keepsakes that you can look back to later on.
10. Organizes Your Thoughts
If you find you're constantly overwhelmed by things to do, different worries, or just have trouble parsing out your thoughts, a journal can be a lifesaver. Use it as your brainstorming space, or as a place to weigh out options before a major decision.
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11. Allows Release of Negative Emotions
We've mentioned that journaling can be a great outlet to relieve stressful feelings or anxious thoughts. While you might think it odd to vent to yourself on paper, a journal is a safe space while venting to your friends and family could muddle your emotions even more. Plus, you might come back to these entries later on and be glad you didn't let your vexations out on someone else.
12. Encourages Reflection
Once you start journaling, try to write one entry every day. Think of it as your end-of-the-day reflection. What did you do? Where did you go? What did you see? What's one thing about today that particularly stood out to you? What are your plans tomorrow? Asking yourself questions that prompt reflection can be a great way to practice self-care and mindfulness.
13. Improves Problem-Solving Skills
Because journaling encourages writing down and organizing your ideas on paper, it allows you to better sort your thought process and make clear deductions. It may also push you to explore new paths and angles when dealing with more complex issues.
14. Strengthens Self-Discipline & Accountability
When picking up the habit of journaling, try holding yourself accountable by writing at the same time every day; think of it as a morning, afternoon, or evening exercise for your mind. If you at first find it difficult to find things to write about, doodle instead. The key is to be consistent as a way to practice self-discipline.
15. Builds Self-Confidence
Studies done on nursing students have shown that reflective practice journaling (RPJ) can help boost self-confidence, self-knowledge, and coping skills. Of course, this isn't limited to those in nursing—since RPJ allows you to reflect on practical experiences and develop critical thought, it promotes exploration, discovery, and growth.
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16. Provides a Break from Screens & Technology
With most of us glued to our phones, laptops, TVs, and other screens in this technology-ridden era, journaling is one of the best ways to allow our eyes some rest and challenge our brains. Instead of scrolling on social media, try taking a break to write at least 10-15 minutes every day.
17. Banishes Creative Block
We've all been there: after weeks of creative productivity, we suddenly hit a roadblock. But remember that when you journal, it doesn't have to be perfect. It's not supposed to be perfect at all. Think of it as a space to spew out anything on your mind, nonsensical or not. As you form a flow, you'll get over the creative block hurdle before you know it.
18. Boosts Immune Function
This may sound surprising, but studies have shown that journaling—in particular, reflective journaling—can strengthen your immune system and lower your risk of disease. So, the next time you're down with the flu, common cold, or other illness, journal. It could put your immune cells to work.
19. Bolsters Personal Growth
Not only does journaling allow space for goal-setting, which contributes to self-growth, but writing out your thoughts, feelings, and experiences documents how far you've come over the years, how much you've matured. You'll look back at these entries when you're older and admire the person you were and the person you've become.
20. Provides Space for Healing
If you've experienced something traumatic, such as abuse or the death of a loved one, journaling can be cathartic and healing. Remember, only you are privy to these pages, so let it be a place where you can rip the world apart and mend yourself back together.
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