The Power Of Journaling

I didn’t always enjoy writing, so the idea of journaling somewhat revolted me.  When my mom handed me a journal my freshman year of college I thought she was crazy.  She knew that I not only struggled with writing but despised it.  She insisted that journaling would help me.  I didn’t buy it at first, but now I don’t know what I would do without it.

You might not enjoy writing, in fact it might be the part of your job that you resent the most.  When you deliver a message it’s done through an outline and memorization.  Maybe writing is something you despise so much that you only communicate via Instagram, or Snapchat.  No matter what you think about writing you still should embrace journaling because it:

• Tracks Your Progress: If you want to learn from your mistakes and grow stronger from past experiences then you need to document them.  By tracking your progress you can gain appreciation for the journey you have traveled.  Journaling will not only make you wiser, but help you embrace the growth that has happened in your life.

• Gives You An Outlet: Sometimes our feelings are too difficult to sort out internally.  Journaling allows you to expose the overwhelming emotions that can control us.  When you get them down on paper they’ll seem tangible and more manageable.  By having a healthy outlet you give yourself the ability to release any burdens and hand them over to God.

• Cultivates Your Ideas: You might have a fleeting idea worth holding onto.  Journaling even the smallest thought allows you to come back to it and grow it into something bigger.  Journaling is a way of capturing the moments, and ideas that flow in and out of your day.

Journaling will make you a better communicator because it will help you organize your thoughts.  It will make you a better leader because you are willing to embrace what is authentically happening in your life.  Even if you do not like writing you can record your thoughts with a video journal.  Your entries can be a few words, symbols or artistic expressions.  Just record what’s going on you, get it down and use it to help you grow.

Do you have an alternate way of journalling? Share your thoughts.