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Keep a journal to better understand your feelings and figure stuff out.

Whether you’re new to journaling or just lost the habit, it’s simple to get back into the journal flow.

Get yourself a nice notebook and a pen. Now set your timer 10 minutes every day for a month and see what happens.

Everyone is busy, but 10 minutes to keep a journal active is easy to do. When you wake up? After lunch? Before bed? Just choose your 10 minutes and stick to it.

That’s what I’ve done most of my life and the many journaling benefits directly influence my way of feeling today.


Journal To Express Life

I’ve had so many journals over the years that I can officially say I’m a chaotic mess when it comes to notebooks.

They just pile up everywhere in no coherent order as if they had a life of their own. And through the years, I’ve failed miserably at figuring out how to organize them.  

So I finally decided to make space!


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When you keep a journal not all of it is exceptional, that’s the point, you can write whatever you want – big ideas or small stuff you won’t remember tomorrow.

Extremely determined to toss my old journals, I stepped into wonder woman’s shoes, armed myself with courage, and off I went to face my past one journal notebook at a time.

But my plan to blindly throw my journals out in batches failed.

Instead, I got sucked into a time warp in a matter of seconds and sat on the floor to read the many pages of my life notes.

Each passage instantly took me back to a particular moment. Some I had forgotten entirely. Others I remembered in detail but wished I didn’t. 

It was all there in my face, and it went for hours. 

When my kids got home, I got up to do what moms do. But my thoughts were still on the floor, immersed in my evolution.

And I realized that when you keep a journal, you also keep tangible proof of change.



So Why Should I Keep a Journal?

Journaling is a fantastic means of expressing life. Past, present, and future.

Some keep a journal using apps, while others use a personal notebook. 

It doesn’t matter how you choose to keep a journal. It only matters that you reap the primary benefits of journaling available to anyone who wants to give it a go.

Below are several good reasons I found to keep a journal active. Of course, you’ll find your own personal reasons and journaling benefits when you decide to start journaling.



Journaling Adds Clarity

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Personal words on paper keep your feelings in motion. 

When you get stuck in a particular life situation, and there are so many, writing it out can trigger a thought or action that helps you to move forward. 

By writing in a Journal, it clarifies the thought process necessary to get to the other side of your problem or dilemma. 

It won’t give you the answer, but if you pursue honestly, it leads you to a place where you can begin your search.




Journaling keeps you in Safety

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For your eyes only. Journaling is not a public thing. You keep a journal for yourself, not for others to read – unless you want to share of course.

It’s a place where ideas are born, where raw feelings are exposed. It’s the pillow you put over your head when you need to scream or the punching bag when you need to vent. It’s also a beautiful garden where you express joy to the universe.

And where you just let your imagination flow freely. No filters.

“In the journal, I am at ease.” Anais Nin


For me, writing my life notes has always been a secure and safe way to liberate my thoughts and feelings.




Spark Ideas

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I’ve forever set words in my notebook. Repeating the process for years on end.

Attempting to sort out my thoughts is the main reason I still write in my journal.  


“Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.”

William Wordsworth



The most significant benefit of journaling is how it leads the mind elsewhere. As you lay your thoughts on paper, you allow new ones to enter. 

It can sparks a tiny idea. Heal from heartbreak or provoke change. The entire process of writing for yourself leads to surprises. 




Keep a Journal. Don’t Lose Track

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Journaling is a way to track our lives in order to improve it. You can track whatever you like, but most often it’s our feelings that get tracked because we don’t always understand them.

Sitting on the floor, I flipped through the pages and read the thoughts of another me. Disasters, major turning points, and simple joys waiting to happen. 

All these words stood still, quietly between 2 hardcovers, but they hit me like a time bomb. 

Life can only be understood backward, but it must be lived forward- Soren Kierkegaard


I’ve come a long way. Not nearly close to where I imagined I’d be, but a long way nonetheless.

Journals are life trackers. Proof that we move forward and make progress, even when we’re convinced of the opposite. 



Keep a Journal for Your Own Purpose

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While journaling is by no means an obligation, it certainly does help to sort a few things out. 

Writing outlines,  sketching scenes in detail, noting ideas for the future, or just writing out tentative projects. 

Even a to-do list could be useful in a journal. 

Journaling is a very personal thing and it doesn’t matter what your journaling style is. Whether it’s the minimum 10 minutes a day, long filled detailed pages, or erratic scribbles when needed. 

Just keep in check your purpose behind why you keep a journal.

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When you keep a journal for a long time, they stack up. However, the benefits definitely outweigh the lack of physical space to store them.

Notebooks are also a source of comfort, like having a good friend beside you when needed. Except you don’t have to call them at 2 am. 

I finally surrendered, and put each notebook back in their box. 

Have you started yours yet?

Journal Prompts Download to Help You Keep a Journal

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