A while back, I had stumbled upon this journal my late grandfather had written for my mother back in the mid sixties. He had passed on shortly after when mom was still a child. Although, it is upsetting that I did not get the chance to meet my grandfather, I am a glad to know that once upon a time he too, would take the time to document his emotions, about the people he loved, his journey. Something i am familiar with. Oddly, I feel somewhat closer to him now than I did before.
I began journaling ever since I was thirteen – mostly about crushes and heartbreaks; a bunch of song lyrics and fatuous complaints like I had to do homework and so. Anything that made young me felt better, i guess. Then, I started blogging. I have always had the aptitude for writing despite the grammatical errors and nonsensical words that come with it. Words tend to flow easily from the tips of my fingers and from my mouth. Whether it is decipherable or makes sense, it is completely another issue. I had abandoned journaling for the longest time until I was reading some books recently that reminded me of how I should begin journaling again, at least, for the sake of my sanity.
This is where I would jot down my emotions, my thoughts, my gratitude, the lessons I have learned throughout the day, the lessons I have learned from the books I have read, my surroundings without any shred of judgment and detrimental consequences. And life has never been better ever since I began.
Here are five reasons why you should start journaling too.
It keeps your thoughts at bay.
Experts believe that an average mind thinks between 60,000-80,000 thoughts a day. That is an average of 2,500-3,300 thoughts per hour. That is insane and it can be overwhelming. While some thoughts are absolutely unimportant, some may be something you’d want to remember in the future. And once in a while, when you have decided to go through what you had written, perhaps, who knows, it might benefit you someday.
It helps you heal.
When you are emotional, angry, or feeling down, you might find that writing it down is a form of panacea. The truth is the only person you cannot lie to is yourself. By writing down and asking the right questions to yourself, you get to dig deeper into your emotions and you will be able to unravel the root of the problem. The only way you can truly heal is to understand your every emotion – why do you feel that way? What makes you feel that way? What are you going to do about it?
It can help you be more creative.
In today’s world, we are exposed to myriads of distractions especially the social media. We could spend most of our time alive scrolling down our feeds. You will realize that you would come up with new ideas when you are about to sleep, or when you are showering because that is the only time when your mind is able to focus. So with journaling, you are able to sit in a corner alone with your thoughts and perhaps, you are able to squeeze every drop of creative juice out of your brain.
It can help you rediscover yourself.
I cannot vouch for this more. With journaling, you are able to understand yourself better. Your strengths, your weaknesses, what truly aggravates you, what makes you happy and with this, if you realise what you are lacking thereof, it could also help you change for the better.
It can help you achieve your goals
By writing down your goals, and rereading it and reminding yourself every time, you are in a way planting these inside your subconscious mind. When you reread and repeat them again and again, you are reminded of what your goals in life are and this will help you stay focused in achieving your goals. At least, you get to understand your purpose in life instead of wandering aimlessly into the unknown and squandering our precious time and energy away for nothing. The more you are able to describe your goals, the better the chances are for you to achieve them.
By saralisa 
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