Your Kids Will Likely Thank You

Every once in a while I'll be rummaging through things and re-discover, or occasionally discover, letters from my parents, grandparents, extended family members and letters from friends from decades past. I wish I had more. More to the point, in the years where my memory is becoming less reliable, I wish I had more of a record of my life. That's another way of saying that I wish I kept a more consistent journal.

Journaling is the practice of writing down your thoughts, feelings, and experiences in a diary or notebook. While it may seem like a simple activity, there are many benefits to incorporating journaling into your daily routine. And I would dare say this includes the recording of some of the things that you might consider on the mundane side. Like tonight I could write “took the trash out to the street.” I once found a calendar my mom had, and she jotted down some of the things she had done that day. It wasn't very detailed, but it is significant to me. I have an overview of her week to week life as she aged.

Here are some thoughts on why having a journal might be a worthwhile endeavor.

Journaling can help you to manage your emotions. By putting your thoughts and feelings down on paper, you can gain a better understanding of them and process them more effectively. This can help to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, and improve your overall mental well being.

Journaling can help you to set and achieve your goals. By writing down your goals and breaking them down into smaller, manageable steps, you can create a roadmap for success. Regularly reviewing your progress in your journal can help you to stay on track and make any necessary adjustments to your plan.

Journaling can help to boost your creativity. By engaging in a regular writing practice, you can develop your writing skills and explore your imagination. This can be especially helpful for writers, artists, and other creative professionals who need to generate new ideas and overcome creative blocks.

Journaling can also improve your memory and cognitive function. Writing things down can help you to retain information more effectively, and the act of writing itself can stimulate your brain and improve your mental clarity. This is a big plus for me.

Journaling can help you to cultivate a deeper sense of self-awareness. By reflecting on your experiences and emotions in your journal, you can gain a better understanding of your strengths, weaknesses, and values. This can help you to make better decisions, build stronger relationships, and live a more fulfilling life.

And one more perhaps practical thing journaling can provide is a wrttiten record of where you are and what you were engaged in. I'm not suggesting this be the prime motivation, but I have heard of cases in court where a person has been able to prove innocence by providing a record showing they were not involved in the alleged activity.

Journaling is a simple but powerful practice that can have numerous benefits for your mental, emotional, and cognitive well being. Whether you are looking to reduce stress, achieve your goals, boost your creativity, improve your memory, or cultivate self-awareness, journaling can be a valuable tool to help you reach your goals. And reading your journal from time to time is like getting out the picture book of some of your favorite memories.

And it just might leave your posterity the insights they need to navigate the rapids of life.