In this post: What is journaling and how can it benefit you? I’m sharing 10 ways journaling can make you happier. Learn why journaling is my favourite personal development tool and how it can improve your mental health.
I need to share a confession with you: I used to think that journaling was only about keeping a record of what happened in your life day-to-day.
You know the sort of thing you used to write in your diary as a teenager…
What happened during the day, what you ate and what exercise you did, (and, of course, who I had a crush on featured regularly in my teenage diary days!).
When I first heard someone recommend journaling for beating depression, this is what I thought of, so without any research, I started up a diary-type journal.
It was a disaster!
Just thinking of something to write made me even more depressed, my life felt SO boring!! Every word was tinged with negativity and for the life of me, I could not see how it was supposed to be helping.
Needless to say, that habit did not last long.
Then I learnt a bit more about journaling and the different ways you could go about it. I finally got it, it was ‘struck by lightning’ moment, journaling COULD be ultra-powerful!!
Psst! What to start your own journaling habit but you’re like me and don’t know what to write? I’ve put together an 18-page journal sharing 7 prompts I consider essential to my journaling practice! Click here or on the image below to grab your FREE copy now.
So let’s start with the basics…
What is journaling?
Journaling can be just keeping a record of your life but, to me, the real magic happens when you use it as a way to express your thoughts & feelings, and delve deep into the heart of who you are and how you want to live your life.
It usually involves writing in a journal or notebook, but you can also type, use a journaling app, or even find some other way of expressing yourself, such as drawing, painting or even making a recording as you speak your thoughts.
You can journal daily or whenever the mood strikes and you can use prompts to get you started or just let your mind go and see what comes up.
Journaling allows us to discover more about ourselves, work out what we really want (or don’t want) in our lives, and sort through anything that is causing us angst or holding us back in some way. Just to name a few of the many benefits journaling can bring!
I love how it is so flexible and free. Essentially journaling can be whatever you want it to be.
How can journaling make you happy?
Here are 10 ways that journaling can help to make you happier:
1) Journaling is freeing
So often in life, we are told to follow rules and behave in a particular way, or even that things just have to be a certain way. It can be exhausting!
With journaling, you don’t have to worry about any of that.
Your journal is only for you, so you can write whatever you want without worrying about how it’s ‘supposed to be’, just let yourself be completely free with your thoughts and feelings while you are journaling.
2) Journaling gives you a way to declutter your brain
Our brains can be so busy sometimes, particularly when we are stressed out, feeling like we have a million and one things to get done. It can drive you crazy!
By writing down everything swirling around in your head, you give yourself the space to clear your brain by getting thoughts out of your head and onto paper.
You can:
- get things down on a to-do list so you’re not stressing about having to remember everything
- identifying worries or troubling thoughts to work through
- enjoy a quieter mind – maybe it was enough expressing those thoughts through journaling and you can move on to happier things.
3) Journaling helps to slow a racing mind
It generally takes us longer to express our thoughts and feelings than it does to think them, so in order to journal, you will naturally find yourself starting to think slower as you try to capture everything to write down.
I find this is particularly true if I am trying to make sense of what I am writing, as I focus on each thought while I write it to try and get a bit of clarity around my thoughts.
4) Through journaling, you begin to know yourself better
It might feel uncomfortable at first, but journaling about your thoughts and feelings will give you better awareness of yourself and that is a powerful tool to have at your disposal.
You will gain better knowledge about what is important to you, what makes you happy and what makes you sad. With this knowledge, you can then understand why certain things make you feel a particular way.
You can even start to shape your life by consciously choosing more of what makes you happy and less of what makes you sad!
5) Journaling gives you a platform to ask yourself questions and think through your answers
You don’t always have to consider what you are journaling about, but sometimes it can be used as a way to help yourself think through things that have been troubling you or that you need to make a decision on.
Has there been something that has been niggling at you or causing you stress?
Ask yourself what it is that is troubling you and why and see if you can the answers to flow out through your journaling. Using journaling this way can be another way to get to know yourself better.
Alternatively, if you feel like you need to make a decision or need a solution to a problem you are facing, you could brainstorm possible ideas and then use your journaling to evaluate the different scenarios.
6) You can be creative with your journaling
Creativity is a great way to add a bit more happiness to your life, as it gives you the freedom to express yourself in unrestricted ways, but sometimes it can be hard to incorporate creativity in our lives, especially if we are busy with a corporate job or have other serious demands placed upon us.
To get started, use your journaling to let your mind wander and dream, then write or doodle whatever comes up.
Remember that you are the only one who will see what you create (unless you decide to share it), so you don’t need to make it perfect. In fact, it can be as messy as you like!
You could start a bullet journal to add a bit of fun or try one of these ideas to get you started: write a poem, draw a beautiful garden scene, dream up an idea for a story, create a dance routine…
7) Journaling gives you a bit of time out for yourself
Another benefit of journaling is that it’s a break from the craziness of the world. It’s just you and your notebook (or whatever you like to use) and your thoughts.
Even if you can’t ensure complete peace and quiet while you are journaling, try focusing just on what you are doing and give yourself some space to have this time with your thoughts and feelings as a breather from everything else.
8) You can use journaling to shift negative thoughts and beliefs
One of my favourite journaling exercises is to challenge my negative thoughts and beliefs, especially those I have about myself.
What are they based on? Is there any real evidence for what I think or is my opinion based on preconceived ideas about myself that have built up over time?
Generally, I’ll find that I’ve majorly exaggerated what actually happened to reflect negatively on myself, such as blowing a little mistake of mine into a massive personal flaw or taking a comment someone made about me completely out of content and tinted it with negativity (when they didn’t mean it like that at all).
Relevant Post: How To Stop Taking Things Personally
Still feeling negative about things? Mix it up just for a laugh – completely turn your negative thought or belief on its head so it’s the most positive thing you can think of. It might not seem realistic to you, but just the process of writing it down starts to break down the negativity a little (and you might get a laugh out of it too).
9) Use journaling to work through any resistance you feel
Is something holding you back from being where you want to be in life (or from even trying to get there)? Can you pinpoint where this might be coming from?
Use journaling to investigate why you feel resistance in certain areas of your life. It may be related to negative thoughts or beliefs, so try to flip them around like we did above. Or it could be you feel fear around something that is stopping you from taking action or making changes on things that you know would be worthwhile.
Once you’ve identified what’s holding you back, you can journal your thoughts and feelings around this. You can also use your journaling to imagine different scenarios, eg. what’s the worst that could happen if you did such-and-such, what’s the best?
10) You can give yourself a pep-talk through your journaling
Boost your happiness by pretending you are your own personal cheerleader, just for yourself. What would you say to yourself to boost yourself up for the day ahead?
Write down words of encouragement and belief in yourself before you sign off on your journaling for the day. Give yourself a can-do attitude and vibe and then jump into your day!
Bonus way: Journaling can help you achieve your goals
I believe that having and striving for goals in your life is key for ongoing happiness. They don’t have to be big goals, just something that you want to achieve in life that will enhance your joy or give you meaning in your life.
You can use journaling to think about what your biggest goal currently is (or top 3 if you can’t narrow it down) and then come up with the next 3 action items you need to take to get you closer to achieving this goal.
Identifying the next 3 steps you need to take towards your goal helps to give you clarity and motivation (which sometimes goes missing if you were to list out every single step you needed to take to get to your goal).
Related Post: 5 Reason Having Goals Can Make You Happy
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Ready to give journaling a go? Grab your FREE 18-page journal book with my 7 Essential Journal Prompts by clicking the image below!
So, as you can see, there are heaps of great reasons to include journaling in your life. But…
How do you start journaling?
The easiest way: Grab yourself a journal or notepad and get writing!
Find some journal prompts to kick you off and then you can mix things up as you get more comfortable with journaling.
In my next post, I share 10 writing prompts for mindset success and you can check out my journaling board on Pinterest for heaps of prompts to choose from.
Treat it as an experiment to find out what works for you to let you express your thoughts and feelings, as well as getting to know yourself better and ultimately improve your happiness.
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I hope this post has given you the inspiration to have a go (or another go!) at journaling today.
You might feel a bit uncomfortable with journaling to start with, or even experience some resistance to opening up to your thoughts and feelings at first (I know I did!), but it is worthwhile sticking with it until you find something that works for you.
Much love,
Sarah xo
P.S. Don’t forget to grab your free journal with 7 Essential Journal Prompts by clicking here!
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Please note: If you are currently battling with depression, please know that you can get through this, even if it doesn’t feel like it right now. If you are feeling suicidal or on the edge of reason, please reach out right now by contacting family, friends or by using one of the contacts here. Know that others have overcome these dark feelings and are now living lives full of joy. I want that for you too, so please have hope and start your own journey to happiness xo
