5 Amazing Reasons to Keep a Journal

It all started with a bad workday in 1986. I sat at my desk in my corporate advertising job and grabbed the nearest stenographer’s notebook I could find. Pulling out a pen, I began writing down my frustrations. Afterwards I felt better, calmer, even lighter. Thirty-eight years and 113 journals later, the act of scribbling down thoughts and feelings is still necessary for these 5 reasons…

It’s a keepsake of your days – Journals are the raw footage of our lives, from the mundane, to the profound, to the ridiculous. Everything can go into it and even better, no one has to read those pages. My mom started keeping a journal ten years ago and is now an avid diarist. Every day, she looks back one year ago and because she lives with us, what’s written are many times things that happened to my husband Randy and me too— that crazy storm, an amazing dinner guest, or that swarm of ladybugs in her bedroom. It’s fun to look back and remember.

Problems become more manageable – If I’m having an anxious time, journal-keeping has taught me a great trick. If you list your problems from the hardest to the easiest to solve, it makes a difference. They go from burning a hole in your brain to somehow being “outside” yourself, written down on a piece of paper. It doesn’t mean everything’s instantly solved, but there’s something about listing problems that helps. Suddenly, they’re not in your face. You can look at them with perspective, even at a distance.

Gratitude brings more gratitude – Nothing tells the universe that you’re paying attention more than writing about the things you love. I adore scribbling about my little hometown with its lush Connecticut greenery, the orange day lilies on the side of the road this time of year, and the sweet birdsong outside the window. No matter what’s going on in the larger realm, I never stop being grateful for the amazing things just a few feet away. And I believe, when the universe feels your gratitude, it sends more of what you love.

Journaling helps clarify thinking – Author Joan Didion said she doesn’t know what she thinks until she starts writing. I get that. Sometimes I feel like I can’t process information unless I have a pen in my hand. Getting words on paper starts getting the wheels turning, like starting the engine in a rusty car. Words form thoughts, which form ideas, and from them come insights and those “aha!” moments.  Over the years, I’ve found scribbling in the journal can lead to decisions and choices I had never considered before.

A portal for spiritual realms – Here’s something interesting: Author Elizabeth Gilbert believes we can access parts of our soul by asking specific questions with an open heart. What should I know today? is a common query of hers. Or How should I look at this upcoming challenge or problem or event? Sometimes asking for help from whatever you want to call it—God, the universe, energy—and letting your pen go is an interesting exercise. I’ve been surprised by what comes out, and especially how loving and kind the “advice” can be.

Along the decades, I graduated to prettier journals, but I’ll always be grateful for that little white stenographer’s notebook sitting on my desk. Not only did it come along when I needed it, but it sent me on a lifetime path of writing.

Do you keep a journal? Or are you thinking of starting one? Comments are always welcome and if you’d like to receive posts by email, just press here. Thank you!