Why You Should Keep A Journal
By: Brian Kim - February 5, 2007
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I love to write so it’s no wonder why I’m advocating keeping a journal. To be honest, despite my love for writing, I never really started a journal until about 3 years ago on my computer. It’s now about 80 pages long, single spaced and I look back to it from time to time and each time I do, I’m glad I took the time to write in it. (yes, I know I said time 4 times :))
What should you write about in your journal? Any memories you want to remember, especially the successful ones. You want to “save” the positive states in your life, those feelings of accomplishments, those personal memories that are yours and yours alone so when you feel a bit down, you can always turn back to your journal for strength.
The human memory is very fragile. Police know this all too well so they like to debrief eyewitnesses as soon as they can because memory is indeed a function of time. One of the ways people like to record their memories is to take a lot of pictures. I have nothing against that at all. I think it's a great way to remember. However, I like to write about memories simply because pictures can only show so much, namely what’s going on the outside. Writing can show what’s going on in the inside. Writing encapsulates memories, thoughts, and feelings much more vividly than pictures ever will. You can’t paint a better picture than with your own thoughts put on paper.
In addition, writing in a journal serves as a great outlet. It clears the mind, it can pave the way for new ideas, it’s therapeutic and has a calming effect which leads to less stress. It forces you to be clear and you’ll find all of these benefits will spill over into other areas of your life.
You don’t have to write every day – only when you want to remember a specific event. When that event occurs, try to write about it in as much detail as you possibly can so when you go back and read that entry, it’s as if you were in that exact same moment in time. You have to milk the experience you want to remember for all its worth so when you go back and read it, everything snaps back into place. I sometimes regret that I wasn’t as detailed in some of my entries as I would have wanted them to be.
When you go back and read through your entries, you’re going to smile because you’ll have a nice time strolling down “Success Lane”. Also, mark my words, you’re going to be astonished at what’s been written because it will seem as if another person has written it. The voice you have now compared to the voice of 3 years ago will be as different as night and day and you’ll then begin to realize how much you’ve grown in terms of thinking, behavior, and attitude. It makes you wonder how you’ll see yourself when you’re looking back at the entries you write today.
I don’t know who said this quote but I think it sums up this post quite well:
“If your life is worth living, it’s worth recording.”
So start today.
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7 Responses to “Why You Should Keep A Journal”
February 6th, 2007 at
I totally agree. I’ve found that a journal is a great place to store ideas for later use. Often when I’m looking for inspiration I’ll turn back to my old journal entries that I wrote when I felt very strongly about something. I’ve found that this emotional writing has been some of my best.
February 6th, 2007 at
Hi John,
Thanks for dropping by. Good to see a fellow journaler have the same experience.
Keep on writing!
Brian
February 7th, 2007 at
Thanks Brian, very helpful post. There were many points I hadn’t even considered when I recently wrote on keeping a journal (great minds think alike!).
The idea of writing things down was obvious, but I never considered as a “record of greatness”. It was more of a self improvement tool for reviewing and and identifying where you are.
One point where we differ is the frequency of writing in your journal. I believe it is a habit worth doing daily. In other words, there is always something to write about. Once again, great post.
February 7th, 2007 at
Hey Brian,
I always support someone advocating keeping a journal, it is a very valuable habit that you have tapped in to.
AS - www.alexshalman.com
February 7th, 2007 at
August,
Thanks for dropping by and for the kind words. You bring up a good point with regard to frequency in writing. By writing daily, you “instill” the habit of writing more effectively. Great tip.
Alex,
Thanks for dropping by. It is indeed a valuable habit!
April 3rd, 2007 at
Hi Brian,
Great post. I started keeping a diary of sorts, in late 2005. I can definitely see how much my thought processes have changed since then as I continue to learn and grow.
My desire is to write a lot more and write often, however as Im new to this whole personal development thing, I struggle with ideas, and what to write down. What tips would you give to newbies like myself? Is there something that helps to come up with writing and ideas, or is it a case of just pure persistence, till practice makes better??
Kind Regards
Faisal
http://successfulwhyyesiam.blogspot.com
April 4th, 2007 at
Hi Faisal,
Thanks for the kind words. It’s also good to see you’re keeping a diary also.
With regard to your question, here’s some tips that I have:
1. The ideas for 80% of my articles come from flashes of insight while I’m doing other things - when they hit, write it down.
2. Read. Read. Read. Then read some more. When you read, you can pick up information and also start making connections between things you’ve never seen before.
3. One idea for each article - I see a lot of people trying to cram in multiple points in one post and I think that’s futile because there’s no depth. Stick to one idea and explore it in greater detail and you’ll find out things that nobody has thought of before.
4. Keep writing. Practice does make perfect.
5. The hardest part about writing is editing.