Some people think of journal writing as a luxury or a soft self-help style activity; in reality, some of the most successful men and women in history were journaled writers, not for fame or fortune but to improve the quality of their lives and livelihoods. Here are the top reasons to start a journal.
Uncover Core Values
It’s sensible to have a journal handy at all times; when a stressful life event occurs, you can open your notebook or app and begin writing to gain a better understanding of the situation and how you feel about it, but you don’t have to wait to encounter stress to use one of them.
Writing in your journal regularly helps you to uncover your hidden value system, dust them off and live a life that is more aligned with them. Understanding your core values helps you make better life decisions that make you happier. Use journal prompts to create a regular practice.
Helps to Decompress
The mind is prone to ruminating; you might find yourself contemplating after a difficult day in the office, an argument with a loved one, or any other stressful life event. The trouble is that ruminating doesn’t tend to get us anywhere; we must step back and reflect more skillfully.
Journaling is one of the best ways to find the gap between our awareness and our thinking; another is to relax using a favorite drink, vape, or cannabis product. Some people opt for CBD oil, while others prefer a joint or a blunt; if you want to know the difference, search joint vs blunt.
Find More Clarity
Journaling gives you clarity and insight that would otherwise be lost in the motions of your mind. Creating a journal practice involves finding topics to focus on and writing about them frequently. The topics arrive naturally, and returning to them time and again brings more understanding.
Whether you are journaling about personal things, work things, family things, or something else, the process of writing out the situation and how you feel about it informs your behavior and interactions when you next encounter that situation. Journaling helps you to navigate your life.
Develop More Positivity
The mind has a very strong negative bias; this might be an evolutionary trait; after all, looking for dangers and threats in the world is more helpful to survival than the alternative. But, since there are fewer wild animals to look out for these days, it makes more sense to cultivate positivity.
The good news is that positivity is easy to find, especially when you journal. Think of positivity and negativity as seeds in the core of your being, the ones that your water are the ones that will grow, so work through the negative ones in your journals and nurture your inner potential.
Develop Useful Insights
How often have you had an insight into your life only to forget it the next day? If you’re like most people, these insights come along quite regularly, but if you want to remember them for the future, you need to write them in your journal. Journaling can also help you make new insights.