How Journaling Changed My Life
Journaling is one of the biggest things that have changed my life over these past two years. I use a variety of different types of journals and journaling methods in my personal life. One is a bullet journal which I use as a personal planner. This also serves as a travel journal and my main organization system for daily use.
Additionally, I use a Google Doc and a notes app for brain dumps and journaling personal thoughts. These are especially helpful when I have a lot on my mind I that I want to get down on paper and I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed or stressed out.
1. Helped Me Overcome Anxiety
Journaling every day in a personal Google Doc has allowed me to be more honest with myself. I’ve learned to explore the inner workings of my mind and the things that make me anxious.
I went through a rough period of heavy anxiety after a bad relationship experience that lasted two years. The biggest thing that helped me recover was writing about my emotions day after day. “Talking” with myself about the things that overwhelmed me helped a lot. I wrote about what I wanted to change and do differently, how I wanted to move forward, etc.
2. Increased My Happiness
One of the best advantages I have noticed from journaling consistently is the joy it brings me. Over time, I have noticed a significant improvement in my overall happiness since starting this practice.
My bullet journal in particular gives me the freedom to express myself creatively. I do this through both my art and writing. Having the power and flexibility to make it look exactly how I want to brings a great feeling of satisfaction. The process is also relaxing and therapeutic, even when it takes up a good amount of time.
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3. Allowed Me to Have a More Clear Vision
As I’ve been writing more about myself, I’ve begun to realize the things that I really want in life, and the direction I would like to go. Journaling has allowed me to flesh out what I would like the future to look like. This includes the things I want to obtain, what a day in my ideal life would look like, and specific goals I would like to accomplish moving forward.
4. Made Me Understand Myself More
Without journaling, there’s likely many things I would not have discovered about myself. Deeper things that require more thinking and analyzing, such as specific patterns I noticed in my thoughts or actions, as well as other blocks that were holding me back in my life. The more I have journaled about my life, the more I have really discovered about myself, issues I have been able to become self aware of and fix.
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6. Gave Me Clarity About Problems
I’ve had many examples of needing to decide the best solution for a particular problem I was facing. Often times, just sitting down with my journal and writing about these issues is enough to gain clarity on the best direction to take or the best solution for the problem I’m currently dealing with.
7. Helped Me Plan and Achieve New Goals
Trying to move forward in life without a clear plan or specific goals is very difficult, and one thing journaling has helped in greatly is really allowing me to figure out the best way to achieve the things that I want in my life.
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Fleshing out distinct goals and tasks in my journal and using various spreads to monitor and track my progress has really motivated me and pushed me to keep going when I’ve felt like giving up or didn’t feel like continuing on a certain day.
Actually seeing the progress in my tracker by marking the days I succeeded in my plan, and manually checking off my tasks that I have accomplished each day have been monumental in motivating me to push further.
8. Made Me a Better Writer
While school and writing long essays have played a big role in my progression as a writer, one thing that has made me more confident with my writing and better at expressing myself is my regular journaling habit.
Writing a long journal entry knowing no one else will see it but myself, has really allowed me to experiment with my writing style more and get comfortable being myself and just letting my creativity flow, has had a big impact on the way that I write now.
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