Take the journal for your... journey.

An excellent joke. One that your dad could have made when he was still alive… I am sorry. Real sorry Gregory. I am just in the mood for this kind of jokes. But yeah, seriously do it. Everyone told you to long ago, mainly because it works. (Though more often than not they just heard it somewhere and telling you, so they can feel like they’re helping)

After this arguably great start, let’s clarify something. I wasn’t always journaling, and I am not always writing 20 pages of what had happened every day. I just don’t have time. Many self-help gurus will tell you to write literally everything. While this may be helpful, it usually isn’t.

To harness the benefits, you just have to write a few things. I am bundling here at least two concepts that are separated by many, but I feel like doing one without another isn’t worth it. I am talking here about normal journaling and gratitude journaling.

Gratitude Journaling

-> Does it work?

<- I think?

I am keeping up with it every day for at least half a year now. It’s hard to say if it made any difference, but it always prompted me to think some more about things that I experienced yesterday, and overall that I typically take for given.

Can I recommend it? Yeah, pretty much. Just don’t go out of your way to buy/make a special notebook to write your gratitude down. The best place for it is with your normal journal.

Journaling standard edition™

Well, the standard edition just contains your average journal and gratitude journal. I usually write stuff like what had happened and overall important events. It’s also a good place to talk with yourself.

If you look back at it in the span of somewhat around 6 months, then you will clearly see why it’s so beneficial. I am still learning from my past notes how I lived and where I could improve myself.

Just don’t overthink it. Write what you think is significant (but non-important stuff is still critical in long term! You just don’t know it yet), and while writing the gratitude down, don’t write too much. Stick with two to three gratitudes and a thing you want to let go of, as well as what you want to do.

Final words

YYyyyyyyy, this post seems to be a little glued up. I just laid down some points to think about and use. Maybe useful, maybe not. I just wanted to write something about this topic ‘cause it’s interesting. Though, many people already covered it.

Have a good lunch.