It’s a new year, and you might want to try something new for a change. Start making positive life changes this year; you can start with something simple, like keeping a gratitude journal. This increases positivity, most especially if you write about something you’re grateful for.
And, when you express what you’re thankful for, there’s less chance that you’d compare yourself to other people, thus, boosting your self-esteem. Furthermore, when you think about all the positive things that happened during the day, you’d get a high chance of getting a good night sleep because you feel good, whereas ending your day on a bad note.
Here are a few reasons why you should start a journal:
Rediscover Yourself
You’d find out things you didn’t know about yourself before, and writing is one good way to self-reflect. When you write about your emotions unconsciously, you’re letting the words speak for what you truly feel deep within, and you don’t even realize it. Hence, you become self-aware, and learn to listen and understand why you think a certain way.
You’d have a much deeper connection with yourself as you continue to write, even with a simple entry about what made you smile today. It’s enough to let you realize that even the simplest things in life can make you the happiest; it doesn’t need to be so complicated.
Unleash Your Creative Side
When you get yourself a gratitude journal, you invite positive emotions and you get inspired to write about them. You should try to get creative and get yourself a good notebook. It doesn’t necessarily need to be expensive; choose a notebook that’s different or nothing like your work or school notebook. You can even customize and personalize it by engraving your name on it and adding customized stickers. You may click here to see a few sticker designs.
You’d get excited to journal the moment you see the notebook because it doesn’t look plain or boring. You’ll be inspired to continue writing, and, perhaps, you’d eventually find yourself filling the pages.
Be Kinder To Yourself
Sometimes, you get carried away and don’t notice how much you write about other people that you already forget that you exist. You should also thank yourself for making it this far. Probably, you feel like you haven’t done much to earn that merit. But, when you think about it, you’re actually able to accomplish things on your own. You’ve already gotten through so many challenges that most people don’t know about.
Perhaps, you easily disregard these little milestones because you doubt yourself too much. And, so, when you go over the things you wrote before, you’ll realize that you’re just going through a lot, and you need to give yourself some slack. You need to be reminded that you’re human—you’re allowed to feel all these emotions, and it’s normal.
Put More Value On The Experience
Writing about what you’re thankful for will allow you to reflect on the experience. When you self-reflect, it gives you time to process what happened and why it happened. And, you learn to appreciate these moments in your life, and you’d want to experience them again. Hence, you put more value into what you do and don’t take anything for granted.
You’re more careful now. You no longer make rash decisions, and you’re more critical about your choices. And, so, you become mature, and you understand that some experiences may not necessarily be good ones, but you still learn a thing or two from them anyway.
Focus On The Positive
Keeping a gratitude journal lets you focus on the positive aspects of your life. You learn to appreciate the good things you sometimes overlook and take for granted. It can be as simple as waking up each day or having food to eat. These things may be ordinary, but they make up your day when you combine all the little moments.
You shouldn’t take such positive little things for granted. There’ll come a day when you couldn’t do these simple things anymore, and you’d wish you could go back in time. Therefore, learn to be contented with what you have now, and you won’t be living life with regrets.
Take Load Off Your Chest
Your journal will be your new best friend. If you’re not comfortable sharing all your feelings with anyone, you can write about it instead. There’ll be no judgment as it’ll just be you and the notebook. You’ll pour your heart out and, eventually, you’ll feel much better because you didn’t bottle up all these emotions.
Thus, your mood will improve, and you’ll enjoy the rest of your day. You’d get things done. You’d be able to work and accomplish more tasks. You can spend more time doing other things you love. Basically, you’re harnessing positive energy now because you’re able to let go of the negative emotions earlier when you wrote them down.
Conclusion
Journals are good for you and your mental health because you’re focusing on things that truly matter, but it doesn’t mean you should ignore all your problems. It just means that there’s a way around these negative emotions, and keeping a journal is one way to do that. Furthermore, you’d have something to look back on when you have a journal. This will allow you to compare your past and present selves, and work on improving your life.
