“Journaling is a way to articulate your thoughts and feelings without the pressure of being judged. It allows you to explore yourself in an honest, deep and introspective way.” -Michaela Chung
“Journaling helps you to remember how strong you truly are within yourself.” – Asad Meah
We all have our reasons for keeping a journal. Some people write about their goals and aspirations. Others just use it as a place to vent or put down their thoughts on what they’re reading.
Whatever your reason might be, there are benefits to doing so that make this practice worthwhile.
Now I’ll talk about the different types of benefits of journal writing through the lenses of ‘journaling quotes’. We’ll cover these topics:
- What Is Journaling and Why Do People Do It
- Types and Benefits of Journaling
- How To Get Started with Journaling
- Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Journal Writing
- Examples of how to use a personal diary, gratitude logs, or daily reflections in your life
I got many of these quotes from ButFirstJoy’s journaling quotes article so do check it out too!
What Is Journaling and Why Do People Do It
“Journal writing, when it becomes a ritual for transformation, is not only life-changing but life-expanding.” – Jen Williamson
“Your Journal is like your bestfriend, You don’t have to pretend with it, you can be honest and write exactly how you feel” – Bukola Ogunwale
A journal is a record of thoughts, feelings and experiences that someone makes at particular moments in their life.
Everyone has his/her own reason for journaling– some use it just as a place to vent while others actually read what they’ve written years later.
For me, keeping a journal just helps me get through life.
At night I can plan out my day for the tomorrow. While laying in bed I can try to shift into a more grateful way of thinking by writing down a few notes about the good things that happened today.
During the next day I can jot down creative ideas for videos and blog posts. This blog post and video came from a few messy notes I took while driving.
Don’t worry, I was stuck at a stop light, I am definitely not advocating journaling and driving! 😀
Plus if I get really upset during the day which sometimes happens, I can write down words like ‘anger’ or ‘anxiety’ and almost immediately feel better. Just writing down these words when I’m feeling them gives me space to seek a new perspective and calm down.
Whatever the case may be, there are benefits from doing so that make this practice worth consideration. Hopefully these journaling quotes help make this clear 🙂
Types and Benefits of Journaling
“This pouring thoughts out on paper has relieved me. I feel better and full of confidence and resolution.” – Diet Eman
“Keeping a journal of what’s going on in your life is a good way to help you distill what’s important and what’s not.” – Martina Navratilova
Journaling can be done in various ways and for many reasons:
- Goals: to plan your goals or ambitions and get organized
- Self Therapy Tool: to solve problems without having to spend too much time on them
- as therapy for stress, anxiety or depression
- as an outlet when you’re feeling overwhelmed with emotions like anger or sadness
- Gratitude Diary: a tool to boost your baseline gratitude levels towards life
- Daily Planner: a productivity planner to help you prioritize
- Creativity Outlet: to brainstorm random good ideas that pass through your mind each day
- Dream Journal: recording of dreams if you’re on a spiritual quest like me 🙂
- Food Awareness Journal: if you struggle with overeating keeping a journal is a simple way to transform your eating habits
- Study Journal: if you’re studying a course then it’s best take notes in your journal!
But the greatest benefit to journal writing is privacy.
Nobody but you will see your entries! So you can be vulnerable and curious whereas saying these weird thoughts or feelings might not be wise in social situations.
How To Get Started with Journaling
“Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” – Louis L’Amour
“You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.” – Jodi Picoult
To get started with journaling you just need to make the time.
If you’ve never journaled before it can feel like a daunting task, but don’t let that stop you from giving it a try! You’ll be surprised how much better your day goes when you do this habit in the morning or evening.
It doesn’t have to take long either… just five minutes of writing about what’s going on inside will give many benefits for journaling and emotional well-being.
You found an old diary entry while cleaning out your desk drawer? It’s not too late to start using one again!
Journaling helps with mental health issues such as stress, anxiety, depression, PTSD etc. The act of putting pen to paper forces us into being much more aware and honest and creative.
The magic really is simply putting words onto paper (or an app).
When you craft words that you can actually see, you are quite literally changing reality. Those words on the page were not there before!
You wrote those words when before there were none. You can even come up with your own journaling quotes too!
To start journal writing just realize you don’t have to do much, but you do have to take the time to write down a few words 🙂
Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Journal Writing
“It ain’t whatcha write, it’s the way atcha write it.” – Jack Kerouac
“Write hard and clear about what hurts.” – Ernest Hemingway
“Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open.” — Natalie Goldberg
“I believe myself that a good writer doesn’t really need to be told anything except to keep at it.” – Chinua Achebe
Here are some tips to writing in a journal and what I’ve discovered over the years, even if you are keeping a food journal app:
Write from the heart.
Share your thoughts, feelings and emotions – even if they are different than you expect or don’t make sense to anyone else. Journaling is a private activity that can help vent stress and release frustrations (and it’s good for your mental health).
Record memories in detail: where you were, what was happening, who you were with, how old you were etc.
You may find these details helpful later when looking back on significant events from life. You’ll get a nice reminder of everything that has happened up until now! It also helps us remember things better when we journal about them so journal often!
Reflect on what gratitude means to you by writing down three things each day that made you happy or went well.
But the best tip I can give is to just write without judgment. Let journal writing be an expression of nonjudgmental mindfulness where you let the words flow onto the page.
Of course you can use a journal for planning and so forth, but you most likely know how to use a journal to set your priorities already.
Where you struggle is more of the emotional stuff, right?
I hear you, and same here. Planning and prioritizing comes easily for me. It’s the emotional and creative words where I get stuck.
So just start writing in a journal! Write nonsense. Just write! That’s always been my key. Get out of my own damn way!
Remember, the acting of creating new words and changing reality is the magic of journaling.
In this way writing is a voyage to the interior world which is filled with magic 🙂
Timing
I usually journal at night. A few gratitude reflections, a few notes about the day, and a quick list of tomorrow’s priority helps me clear my mind and go to bed.
But I also will find myself writing in a journal in the morning if I have a powerful dream I want to mull over during the day.
Then throughout the day I’ll usually jot down few half-formed thoughts and creative ideas.
Keeping a Journal & What To Write On
Paper, hardcover, app? There are so many different options and ways you can practice keeping a journal.
I like to start my journaling on paper. It’s tactile and the process of marking up a notebook with ideas, thoughts, sketches is satisfying!
I use an app for documenting gratitude (Gratitude Journal) or if I want something more private (Food Awareness Journal). But in general, it doesn’t matter what you write on as long as you are writing.
If you look at many of these journaling quotes I provide here, this is a point often repeated: just do it!
But if you are studying and writing notes, there is evidence writing by hand helps you keep more information!
Examples
Food Awareness Journal:
Journal For Emotional Clarity:
Here are some personal pics of mine where I share a gratitude journal, my paperback journals for emotional relief, creativity and productivity on my desk, and my dream journal.
Journaling Quotes Conclusion
Journaling is a powerful tool that can be used for personal development, reflection, and goal setting.
It’s also an excellent way to deepen your connection with yourself by getting in touch with what you want or need from the world around you.
By journaling about how we feel on a daily basis, as well as reflecting on our thoughts and actions throughout the day, we gain valuable insight into how to live more authentically.
With these benefits and journaling quotes like these in mind, it’s easy to see why so many people are turning towards this time-tested tradition of self-reflection when they seek to improve their lives–and now there’s even better news!
The Eating Enlightenment Journal app offers users unlimited access to keeping a food journal!
