Why Everyone Should Try Keeping A Journal
If you don't find it beneficial, you can always stop!
I started keeping a journal my freshman year of college but was never consistent. About six months ago though I decided that needed to change, and I began to attempt daily journaling. Now I still miss days but I am fairly consistent with it now and I have seen such a difference in my mental and emotional health.
There are numerous proven benefits of journaling, and while I do think there are some personalities who thrive with journaling and some who may be less encouraged by a journaling practice, I think it is worth trying by everyone. For me, journaling has helped me see progress, believe truth, and process feelings which have drastically improved my mental and emotional health.
Seeing progress is so important to me. There have been times that I have not had any way to track progress and so if I would have a bad day I would catastrophize and tell myself that I was not getting better and I never would. Journaling has given me an easy way to see progress. I don't even realize I am tracking progress but when one day I write how bad my day is and the next I write why my day was great I can tangibly see how a bad day does not derail everything and absolutely does not mean a bad life.
Journaling also helps me believe the truth. Along the lines of seeing a bad day compared to a good day, when I write my feelings down I can see how they line up (or don't) with the truth. If they don't align with the truth I can remind myself. The feelings don't just go away but I know that they are temporary and seeing them on paper makes it much easier to discern and separate my identity from my feelings.
It is also therapeutic to journal. When I write my feelings down I can process them in a way that I just cannot if I keep them bottled inside my mind. And while I love one on one conversations and processing my feelings with trusted people that is simply not always an option. I love not having to worry about bothering someone every time something needs to be processed (which is all the time for me) and how freeing it is to just write down how I feel.
I have experienced such growth through the simple practice of keeping a journal and I think it is worth trying if you never have!
To The People Who Have An Opinion About Everything, No One Asked You And No One Wants To Hear It
Maybe if you stopped commenting on every little thing you'd actually get some peace (or at least I would).
Sorry, but someone had to say it. No, I'm not talking about the important, life-altering opinions people have. I'm calling out people who feel the need to explain their opinion on every word you utter. Not everything that someone says needs to be analyzed, dissected and spit back out. Sometimes people just say things and there is no existential meaning behind them. If I say that I like the color green, I'm sure someone could come up with a reason why I shouldn't.
But the real question is why? Why do some people feel the need to expend so much breath on opinions that don't matter? It's rather humorous because the same people that would fight you over why or why not green should be your favorite color, probably don't have much to say on the real problems that our world faces. This kind of person doesn't give their opinion because they're knowledgeable or because they actually care about what you're talking about, it's because they want to be right. Well, guess what, you can't always be right and more times than not, you're wrong. And that's okay, but some people can't grasp that concept. It's okay to admit you don't understand something or that you aren't knowledgeable on a subject to make a comment. If you start just commenting on topics and situations that they have no idea about than you might end up in some trouble.
Personally, I think that the best way to judge whether you should add your opinion is asking yourself whether your opinion will be useful to the conversation. If you just stating it for "shits and gigs" maybe refrain from saying it. Hanging out with friends shouldn't be filled with arguments over mundane things or disagreements about topics that really don't matter. Who cares if someone likes Marvel over DC? Salty over Sweet? Jacob Black over Edward Cullen? Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but that does not mean you have to give it every time (or that I want to hear it). So sometimes just learn to shut up. Maybe I'm being a little harsh but honestly, I don't care. I swear some people talk just to hear their own voice in their ears.
Focus your energy into discussions, topics, and problems that actually matter. Fight for others who don't have a voice, rather than spitting out random bullshit about the pros and cons of eating gluten. We are so lucky to have the ability to express the opinions we have and to act on them. So many people around the world leave in fear because of their beliefs and opinions. We need to appreciate the rights we were fortunate enough to get and use them to help others. I'm not saying that every opinion you have has to have some great solution or view on the world's problems. Just next time you open your mouth, just think whether it's necessary to add or are you just doing it because you can.
So shut up or don't. Listen to me or roll your eyes at this article. I really don't care, because you see I don't have to have an opinion on everything someone does. I have found peace in being able to just listen. It's nice to not have this compelling urge to state some random thought that popped into my head. I enjoy hearing what others have to say and when I want to I'll comment or add to the conversation. You don't always need to be the center of attention and most importantly, you don't always need to be right.