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What I Learned From 12 Years of Journalling

And why you should implement this keystone habit into your life.

By Lara HayesPublished 3 years ago 5 min read
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What I Learned From 12 Years of Journalling
Photo by Green Chameleon on Unsplash

Many of us received a notebook of some kind as a gift when we were young and decided to start journaling. In my case, it all started when a little 9-year-old me got a journal for her birthday and decided to write about how she was feeling. From that moment on, I was hooked on the idea of writing in my small blue notebook every day, and so I started journaling.

And by journaling, I don’t mean writing about the boy I liked or which of my classmates said something petty to me. By journaling, I mean writing about how I felt and what things made me feel that way.

Now, after 12 years of being able to look back on all the memories and read all the thoughts and reflections of my 9-year-old self, my 11-year-old self, or my 18-year-old self, I know that I will never stop writing.

However, I think that journaling has an image problem. People tend to associate journaling with besotted teenagers, weird kids, or bored adults. Many people believe that journaling only consists of writing about what you did on a specific day — and they couldn’t be more wrong.

Journaling can serve as a method to record your daily activities, but it is so much more than that. For me, journaling is a way of introspection and self-expression, and that’s the most beautiful part of it.

So here are the main things that journaling has brought into my life, and why I believe that everybody should start a journal — no matter their age.

Freedom

I struggle with perfectionism a lot. And, being a full-on perfectionist, journaling means freedom to me.

When I’m journaling, the little voice in my head that tells me that everything needs to be perfect goes away. I don’t let it control my words nor edit my thoughts. I let go of the need for flawlessly written sentences and absolute coherence; so as long as it makes sense to me, I just don’t care.

In my journals, words are just words. Journaling gives me the freedom to add, leave out, or change whatever I want, and despite sometimes being a complete mess, it’s my beautiful mess.

Feelings, Feelings, Feelings

Journaling has helped me understand my feelings and where they come from. Having something to look back on a few weeks, months, or even years later and analyze has helped me comprehend how my brain works.

It’s also an amazing way of clearing your emotions, and it helps me think. In my mind, when I write something, it becomes real. Journaling has helped me to manage my anxiety and problems.

Writing in my journal helps me with self-care, self-discipline, and self-love. And it allows me to track the things I want to improve regularly and monitor my progress.

Keystone Habits

According to Charles Duhigg in The Power of Habit, a keystone habit is a small change or habit that people introduce into their routines that unintentionally carries over into other aspects of their lives.

I see keystone habits as catalysts for lifestyle changes. And in my view, journaling is one of the best keystone habits someone can have.

In this piece, I only name a few things that journaling has helped me with, but when I implemented this keystone habit — without even knowing about this concept — my life changed in so many ways.

I removed time-wasters because I was more conscious, I now read more, I found out what made me feel great and I implemented more of that into my daily life, I advanced my writing, my mental health improved — and the list goes on and on.

Focus

Not only does journaling boost memory and comprehension, but it also increases working memory capacity, which reflects improved cognitive processing.

Moreover, journalling optimizes creative potential and has helped me improve my focus. How? Because when I journal, I only pay attention to what I’m writing about and forget about everything else. Moreover, when writing about how I feel or how my day went, I am forced to summarize and focus on what truly matters.

Gratitude

Our lives get so busy that we usually forget how lucky we are to have what we have. Whenever I start a new journal entry, I always write five things I’m grateful for, and that way I keep grounded.

Doing this also puts me in a better mood, as it reminds me of all the good in my life and makes the bad stuff seem less relevant overall. In my 12 years of journaling and expressing gratitude, my brain has become accustomed to see the better part in situations, as I immediately think about what I have instead of what I wish I had. That way, my mind is focused on abundance instead of lack.

Final Thoughts

When I start writing, I always record the date — which will come in handy later on — and the things I’m grateful for. I always write by hand, as it feels more personal, and I don’t get to erase my inked words and scrawl them all over again, which keeps my inner perfectionist in check.

I don’t think there’s necessarily the perfect time for journaling, and what works for me might not work for you. So if you want to start journaling, I would recommend that you try it out and be open to change.

Making journaling a habit might be hard at first, but consistency is key. In the beginning, perhaps try journalling only whenever you feel like it — every day, every couple of days, once a week, whatever. That way, you’ll learn to love it, and then it will become so much easier.

For me, I crave my ten minutes of journaling every couple of days, so it doesn’t feel forced or like an obligation. However, if I really don’t feel like writing in my notebook, I just don’t and the world doesn’t stop, I don’t feel bad and I know I’m not an undisciplined or lazy human being. Life happens, and your journal will show that.

self help
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About the Creator

Lara Hayes

Hey, I'm Lara! Welcome to my 3 a.m thoughts and sometimes unpopular opinions.

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