4 Benefits of Journal Writing
The benefits of Journal Writing are fairly well established due to its long history. From Anne Frank to Leonard Di Vinci, journal writing has proven informative, educational and excellent therapy. Personal diaries/journals came into fashion in the Victorian era. These hand-written records contain the stories of the authors’ daily lives and historic events. Much like a number of journals being used to record the year 2020 – from the pandemic to the elections, and personal experiences – these records will serve as the details for authors in the years to come.
Historic Timeline of Journals
1600’s – diaries were used for accounting and recording of public records.
1700’s – World travelers recorded their discoveries in journals. Trvel diaries predate these by the early Christian Pilgrimages.
1800 – 1900’s – You’ll find war journals in a number of museums from this era.
1960 – 1970’s – journal writing began to be used for personal growth and therapy.
From 1980’s to Present Day – Journal Writing has been used for English Classes, coaching and mental health and wellness.
Let’s explore four benefits of Journal Writing.
First – There are no age limits for journal writing.
The advent of home schooling and charter schools has increased the use of children’s journals. Starting with teaching cursive writing, these journals show the skills of the writer and provide them the opportunity to explore their feelings without any peer pressure.
As they age, the discussions focus on reflection of the social nightmare of high school and college to the exhausted adult who religiously writes every evening for 20 minutes.
The Business Owner who records their daily activities in a business journal has the perfect company history when they need data for inventory, special promotions and orders, and financial success.
Second – Journals are Anchors.
Journals provide an anchor for your daily life by writing every day at the same time. Humans tend to be creatures of habit and daily journal writing is one of the best habits to acquire. Whether its getting up early or taking time at the end of the day, writing about your day, your business, your travel, is beneficial to your feeling of being grounded and secure.
Finding your best writing time allows for reflection on your life, provides time for goal setting and creates opportunities to dream.
Third – Self-esteem can improve.
Over time, your writing will improve through self criticism. The need to succeed drives most of us to improve. And edition your writing comes with practice.
The more you write, the more your brain flags errors and your rewrite your essays, letters, and blog posts with ease. But journaling is different. If you want self-awareness you need to deep journal – “release the monkey Within” as Dave Schools describes it.
Self- esteem/self-confidence is the respect you have for yourself. It’s when you know you can genuinely bring value and help people. Self-confidence comes from within – your’re aware of your strengths and weaknesses, and that’s the “joy of journaling” – finding yourself in a chaotic and noisy world.
Fourth – freedom of Expression
That noisy and chaotic world mostly doesn’t care about us. We have to be lourder and bolder to be heard. But our journal prefers quiet and mindful writing. Our Journals seek our words no natter how dark, lonely, or cruel.
Summary
4 benefits of Journal Writing include self-esteem, freedom of expression, ageless writing skills, and the use of journals to anchor your world. Join me here weekly and learn how to journal to meet your needs.
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