“I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train.”
-Oscar Wild.
The art of journaling is an ancient one, dating back to the 10th century. Many famous figures throughout history have documented their lives via journals and letters. However, these days many seem to cringe at the prospect of keeping a journal. No self-respecting adult ends every night writing in their diary! But research proves journaling to be an invaluable tool for maintaining mental health.
1. Practice Problem Solving and Critical Thinking
By keeping a journal, you can actually enhance your critical thinking. By going over stressful events after they’ve occurred, you can trace the logic of your own actions, and reach a greater understanding of the situation. This is especially useful for revealing subconscious behavioral patterns you may not be aware of. By reflecting on a situation and retracing your own logic, you may become aware of some cognitive missteps, allowing you to prevent them in the future.
2. Improve your Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence, also known as your theory of mind, is your ability to articulate and understand your own feelings as well as those of other’s. Emotions often get the reputation for being irrational. But in reality, this is far from the truth. Emotions have a logic to them, they just operate on a subconscious level that makes it difficult for us to understand them. Like how pain receptors tell us when our body is in distress, emotions tell us when our mind is in distress. The only reason they appear irrational or illogical is because we do not take the time to stop and analyze them. For a long time, American culture has promoted the tendency to repress any feelings that may impede productivity. As a result, we often find ourselves flaring up over the smallest inconveniences and misunderstandings because they trigger long unresolved issues. By keeping a daily or even just a weekly journal however, we can record our thoughts and feelings as they arise, allowing us to get a glimpse of the source of our discomfort. This also aides us in better communicating our thoughts and feelings to others, as we’ve already laid the ground work for ourselves. As author Falnnery O’conner says, “I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.”
3. Bolster Self-Confidence
There’s an undeniable sense of personal empowerment that comes with knowing how to express yourself. Suddenly, your emotions become a tool you can use to navigate your life, instead of a hindrance and a burden. On a more personal note, I also believe that journaling can be a great source of validation that is not contingent upon anyone else. The act of journaling is one performed completely for yourself and by yourself. It reaffirms that you are an active agent in your life and your thoughts and experiences are worth being committed to paper.
4. An exercise in Gratitude
Many turn to journaling when they are angry or upset as a means of catharsis. This is all well and good, but if you are only committing negative thoughts to paper, you are placing them above all others within your memory, and this may actually add to your anxiety. Writing something down is the equivalent to reading it seven times, so make sure that you journal when you are happy as well as when you are upset. Venting is a helpful strategy, but once the steam has cleared, it’s important to brainstorm solutions and even more important to record how those solutions played out.
5. Achieving Goals
In addition to being a great tool for emotional healing, journaling can also aide in achieving your material goals. Whether long-term or short-term, by writing down a list of things you hope to achieve you are holding yourself accountable. Keeping a physical copy of your goals and aspirations makes them seem more real and in turn, more reachable. Plus who doesn’t love that rush of adrenaline that accompanies crossing a task off your list?
