The art of journaling

One major aspect of my life and my companies is the importance we place on journaling. I find it deeply important to journal reguarly – whether you are a writer or not! I’ve had people ask me why I find journaling to be so important, and I thought it was worth writing about.

Now, I will admit that I have a bias about journalling. I’ve journalled as long as I can remember with only very short periods of hiatus. However, I know, without a doubt, that it has made my life richer and helped me see the meaning and path of my life.

There are many reasons that journalling should play an important role in your life. And, yes, it is an “art” – the art of journalling, however, requires no special tools or prior experience. The art of journaling can be “picked up” with a pencil and a scrap of paper (although I don’t recommend writing on scraps of paper – for good reason – more on that in a moment!)

The art of journalling – simplified:

Here are just a few examples of why the art of journalling is a good practice in your daily life:

1) Journalling gives you a “release” for your mind. You will find that, as you pick up the art of journaling and turn it to a “habit” of journaling daily, you will rest better and find those pesky “attention deficit” mannerisms disappearing.

When you write in a journal (particularly prior to going to bed), you are giving yourself a place to remember things and vent things that have troubled you through your day. As you do this, it gives your brain a “break”. The act of writing those things that are “on your mind” down actually (internally) gives your brain permission to let go of those things which produces a much more restful sleep. It’s almost as if you are telling your brain “see, it’s here, in black and white (or purple and white – depending on what color you are writing in) – so, you can rest and not worry about remembering these things.

This simple act “quiets your mind” and will often alleviate insomnia and fitful sleep, when you wake up with something on your mind and it won’t leave you alone. This also gives your brain permission to “dump” what it’s currently holding onto and allows you the ability to focus on the task at hand during your day – and, many people report that it actually makes remembering the most important things much easier!

This is why we say that the art of journaling is good for the brain!

2) The art of journaling produces a release for your emotions too. If you’ve ever had a day where, by the end, you feel like you are “vibrating” from all the negative (or positive) emotional buildup, journaling will benefit you.

The art of journaling acts as a safe emotional dumping ground. You can write about people, places, or things that invoked strong emotional reactions from you, and this act of writing them will allow you to “cleanse” yourself emotionally at the end of every day. Our emotions play an important role in our lives – and will effect us (mind, body, and spirit) – either in a positive or negative way. So, the simple act of journaling will allow you to gain perspective on those strong emotional reactions and will allow you to start each day with a clean slate.

This aspect of the art of journaling often makes you more calm and peaceful – able to withstand many more bumps in the road – as you traverse your daily life, because you know that you will be able to express yourself emotionally each day without fear of being “inappropriate” or saying something to someone that you really didn’t meant to say.

3) The art of journaling provides you with a unique perspective, and will often show you the path of your life. Yes, the art of journaling deals with retrospection, instead of foretelling. However, having the ability to go back and look at your path in life so far will provide a very unique perspective on where you are, now, in your life and where you may be going.

I often find myself wondering “how does this fit” in my life. We don’t always know what is ahead of us (if truth be told, we don’t know what lies ahead of us), but, knowing that there is meaning and purpose and a definite purpose that ties everything in your life together certainly produces a calm and serenity that is difficult to grasp in other ways.

4) The art of journaling is good for the spirit. The act of writing in your journal nightly will give you a good “overview” of where you are struggling spiritually (even when you can’t identify it in your daily life). You will begin to see themes emerging, as you journal – situations that present themselves in a multitude of ways – that will help you identify strengths and weaknesses spiritually, and allow further spiritual growth.

5) The art of journaling is good for the body. I will be honest, my health journalling is sometimes included in my regular daily journaling, and sometimes, I will separate it into its own journal. If you are struggling with your health, the art of journaling about your health specifically (symptoms, eating patterns, physical activity, potential stressors, etc) will give you a much better overview of where the root of any potential problems you may have are. All too often, we work on a “small picture” view when we are thinking of our health – when what we need to identify the root cause is a very “big picture” view.

When you journal about your health within your regular journaling, you will be able to identify situations that may contribute to your health issues. When you are looking at a particular set of symptoms, it may be helpful to take this view. However, even when you are looking at a particular set of symptoms, it is sometimes easy to leave out things like your daily menu, etc – leaving that up to your brain to hold onto and remember. When journaling for your physical health, it may be better to have a specific health journal to “prompt” you to write what you eat, what you’ve done (including a bulletted list of “routine” activities such as cleaning), and how much water you drank.

Then, you can cross reference this health journal with your regular journal – and get a very good big picture of what is going on with your physical health.

Even if you don’t have any particular physical ailments, this sort of health journaling can be good for you to keep track of your daily physical health, and see what you are doing that is producing results (and also see how far you have come in your health since beginning!)

6) The art of journaling can produce an eternal legacy for your friends and family. One of my most guarded posessions are the writings of my grandmother. Whether she was writing a story, sharing memories, or just giving a daily report, it’s so fascinating to me to see the woman who was my grandmother from her own perspective.

While there are definitely things that you may want to journal that you absolutely don’t want to share with friends and family, you can keep a separate journal where you write occassionally with thoughts, daily events, and more that will be passed down to future generations so that they may “know” you even after you are gone.

Frankly, the most important part of the art of journaling is “digging deep”. Looking at what is below your surface is crucial – not just for you, but, when you are sharing with future generations. It’s easy to look at a photograph and want to know someone….but, a picture doesn’t allow us to know anyone – including ourselves – it’s just looking at the surface.

The legacy that you leave isn’t on your surface. Often, it’s deep – and, unless you give yourself permission to dig deep and uncover those things within you, you will find journaling to be a frustrating process.

Tools to help you with the Art of Journaling

My daily journal writing prompts actually gives you the opportunity to dig deep within on a variety of topics. I actually don’t write a prompt daily (giving you the opportunity to write on your own), but, in each prompt, I do encourage you to think below your surface. So, if you would like help getting started in the art of journaling, make sure to check out my daily journal writing prompts to inspire you from time to time (now available with email delivery).

Another aspect of my company designed to help you with the art of journaling are my hand bound, handcrafted custom leather journals. These are available at both FaithMinders (these include the additional page options of unlined or lined pages with scripture) and Legacy Journals, and offer a wide range of customization choices. Additionally, they are now offered as refillable leather journals so that you can use the same cover over and over again! These journals were designed with longevity and journallers in mind! All of our custom leather journals are hand bound using acid free natural binding thread, leather bound, and use acid free paper. The leather we use was selected for its durability, beauty as it ages, and quality. These journals are definitely something that will be here for quite some time!

Closing thoughts – the art of journaling

I strongly urge everyone I work with to pick up the art of journaling. As you can see, it’s good for mind, body, and spirit, and gives you a wonderful respite from the zoom of daily life.