The Subtle Art of Journaling
Pouring thoughts on paper is not just a hobby; it’s backed by science.
Are you good at keeping secrets?
Six years ago, I visited an orphanage in Kenya, Don Bosco. It was a trip from school as part of the Leo(Lions) club that we organized termly. I am a Kenyan by birth and was brought up there, but little did I know my privileges until that visit.
It was a turmoil of emotions. I felt elated and sad at the same time. There was respect for us from the kids we met. All the more humiliation because I realized the financial gap between the young orphans and me. They did nothing wrong to be in the position they were, and I did no glorious of a task to be where I stood.
But then it came to me. I didn’t need to feel sorry because for all that matters, never have I experienced joy as they were upon seeing us. There lies no more immense achievement than being the reason someone smiles.
“Stop blaming me, thinking I’m the problem. If you think I’m the problem, then you have to change me. If you realize that you’re the problem, you can change yourself, learn something and grow wiser. Most people want everyone else in the world to change themselves. Let me tell you, it’s easier to change yourself than everyone else.”
― Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad, Poor Dad
It seemed mandatory for me to kick off the article with this story since it is the root of why I started journaling. For me, this story formed the binding agent between my thoughts and a pen + notebook.
After the visit to the orphanage that day, I went home and picked up a pen and notebook and wrote down how grateful I was for the first time in my life.
The thought of journaling or acknowledging gratitude felt somewhat a trait of the westernized culture for me. Contrary to traditional beliefs, I was exposed to the best education system in Kenya (yes, we have top-of-the-class schools). Despite it all, pouring out to a diary was still a foreign concept to me.
My 18-year-old self wrote down all the overriding emotions I felt that day. I remember finding it a little absurd as I penned down how thankful I was to my parents for having me. I wrote about my friends and teachers at that time. I thanked God for giving me a life of prosperity and everything an average Indian child needed. I even thanked my relatives for the clothes they always got me needless to say I didn’t like them as much.
Fast forward five years later, and that one page of gratitude has turned into a notebook that you could turn into a film! Perhaps just me who would watch it, though.
I moved to Australia four and a half years ago and brought my notebook with me, although I have now shifted (read: stole from my partner). My previous journal still lies on my bedside table with a picture of the kids I met that day pasted on the front.
From time to time, I’ll open up a random log and take myself back in time.
My-diary-cum-best friend takes a lot of sh*t from me. Seeing that it is where I vent out, there’s quite a bit of verbal diarrhea that, if said in public, I could be in a lot of trouble.
-gulp-
There lies power in words. Words you use, say and write.
If you’re still reading this article, then you’re either;
- one who keeps a journal or
2. intrigued by the thought, want to start, but uneasy
For all those who fall within number 2, if I may.
Six Mighty Reasons to Journal
1. It’s unbiased.
It is necessary to have one place to be naked, thought-wise. The diary doesn’t judge what you put down in it, and the pen always writes what you tell it to. There would be something that tickles the brain on far too many occasions, and you want to let it out, but your head goes, what will people think if I say this? Is it normal to feel this way? No one understands me.
Science backs up the art of expressive writing as one that reflects mental health. It prompts the writer to express the deeper emotions they feel. It has been argued that this form of expression has a high reach in adolescents and fills the potholes in self-understanding.
2. Your journal is a medium for self-monitoring.
It’s not always possible to share every moment of your life with a person. It lies in the best interests to keep specific thoughts unspoken except that they can be written. In place of bottling up those emotions, try writing them down to vent it all out. This can, in fact, be used as a way of monitoring the graph of your feelings over time.
Self-monitoring is a critical component of self-regulation, an academic process that involves students’ planning, monitoring, and reflecting concerning their goals.
3. Journaling is an intangible shredding machine.
In his recent study, Boud mentions that writing has the power to clarify and disentangle thinking, to bring conscious focus and a more objective perspective to experiences.
De-cluttering your thoughts. A mind dump. Probably not the best expressions to use, but the aim is to keep this article as raw as possible. On a busy day, I accumulate many garbage thoughts that clog up my mind, it slows my thinking process, bad decisions are made, and the faucet of negativity doesn’t turn off. My first instinct when I come home is to dump all that garbage onto paper, so it doesn’t have to stay in my head. Our brains are wired such that a task in our mind is completed or forgotten. It keeps circulating in the system.
Paper dump — Brain de-clutter — Task is forgotten.
4. Staying grounded.
I am at the peak of my career right now. I deserve this praise. It is a great practice to have positive affirmations. It is even more powerful to keep grounded despite having achieved your goals. There is no harm in celebrating accomplishments but not at the cost of remembering the work behind them.
Logging into your journal on good days and bad days reminds you where you were at a certain period and life and where you have reached now. All the obstacles you have had to overcome. All the friends you made. The ones you lost.
Honos-Webb, Sunwolf, Hart, and Scalise employed journaling as an intervention in reducing traumatic symptoms after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The reflective journaling provided participants with the opportunity to “honour the wound” by recording their reactions and feelings in a notebook. The participants in this study experienced a decrease in reported trauma symptoms.
5. Reflection.
Re-reading a day you have lived in the past -good or bad.
It goes without saying that some days are good and some days not so much — part of what we call life.
Additionally, who knows? Re-reading a good day in the past may help lift your spirits up for an ongoing lousy day.
Reflective thinking is at the heart of journal writing and its benefits.
6. It acts as a sidekick.
A little bit like healthy cheating on your partner. For example, when my partner and I have different emotional states, I want to give him his space. If I had a bad day and so did he, I refrain from letting it all out. It doesn’t mean I’m not honest with him. I do tell him eventually or if I really need to. He’s as human as I am, he can have an emotional rollercoaster, too, so I’ll be there for him, and my journal is there for me.
Let’s trace back to the first line of this article, are you good at keeping secrets? It can be overwhelming to hold emotions in. Penny, for your thoughts?
Expressive writing is a therapy setting, although still embryonic, is growing in popularity. Writing therapy allows clients to interpolate thoughts and attenuate subjective distress; this leads to psychological and emotional healing.
Things to help you get started:
- As James Clear in Atomic Habits mentions, Place it where you can see it. I keep it on my bedside table to pick it up every night before I get into bed.
- Have a habit of writing something every day, even if it’s a sentence — there is always something you should be grateful for. The fact that you woke up?
- Use a notebook you like so it can tempt you to write in it. I use Whitelines.
- If you skip, don’t skip two days in a row. Matt D’avella explains this beautifully.
- You can keep a format to make it engaging for you. Here is one I like from Sadia, owner of the platform Pick Up Limes. If this is a little overwhelming for you, then stick to plain old bullet points and paragraphs as I do.
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