Keeping a journal
Journalling is often promoted as a good way to reduce stress, gain insight in oneself, heal and
accelerate personal growth.
My challenge with journaling is not to start it but to stay motivated. Somehow after a while I just don't know
what to write anymore. Another barrier is that I only think about journalling at times I feel down. When everyting is
is well I view it as rather obsolete. I've tried so many different types of journaling but no method really sticks to me.
Am I missing the whole point of journaling?
I would like to hear if someone of you is using is a journal to improve their mental well-being.
What do you use and how do you go about it? Do you write elaborate and detailed or just very brief?
How does journaling benefit you and what keeps you motivated enough not to give up doing it?
Let's get this discussion started!
Babu
@diligentPerson5680
Hello there Diligent...
I think this thread was also started here in the Subcommunity before and a few of us talked about what we do....I for one do keep a journal. I have been doing this for a little while not, less than a year. I used to journal daily, but now I just do try to do it most days of the week.
For me, I tend to journal "Positive quotes/ scriptures/ or positive things that I hear, or see that I can look back on to inspire me, keep my mood up and to help keep me going through the day or the week".... It can be "anything" that speaks to you. I tend NOT to journal my feelings, as I have found this to NOT be beneficial to me. However positive quotes, scriptures etc...Do tend to speak "positivity" into my life, or my day no matter how I am feeling. If I'm feeling Up, and I don't need to reflect on what I have written, then great! If I'm feeling lower, then I have all the positive things that I have written to reflect on to help "Lift" me up...... So its really up to you, or what you find to be beneficial to you. ....I have also thrown a few dates in there such as a lunch date that I may have shared with my mother, or my son, or even how well a family holiday might have gone.
But you have to find what will work and support your needs. If you get confused on what to write, theres really nothing saying that you "HAVE" to write anything. As there are really no "Rules" to journaling.... You can just go back that particular day and reflect on what you have written.
@PoliteOcean Hi Ocean. I first looked around and couldn't find any other journal topic besides the one about logging food. Sorry for starting another topic again.
Writhing down my own negative feelings seem to reinforce them somehow instead of healing them. Therefore I really like to read how you focus especially on quotes, verses and other positivity boosting words. Something I will try as well. Like you said... our journal is really personal and we should write it in a way we feel is best for us. Thanks for these tips! 📝
@Babu
Hi Babu... Although everyone is different and have different beliefs, Journaling things like Bible Scriptures and verses that Speak life over our situations can be helpful..... The Bible says to SPEAK LIFE over your situations. So that is something I do in my journaling...... Alot of Positive Affirmations that I may come across as well, whatever it may be, if it speaks to "me" and my life, then it goes in the journal so that I reflect on those things in a positive way.
@Babu Hello there :) I am very much an avid journaler! I started journaling back in January and I am still going strong! I started journaling to work on my mindfullness and so that I could keep things in chronological order. Some days/weeks it would feel like everything blurred together and I wasn't able to keep things seperate so I decided to write my days down starting from the time I wake up to the time I sleep. Sometimes I go into detail sometimes I keep it brief it just depends on how I'm feeling that day. Today for example was a pretty lengthy and detailed entry because I had so much I wanted to write down and remember! I dont have a system and I don't try to make my entries pretty. I feel like the whole pretty doddles and bullet journaling format is more time consuming and stressful rather than just letting your heart flow out onto the pages in a messy emotional fashion. I also don't force myself to write on the days I don't feel like writing. I'll just simply date the entry ad write a sentence or two as explanation. For example: "4-17 Today I woke up and just knew I'm not up to do anything today. I'll write tomorrow'. Anyways, I hope this makes sense.. like I said my writing style is pretty unorganized 
good luck to you <3
@spacegrace19 Hello Space. Wow!! I was really happy to read your reply. It is absolutely encouraging to read from you how you managed to write ever since January. Great job 👍
It sounds a bit like me when you were talking about your style.... In the beginning I always tried to write my days out in detail. As long as I had time and energy this was not a problem. But on days I was tired or busy I missed my writing for the day and got discouraged because my journal was not complete anymore. The tip just to write that you were not in the mood to write that day is definitely a helpful here.
The unorganized flow sounds like a great idea. We shouldn't spend more time and energy on the organising than on the writing. It is definitely a good way to focus on the present and organise our thoughts.
Do you have any other things that motivates you to keep going?
Thanks and don't give up please. You seem to be doing great!! 🙏
@Babu I would say another thing that motivates me is getting to finish the journal :) Then one day you can go back and read about your life! Thank you very much for your kind comments :) good luck to you!
Great topic. So back in my youth I loved journalling until I had friends over and they read it. A part of me always struggled to reclaim that personal connection with myself after that despite discovering other forms of writing like poetry in my teens. Eventually I started over again only to have then boyfriend read my private thoughts.
@philosophicalShip9444 Hi Philosophical! Privacy is surely a concern. A journal is sometimes like our closest friend to whom we may entrust our deepest inner thoughts and it is definitely not always a pleasant thing when someone gets to read through it. Some dairies have these small locks on them to keep the content protected from prying eyes or you can use an app with a password or pincode. Nice to read that keeping a journal seemed to work so well for you to have a good personal connection with yourself. I really hope you can find a way to start writing a journal again if you still like to do that.
@Babu Thank you for the tips.
My journal is an old art notebook that I didn't get too much use out of so It's more of a doodle journal now XD
@blueLion5970 Hi Lion! Doodling is also an art... I mean... journaling. 🎨 Often our drawings reflect how we feel. There is no rule that says that we need to WRITE a journal. 😉 Many people use drawings. Maybe something I should try more. And about that old art book... old is gold. Or vintage to say it with a chic word. Thank you very much for your contribution.
@blueLion5970 That's a cool concept. Reminds me of the growing popularity of adult coloring books which I absolutely love!
I also love the idea of gratitude journaling, either writing freely about things that bring you happiness or peace or even going down the alphabet and filling in something for every letter. I just find that spending a few moments focusing on what is going well helps to shift my frame of mind!
@SarahMacedoLICSW
Interesting suggestions... Especially the Alphabet one. Thanks for sharing!
@SarahMacedoLICSW Thank you for sharing the nice suggestion for a gratitude journal following the alphabet. It just may add enough "spice" to one's journaling so that doing it never feels like a drag. I love the idea. At the same time one's mind is shifted from focussing on problems towards being grateful for what goes well in life.
@Babu
I tried so many times to try and do a generic journal where I just wrote whatever happened that day, but that grew tiring after a while, with so many journals unfinished.
These days, I do keep a journal but I don't write in it everyday. I'm very relaxed with it. I don't force myself to talk about my day, but rather, I just unleash whatever it is I am feeling or thinking. This could manifest in a list of some sort (like things I would like to accomplish, book lists, etc.), a rant about a random topic, a short book review, a schedule I want to do for a certain day, story ideas, and even writing challenges I find on the internet. It's very unstructured but I find it easier to write in that way.
