Keeping a journal is an effective way to accelerate your ability to state and refine your goals. As you read and rewrite your goals on a daily basis, they will be ingrained in your subconscious mind. Over time, your dreams and vision will become your physical reality. Journaling can also help you get in touch with what you really feel inside.
Taking the time to sit down and write about something that is affecting you can lead to a deeper and more realistic view of the feelings you are actually experiencing. Keeping a diary can be used to reduce stress, process thoughts, feelings and experiences, gain self-awareness and knowledge, and as a personal way to express yourself. One of the best-studied techniques is called Expressive Writing. If you're looking for a simple and accessible way to manage negative thoughts and symptoms of mental health conditions, trauma or stress, keeping a journal may be a great option for you.
Journaling can also help you explore what's underneath, boosting certain behaviors and patterns in your life. It can be used as a tool to help you tidy up your home and simplify your life. Keeping a diary also allows you to reflect on the lessons you want to learn from certain experiences around flexibility, acceptance and abandonment. It can help you stop distancing yourself from your problems, encourage you to face them head-on, and reduce the obsessive component of your disorder (Rabinor, 199).
Studies have found that keeping a journal can help students effectively manage stress and anxiety, as well as improve overall classroom participation. People who wrote a diary saw the greatest reduction in symptoms such as depression, anxiety and hostility, particularly if they were very distressed at first. Your diary can also be a space where you explore alternatives to find clarity when you're trying to make a decision. In fact, compared to many other goals when keeping a diary, it is very suitable to help you deal with anxiety.
The best thing about journaling is that it doesn't judge you, so you don't have to be perfect - just keep exploring. Keeping a diary has helped me change my world and make me more aware of my thoughts and emotions in different situations. The key to a successful and beneficial practice of keeping a journal is to make it your own and make it work for you. Go ahead, grab one of those four-dollar marble composition books or another more elegant option and set aside a dedicated space and time to write a diary.
