As we sink deeper into the final quarter of 2021, I think about my “end of year review process” (which I will detail in a separate post). That process includes reviewing everything I have written from my journal entries, weekly projects and to-do lists, sermon notes, and random notes. That is what got me thinking about journaling. Do you journal? If you don’t, for whatever reason, I want to share why you should reconsider. There are compelling reasons that can come from some form of journaling.
Benefits Here and Now
- Catharsis: A blank piece of paper and pen may be the outlet you need to “vomit” what is churning in your heart and mind. The churning can be brought on by the last exchange of words between you and a loved one. The churning can be brought on by mounting tension at work, at home, at school, at church, or any other place. Sometimes writing out what is nagging you and why it bothers you so much gets the problem “out of you” and that alone provides relief. Venting on paper can prevent those thoughts from eating you from the inside and causing it to manifest in other ways like irritability, anxiety or sleep disturbance.
- Clarity: Our minds are constantly thinking, processing, categorizing, prioritizing, etc. Tasks and decisions are demanded of us everyday. Add to this all the other things that compete for the bandwidth in your mind, like social media or TV shows and the thoughts that are actually important are quickly crowded out. Sometimes the same thoughts keep coming up and we just let them roll around our head like marbles in a tilting pan, with no end in sight. Writing your thoughts down is an incredibly powerful way to clarify what is it? What are the parts? Why it is important? How is it impacting you? How is it impacting others? What are my options? What are the potential outcomes? Writing it out takes it out of your head and puts it before you to acknowledge, assess, and better understand. It may not give you the answer, but never underestimate the significance of clarity.
Benefits Tomorrow
3. Documentation: I don’t care how good you think your memory is….you will forget things. Even the important events with details will be forgotten. And if the BIG stuff is forgotten, then the smaller events that were worth remembering will also be forgotten. Journaling is a great way to simply document something worth remembering. Life events and thoughts are great to document. What the Lord reveals to you as you walk alongside Him is imperative to document. The scripture that keeps coming to your attention is worth documenting. How that scripture applies to you in your life at that moment is important to document. What the Holy Spirit nudges you to say to someone or do is worth documenting. The weird dreams, the little things you are grateful for, the prayer that poured out in joy or desperation are all worth documenting. Documentation is the record that corrects your memory when it fails.
4. Insight: Often when we are in the middle of something, we can’t see it. Emotions or lack of wherewithal can contribute to our inability to see things for what they are. But when we go back and review all the documentation…..this collection provides insight on our struggles and how we responded or our frame of mind. The collection provides insight on how we grew and how the Lord has answered prayers in ways we didn’t immediately see. We can better critically think and reflect when we are reviewing it after it has passed. Emotions are not raw, we are not consumed by the events or our response….when you have it all documented you are better able to see themes, patterns, or even issues that you didn’t document but were definitely at play. You are better able to see the “you back then” and compare it to the “you right now” and gauge areas of growth, areas that remain the same, and how your perception of yourself is on point or way off. You can also see thought distortions a bit easier when they are documented and have passed.
I know journaling comes easier to some than others. However, I have learned that barriers to journaling are often self-imposed expectations. There are many ways to journal. I know because I have done it since I was ten years old. And I used to require a journal with “no lines” and now I can write, type, or doodle on about anything. I will share in an upcoming post ways to journal.
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