Recently I set out to strengthen a few habits in my day/week. All of these are to improve my health in various aspects. Amongst others, they include working out, reading daily in the evenings and journaling.
Journaling, I hear you ask. Yes indeed. What is often associated with teenage girls, is in fact a wonderful thing for your mind. Writing helps reduce the clutter that’s in our heads.
Interestingly enough, writing has some pretty neat effects. When we write something down we both remember it better and let go of it in our heads (simultaneously!), even if we never look at what we wrote again. Isn’t that fascinating?
Those two are the reasons why I have picked up writing a journal. While i know I should be doing it by hand with pen and paper (it’s much more effective), the convenience of the Day One apps have got me so far.
Every evening I sit down and think about the day. Actually I lie. I don’t have to think, my brain does it anyway, pushes me through everything that’s happened: Good and bad.
Journaling is a way for me to get all these spinning thoughts out of my head. It’s a way for me to collect myself and oddly enough, stop thinking about some things. In a way, one of the reasons why the brain won’t stop thinking about it, is because it doesn’t want to forget it. When I write it down, I’m tricking the brain into believing that it can store it deeper instead.
Plus, if you manage to be a little upbeat and positive in some of the writing in a given day, it is going to reflect your mood rather instantly.
Writing is pretty powerful. So let me suggest journaling to you. Whether digital or analog, try it for a while and let me know how you find it.
