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| Journaling- Rules & Benefits |
Journaling is an amazing method to explore as well as express our thoughts, emotions, fears and other feelings in a more personal manner. Have you ever thought about or considered starting journaling? I have been journaling for over a decade now and it has always been something that I can turn to when I am feeling stressed out and low about my emotions. There’s no right or wrong way to journal and there are different approaches you can take as per your choice. Today we will try to cover up the most basic requirements of journaling as well as its benefits so that you can choose the best way for yourself and start with this effective method of feeling sane in this insane world.
RULES OF JOURNALING
Now every time we try to do something difficult or something ambitious, we must ensure we are aware of the most basic rules required to begin with the task. For E.g. If you are about to participate in a game, you need to know the rules so that you can play your best and make yourself proud. The same concept applies to the idea of journaling.
Start: The first step is always difficult, however as you begin the rest of the journey seems easy. However, what is more important is to take the first step and in order to take the first step you have to START somewhere.
Do Not Reread: The whole idea of journaling is to write down your thoughts and emotions as and when they come in your mind. Getting it right is not important. It is more important to express those emotions on paper. Rereading them will not help as you will be revisiting those moments all over again.
No Judging Yourself: The moment we judge ourselves, we are walking on the path of doubt. Journaling is not for you to judge yourself. It is a personal activity wherein you are in your own space and time away from any kind of judgement.
Don’t stress about grammar: Journaling is an aspect of expressing yourself freely. There is no right or wrong here and that is even applied to grammar. Here we are not writing a blog or a book wherein it will be viewed or judged by a large audience. Journaling is for that particular person who is journaling at that very moment. Hence, petty things like grammar should be the last thing that must come to our mind.
Try to write without distraction: Distractions can disrupt one's thought process. While journaling we are in that continuous stream of overflow of our thoughts and emotions being penned down which if distracted defeats the actual purpose. Hence, it is important to be less bothered while journaling.
Be proud of yourself: Journaling takes effort, time and patience. If you are able to consider these three aspects and work on it, you should consider yourself proud. It is just like counselling. The only difference here is that you are the counsellor and you are the one being counselled. That is definitely worth being proud of.
BENEFITS OF JOURNALING
Below are a few pointers that I have been inspired by from the well-known Youtuber Megan Livingstone. The manner in which she has described the benefits and how to go about getting started with the idea of journaling is precise. I would like to share the same with you with a few additions of my own.
Reduces stress: Journaling helps reduce stress by decluttering our minds. It is a good medium to express ourselves freely. For a few it can be therapeutic as well. Journaling is a place that is free of judgement and allows us to process our emotions with an open mind. It gives us the required confidence to open up to ourselves and helps us attain a calm mind and clears our mind. It also helps in boosting our mood and feeling good about us.
Self-discovery: Journaling is also a great way to reflect on your day, your week, or your month. Reflecting helps us to understand more about ourselves, what we learned, what we could have done differently, or what we did really well. These are all essential to personal growth and allows us to feel a sense of connection with where we’re at and where we want to be in our lives. Journaling enables us to be honest with ourselves. Being honest can be challenging at times. Taking the time to sit down and write about how we feel can open us up in ways we don’t expect, and this sense of honesty and vulnerability can be very liberating and inspiring.
Gain Insights: Journaling not only helps us release pent up frustrations or anxieties, it also gives us the opportunity to see different angles of a situation, reach our own conclusions, find clarity, and even encourage and uplift ourselves. More often than not, we already have the answers to the questions we’re asking – sometimes we’re our own best person to consult. Journaling is a great way to tune into our intuition and recognize what is and isn’t right for us
Relaxation: Journaling is incredible for relaxation and is one of the main reasons why I recommend journaling around bedtime, although anytime is just fine. Taking a few minutes to relax and write while laying in bed – free of technology and electronic devices – gives us the chance to organize our thoughts and relieve the pressure from a busy mind. It’s a great way to spend quality time with yourself to check in on how you feel. It’s a win-win situation: you relax your mind and get a better night’s sleep, too! Calming activities before bed help to promote restful sleep, such as reading, drawing, writing, form of meditation
Creativity: Journaling allows us to get creative, and this is one of the best parts! In a world where we’re busy with a long list of responsibilities, it’s easy to lose touch with our creative side. Use a journal as a way to express yourself creatively either through poetry (my personal favourite), short stories, lyrics, even doodles and little bits of artwork. There are no rules to journaling, so make the experience your own.
Improves Memory: When you write something by hand, all that information increases the chances that knowledge will be stored in the human brain. In short, writing by hand forces your brain to process information in a more detailed way, which helps you successfully load that information into your memory as compared to reading the same information. The more you write, the more you register the details and the better you feel post that information is penned on paper.
Set Awareness & Reflection: Journaling helps us in being aware of certain concerns that we may not be aware of in general. When we sit down to write our journal, we are intentionally making a choice to jot down all the necessary information to make ourselves aware of the concerns in our minds. Further, it also helps us in reflecting over the same thoughts in future, if the concerns bother us anymore or if they have been resolved.
Set Goals & Track Progress: Setting goals and tracking the progress of our goals post deciding on the goals is an important aspect of our personal or professional lives. As individuals we do wish to go ahead in life and for that tracking our progress is critical. Journaling in a way helps us to do so. Making a note of our goals helps us to keep them in check and tracking their progress at the end of the day not only motivates us to move ahead in life but also encourages us to take more goals on our plate.
After understanding the Rules and Benefits of Journaling next comes the ways to implement this in real life to be more practical. This way you will be able to see your life in a better way. We will share few of the best ways to implement this on our next post and I request you guys to stay tuned for the same.
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