Journaling is a form of self-expression that can lift and empower people to understand our complex feelings and find humor with it.
Journaling every day is a great habit to get into. Simply putting words on a page will probably not get you all the benefits of journaling, but effective journaling can result in many positive outcomes and improvements to your quality of life. Of course, any time you can carve out for effective journaling is time well spent, but the best practice is a regular, daily journaling session.
What is so great about journaling every day?
There are tons of benefits to keeping a regular journaling practice, including: (Positive Psychology, 2022)
It promotes and enhances your creativity in a way that once-in-a-while journaling simply can’t match;
It propels you toward your goals, helping you bring your vision to life;
It offers you a daily opportunity to recover from the daily stressors and leave the unimportant stuff behind;
It can help you identify things that would otherwise go unnoticed, such as patterns in your thinking, the influences behind your feelings and behavior, and any incongruencies in your life;
It gives you a chance to get all of your emotions out on paper, reducing your stress and releasing tension;
It facilitates learning by creating a record of the lessons and key ideas you have discovered and helps you remember them more effectively;
It boosts your overall sense of gratitude and your sensitivity to all that you have to be grateful for;
It makes you a better writer and helps you discover your “voice;”
It leaves a written record of your experiences, which can be helpful today and extremely precious years into the future (Hardy, 2017).
Stress and Burnout Prevention
Positive Psychology has provided a free download offering science-based exercises that will equip you and those you work with, with tools to manage stress better and find a healthier balance in your life.