Positive effects of journaling

[LifeWork]

Just some personal observations..

I started journaling about a week ago, after I read the first chapter of the "Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron. I got this book by chance, my sister gave it to me and said I should read it. It's for blocked creatives, artist types so to speak. It was an odd thing since I haven't displayed much artistic qualities to my sister, I guess it was an intuitive thing on her part..I definitely wouldn't have found this book on my own since I don't consider myself artistic.

I started writing on the mornings, then after a couple of days I wanted to do it on the evenings too. Last saturday I wrote for two hours straight. By this time it's clear to me it has a positive effect on me, since I haven't been able to vent out to anyone, since I'm pretty much out of trusted friends at this point.

I had a short spurt (2 weeks) of physical labor combined with some journaling just now, and it did a lot more for me than any visualizations or affirmations combined in the last nine months or so of my life.

I've been going through my "do you really want it" phase of life, where I've had to make some tough choices, and lots of old stuff bubbled up during the last few months. I tried anything but action for a long while, stagnated a lot, developed phobias, was even afraid of leaving the house at one point. Then I just started doing things. I'm now at a point where I'm getting the ball rolling again.

Journaling my thoughts out of a stream of consciousness, writing out every petty thing crossing my mind (and feeling the pain with it) helped kickstart my old desires.

What are your experiences with journaling?

P.S. I read Thomas Edison had 2500 notebooks filled with problems & solutions (in How to stop worrying and start living by Dale Carnegie).

[Peek]

Hey Lifework,

Journaling feels good for the mind, hey!
It is my experience too. It helps me express my self to others. After writing things, it seems more clear in my mind.
Sometimes I'm just typing stuff out of my head, it may not always be clear sentences, but at the end I have a clear (new) mind set.

A nice tip: try journaling in a language you are learning or which is not your mothers tongue for a week. It speeds up how to express yourself in that language.

Good luck,

Peek

[makessense]

Originally Posted by Peek

Hey Lifework,

Journaling feels good for the mind, hey!
It is my experience too. It helps me express my self to others. After writing things, it seems more clear in my mind.
Sometimes I'm just typing stuff out of my head, it may not always be clear sentences, but at the end I have a clear (new) mind set.

A nice tip: try journaling in a language you are learning or which is not your mothers tongue for a week. It speeds up how to express yourself in that language.

Good luck,

Peek

That's great advice. I'm in Japan as of now learning the language. I will try journaling that way. Thanks.

[Lauxa]

Originally Posted by Peek

A nice tip: try journaling in a language you are learning or which is not your mothers tongue for a week. It speeds up how to express yourself in that language.

Thanks for the idea!

[LifeWork]

That's a new one for me too. I can see how that would help, thanks.

[Alison Jenkins]

I absolutely love journalling as it is so beneficial. You can get your thoughts on paper and often clarity of the situation comes too. It's a great way to express emotions too. I wrote an article about the benefits of journalling if you want to read it.

I also recommend it to clients. A joint journal can also work wonders if you are having problems communicating with a partner or loved one like a teenager.
Alison

[psychicpaul]

Journals are wonderful for expressing yourself, particualrly in those times when you find that you have emotions that are boiling over, and you don't know who to talk to. Talk to yourself of course!

A journal can also provide a lesson or two for future generations. I recently found my mother's old journals, and they were a revelation to me. One of the most treasured things I will keep from my inheritance.

They also make you a much better writer. If you keep yours with pen and pencil, it forces you to get better at writing things down correctly the first time you go through, and that's a great way to improve the efficiency of your communication, and your coherence in general.

[darthangel]

It's amazing how at one point of time you are thinking, behaving, or stressing about something in your life or make a big deal about it. Or maybe you have a real cool hobby that you like.

But after a year you read it and laugh and say, "Was that me who wrote this?" Its funny how your interests/personality changes so much and what you went through that seemed so hard is now OK LOL.

Journaling is also good for pointing out your habits and past mistakes that are holding you back. If you notice what you're doing wrong over the previous months, you'll see what you need to correct whereas the person who doesn't journal doesn't even detect anything wrong.

[cleo08]

I made a New Year's resolution to start a new journal January 1 and I try not to miss more than a few days at a time between entries. Mine is more a collection of musings, poems, stories, rather than a diary style. I tried that and I was too negative; I reread it and thought how pathetic is that? "Descent of a Marriage" is what I should have titled it.

Writing in other forms gets you outside yourself, and can be fun and creative. Hours pass and I don't even realize it. Gets you to look at things from another perspective.