Journaling this Year

I really want to do more journaling this year. With each new year, I feel the need to journal more. That doesn’t mean I always follow through! In fact, the only time I steadily journaled consistently, every day was in high school, from the summer before my sophomore year and throughout my junior year.

Those high school journals are priceless (and are the only reason I know that I saw Lou Brock steal his 30th base and saw Hank Aaron hit a home run, both in the same game at the old Busch Stadium on July 11, 1972!)

In those journals, I also shared a lot of feelings and emotions, some of which help me understand myself better, even these many years later.

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Why Journal?

There’s something so freeing about putting our thoughts and feelings onto paper, and the new year always feels like such a fresh start and a time to look back and look ahead at the same time.

I’m one who processes by writing and talking. And, while I don’t talk a lot to that many people, I do talk a lot to my immediate family members and often to myself. (Yes, I can often process my thoughts better when I’m saying them out loud, even when talking to myself!)

Writing the thoughts down, though, can be so helpful. Random free writing is often a good way to just do a brain dump. It can even help with anxiety.

I’m not talking about creative journaling in this post. Although I love to draw and use pretty lettering, (and I have plenty of notebooks that I like to add those elements to!), what I’m talking about in this kind of journal is just putting your thoughts to paper, without any artistic or decorative intent (unless those things help you focus.)

Journal your gratitude, fears, emotions, prayers, goals. And yes, daily experiences. Once you start writing, you might be surprised at how quickly the words flow.

Just Start

Getting started is the hardest part. Even if you only write a line or two each day, it could be beneficial. And, just getting into the habit might result in a really satisfying part of each day.

Grab any old notebook – a basic spiral notebook, similar to the ones I used in high school, or a more compact one with a hard cover, like this. You can even have composition books cut in half, to make two small journals, as I did in this post, if you want a small one to tuck into your bag. (You don’t have to decorate it!) Just start writing. (I’m telling myself to journal more, at the same time I’m telling you!)

Linking to:

My Random Musings, LouLou Girls, Try It Like It, Jenerally Informed, Shabby Art Boutique, Crazy Little Lovebirds, A Pinch of Joy, Keeping it Real, Tuesday Turn About, Wonderful Wednesday, Fluster Buster, Creatively Crafty, Thursday Favorite Things, French Ethereal, Random-osity, Senior Salon Pit Stop, Life and Linda, Funtastic Friday, The Answer is Chocolate, The Cottage Market, Mostly Blogging, Life and Linda