Journaling is something that I used to hate doing. It was always something that others mentioned that would help me in my life and encouraged me to do. But every time I tried I struggled to make it worth while. It always seemed like a diary to me and I had absolutely no use for a log of my daily events.
Recently I came to understand journaling in a whole new light. It was never supposed to be a diary. There was no need at all the log events that happened in my life at all. Unless that is something that you want to do. Journaling was meant to be a way to sort out your thoughts and feelings. Sometimes this is linked to an event, but doesn’t need to be. If we want to truly know ourselves then this is something that is necessary to the process.
Dawson Trotman said “Thoughts disentangle themselves when they pass through the lips and fingertips.” As we put our thoughts down on paper, or computer screen, we can process what is happening in us. Without doing this we will miss out completely on knowing who we are, and who we are becoming. Life simply passes and we struggle to get by. Journaling allows us to place markers along the journey. Things we have learned about ourselves and the way we see the world. Discoveries we have made about life, and the struggles it brings. As we process what is happening to us and within us, we grow.
You would never plan a trip without deciding first where you wanted to go. A destination is very important in every journey. But just as important is knowing where you are now. You can plan a trip from London to Sydney, and have everything lined up for the journey and it will do you absolutely no good when you are currently in Toronto. Journaling is a way for us to see first where we are at personally.
It allows us to look within and see things about ourselves we would have never noticed otherwise. It allows us to be honest with ourselves because there is no one to impress. It is simply us looking in a mirror and writing what we see. Just as important is the writing where we want to go. Without a destination to work towards the place we are in now can be painful and not have any purpose or hope. A destination makes the start worth while.
When we journal we simply are mapping our journey of self-discovery and becoming. As we journey we mark memorable and life altering moments and discoveries, and allow ourselves to process what is we are discovering and clearly understand who we are becoming. This allows us to not simply exist, but to really live life and achieve our potential.