Yes definitely. Firstly, when you are too much in your head trying to organise thoughts, they do not always turn out beneficial. However, when you write the thoughts down, there is an organization and selection. This promotes betterment. And you can look back and see patterns or where you have improved, or need improving. It’s therapeutic.
It does if you let it work for you. I wouldn’t go on the internet and try to copy what everyone else is doing. Figure out what you need to write down to help you become more productive / mindful and start there. For example, I only use my journal to write down angry thoughts which helps me relax at the end of the day. To do lists, habit tracking and daily journaling was difficult for me and made me hate writing anything at all. But writing when I’m angry helped me a lot. Start simple and use your journal for what’s best for you. It could be affirmations, sketching, practicing creative writing, whatever. Just don’t try to do everything at once :)
Yes and no, yes because it’s a great way to see how your mood changes throughout the day, and perhaps see what you could do to change any negative patterns, but it can be hard to keep up with and takes a level of commitment that some people; myself included, may find difficult to keep up with.
I think it does help. It helps me to get me thoughts out. Once recorded, they don’t need to take space in my head. Even if my thoughts don’t reach conclusions, focusing on one thought and following it through is somewhat therapeutic.
Help with what? It helps me focus on gratitude for the things that happen each day that were noteworthy, either because they were great or because I survived. It shows me how much love and luck and sweetness and beauty surrounds me. It reminds me to go looking for those things, because they are always there.
Yes! Journaling is the best time for reflection, which is why I do so twice (mostly thrice) a day. Once in the morning, at night, and after I meditate (this is the one I don’t necessarily do daily). I like waking up to journal, because it allows whatever flowing through my head in the morning out onto the pages, mostly to rationalize dreams especially if they weren’t the best. It helps me get rid of negative thoughts and start my day off on a positive note. I like to end my day with journaling, so I can reflect on my day and pick out the moments (whether on paper or not) that made my day the way it was. Especially for bad days, it helps pick out the smaller moments that show my day wasn’t as bad as I thought (small improvement, not necessarily drastic). Lastly, I journal after meditation often to reflect on my experience, on what I was thinking before/during/after my session, and just anything else that comes to mind. Lately I’ve been trying new forms of meditation, so it’s helpful to reflect on each one and note the special things about them.
Writing your thoughts helps to reveal somethings that are more subconscious than what we are consciously aware of. Seeing written ideas awakens our brain in a different way than just thinking it. Things become more concrete for us once they are recorded in ink.
For me, journaling can be a short summary of the day at times, but at others, it becomes an important look into myself and what I am really feeling and coping with. Or a celebration of things I know I’ll want to look back on one day- made possible by the journal itself! It’s a record worth keeping, whether or not every day is a “blow me away” type of day. And those days do come, without a doubt.
Yes I like the journaling it makes me focus on the day ahead and think about what I want to achieve and then at the end of the day what I have acheived
I believe so. It gets things started and you begin to start to do things on your own, soon enough everything is natural and you’re living your best life.