Benefits of Journaling

So Many Benefits of Journaling…

Have you thought about the benefits of journaling? Do you already journal and need some new ideas?

Journaling is older than the written word. People have been tracking their lives since cavemen were drawing crude pictograms on walls. It’s in our DNA to draw, write, process and document our journey through life. Some of this country’s most beloved treasures are the journals and accounts written by the founding fathers and mothers of America.

There are three big benefits to keeping a journal. These include exploration of possibilities, expressing the processes of life, and gaining a personal historical perspective.

Explore the possibilities. Journaling creates a safe space to ponder any and every idea that comes to mind. Sometimes one of the best ways to manage the overwhelm of life is to empty your head of the thoughts, ideas, and information running through your mind. Writing down the information frees you up to let it go. The brain is no longer required to manage so much information.

Whether you are plotting out a new business, processing your thoughts in a safe place or creating a documentary of a journey, journaling is an effective way to sort through life and create new outcomes.

Express yourself. Just as art, music and dance are forms of expression, journaling is a fundamental way that people express themselves. Whether you are doing Bible journaling, bullet journaling or writing long hand in a leather bound book filled with empty pages, you are expressing yourself in a very profound way. No two journals are alike and there is great power in having an outlet to share whatever is on the forefront of your mind.

Remember what happened. What you are experiencing today is going to be a memory in a very short amount of time. What you feel about life, happiness, sadness, elation, or confusion won’t always be the case. You won’t always be a new resident to the Santa Clarita Valley, expecting your first child or grandchild, or be in the beginning stages of starting your business. Journaling creates a timeline where you can live in the moment and reflect back in the future. Nothing is better than going back and revisiting who you were back then and recognizing how far you’ve come and seeing that things really did work out for the best.

Being able to see how you worked through issues and made it to resolution is beneficial. One day your family may read your journal and have a new and profound understanding of who you were and what challenges you were managing at different times of life.

There are many different ways to journal. Not every journal has to be a blank paged book that you write in for hours sharing your innermost thoughts. Some journals take minutes to update. Others use no words at all. Journaling isn’t so much about how you do it as it is that you do it with frequency and consistency.

Depending on the outcome you desire from journaling, you can design a journal practice that accommodates your needs. You can keep track of a goal, work through difficult times, express yourself creatively, engage in self-care or simply catalogue your dreams. Whatever your need, there is a way to journal it.  These are some traditional journal ideas:

• Blank notebooks
• Electronic notebooks
• A writer’s notepad or notebook
• Fill-in-the-blank prompting journals
• Gratitude journals

Traditional journals are excellent for people who love to write and spend time laying out their ideas with minimal prompting or influence from the outside. For those more comfortable at the keyboard, an electronic journal may be ideal.

Here are some unconventional journal ideas:

• Bullet journals
• Video journals
• Bible art journals
• Vision boards
• Mind maps

These unique journal styles usually appeal to men and women who prefer alternatives to longhand or traditional journaling. Busy people who don’t have spare time may find bullet journaling an effective way to stay on track with their creativity without sacrificing too much energy.

The benefits of journaling come alive when you move the thoughts and ideas from your head to a journal. There are undeniable advantages to exploring the possibilities, expressing yourself and have a historical perspective on life. Journaling can give a pathway to a passion to write about, draw, or capture your biggest ideas when they have your full attention.

I would love to hear about your thoughts and experiences with benefits of journaling for an upcoming conference I am hosting for entrepreneurs and thought leaders.

I’m author, publisher, and entrepreneur Connie Ragen Green and would love to connect with you. If you are new to the world of online entrepreneurship please check out my comprehensive training on how to set up Funnels That Click and learn how to gain an unfair advantage when it comes to building a lucrative online business.