Apart from scrapbooking, journaling is one of the things that are on the uptrend nowadays. It’s a hobby that is easy, doesn’t require much expense or time and it’s very therapeutic. It is also a great way for people to keep daily records of the events in their lives, their habits, thoughts, and feelings for that day. Journaling is one great weapon of introspection and self-realization. That is why a lot of great men and women of history have taken into journaling.
Journaling as the name implies is an act of keeping a record, journal, or diary of your thoughts and feelings regarding personal experiences.
It’s a great stress reliever that also contributes to processing and managing our emotions. Writing a diary is a useful tool for self-exploration.
There isn't really much methodology in journaling, what is most important is to do what feels right for you. You may do it consistently, like every day or sporadically when a huge event or spike of intense emotions finds you. As long as you can clarify the thoughts and feelings that you had for the day, or describe in detail something about an experience or anything similar to that that would count as journaling.
Oscar Wilde, Ben Franklin, Virginia Woolf, Franz Kafka, Anne Frank, John Steinbeck, Sylvia Plath, and Anais Nin, all great people of human history have one thing in common- Journaling. It provides people of succeeding generations a chance to peer through a scope of what life was like before them.
Journaling frequently is also an open door to master the art of writing.
There are a lot of times journals contribute to our knowledge of recorded history. Explorers and warriors have recorded their plight and their progress in their journals. These records of sentiments, thoughts, ideas, vivid details of how people lived their life have bridged the ancient to the modern- with our shared humanity through journaling.
As said by American educational reformer, philosopher, and psychologist John Dewey, “We do not learn from experience…we learn from reflecting on experience.” Journaling not only benefits those of a certain age, but it is also good for learners. It reinforces the lessons from an experience and the topics that were learned that day. This is further proven by a study in Harvard University where they found that people who have journaled at the end of the day have 25% better performance than those who don’t.
Writing also reinforces clarity and articulation, so school-age children and young adults would be at an advantage if this is incorporated into their daily life.
Communication skills are said to be one of the driving forces of a person’s success in life. Clear communication then, would be an advantage to learn from an early age. This is further proven true by research at Stanford University regarding the correlation between writing and speaking. Writing is a way of constructing ideas and being able to form them well before delivering them. So mastering writing through journaling would also further enhance a person’s ability to speak well.
Skills are handy to have because they can never be stolen, but mental well-being is just as important.
As much as one would invest outside, we must also invest within. Our body is our most important resource and the mind controls all of it. That said, mental health is vital for a person’s holistic life and should never be disregarded.
According to a 2014 research study by The Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, writing journal entries decreases mental distress. It is a creative and low-maintenance outlet that can be useful in times we have no shoulder to cry nor lean on. It would free up a lot of negative thoughts and emotions that are kept bottled up. Some of the things that we need to let go of, release, and get closure from. That way, it would not evolve into an emotional baggage that would eventually dictate our behaviors and our reactions to particular circumstances.
Stress is a staple of an adult life whether it be in school, work, family, friends, or relationships. As we navigate our lives, there would be obstacles and challenges that we would need to go through to reap the rewards and also to maintain our lifestyle.
We each have certain standards that need to be kept and long-term goals that we need to achieve. On our way towards those goals every day we face inconveniences, people that we disagree with, and small failures that bring stress into our life. Journaling has been proven to counteract the effects of stress at the end of our day.
With that kind of conclusion, it would not come as a surprise that journaling every day is also a contributing factor in strengthening our immune system.
In 1999, there was the research that studied the fluctuations in the number of lymphocytes or white blood cells between those who journal and do not journal after a traumatic or negative experience.
They have found that those who disclose their emotions through writing have a constant healthy number of lymphocytes. Thus, emotional disclosure through writing not only makes us mentally strong but also physically strong against illnesses.
Writing a journal takes a bit of our time and we would be in the best position to do this if we have a small space at home where we could gather our thoughts and jot them down on paper. Posture and back support are some of those negligible things in everyday life we do not think about.
That is why a shoe would fit what we are going to do from running a marathon or attending a soiree, furniture should also fit your activities and daily lifestyle.
At FlexiSpot, the Comhar All in One Standing Desk Wooden Top 48” W has everything you would need and more. It has a stable, made-to-last tabletop. It has a sleek, elegant finish and a large drawer to put away your journal and writing instruments. It also comes with a USB port to charge your devices while you sit down and write. It has flexible height adjustments to cater to your standing or sitting postures that you will find this desk a good choice to journal on.
