How A Diary Can Change Lives
These days, everyone writes children at school, students in class, every essaywriter at work, people in cafes taking notes, etc but not many people journaling a diary.
Journaling has multiple benefits, both emotional and physical. It helps us to improve our self-esteem, to be more aware of our emotions, and to evaluate our behaviors. It also reduces stress and helps you sleep better.
In addition, according to recent studies, those who keep a diary strengthen their immune system and increase the body’s self-healing capacity, overcoming infectious processes before the rest.
They also heal wounds faster, not only emotionally but also physically.
How To Write… Before You Begin
They say that even the longest of journeys begins with a first step. It’s partly true. That is only partly true. First, there is the preparation to be able to take that step with the guarantee of not giving up after a few meters.
It is the same here. We need to start before we start. Prepare the route. The material. The route.
Choose Your Journal
Let’s take some time to go to a stationery store and choose a notebook that we like. One that is special that transmits something to us. There are many options and many types.
Bigger, smaller, plain or colored, or even personalized by us. It doesn’t matter. The important thing is that ours is OURS. And while we’re at it, let’s also choose a pen. If writing is an almost magical act, the pen is our wand. And every magician has his own.
Choose Your Place
Let’s remember that it’s about generating a habit. Day by day. That is why it is convenient to have a place to write. A space where we feel comfortable. It doesn’t matter where. Here the important thing is our feelings.
And there are no rules. Maybe we prefer to write in the bustle of a coffee shop. Or in the quiet of a library or in the intimacy of a room in your home. Whatever the place, let it be ours.
Choose Your Time
When will we do it, at what time of the day, and how much time will we invest? Important: let’s be realistic and, above all, not too optimistic. In other words, let’s look for those moments when we can count on quality time to write.
How much? Between 20 and 30 minutes is perfect. Writing every day for a while is better than bingeing on Saturday mornings.
What To Write In Your Journal And How To Do It
We are ready. The time has come to start writing, but… What do I write about? How do I do it? I don’t know how to write! I’m sure we recognize ourselves in these kinds of thoughts. The good news, they are false.
First of all, we all know how to write. Well or better, but we know, we know. It’s not about writing a literary work. The important thing is to write about things that have happened to us during the day.
Thoughts that have come to our minds and that have provoked some feelings in us. Anecdotes or conversations that we have overheard while we were on the bus. No matter what, the important thing is:
Write From Emotion
It is not enough to make an inventory of anecdotes or events of our day; it is about connecting these anecdotes or events with our emotions and, thus, connecting with ourselves. How have you felt? How do you think we have made others feel? How would we like to have felt? Let’s be honest!
Writing From Sincerity
From honesty. Writing is a mirror that we put in front of ourselves. A mirror that reflects everything we need to progress, grow and recognize ourselves. The image will be sharper the more sincere we are with ourselves, without fear.
Our diary is our space of freedom. Let us not judge ourselves. Let’s not hide. If we do it right, there will be a moment when we will no longer think we are writing. We will simply be writing. And we will let go. And we will flow with the writing.
Write By Hand
Not a rule, but good advice. When it comes to writing a journal, it is preferable to do it by hand. Why? Precisely because we are talking about connecting with ourselves. From sincerity and courage. From analysis and reflection.
Writing by hand, as opposed to mechanical and linear typing, helps learning and memory retrieval and activates parts of the brain linked to the sound and meaning of words. In other words.
There is more life. There’s more personality. Plus, no doubt, the pen, and paper won’t run out of battery. But, if someone prefers to type, welcome. The important thing is not to stop writing.
Advice: What To Do With What I Have Written In My Diary?
We have prepared. We have found the time and space. We have made time for ourselves, and we have managed to write. Day by day, discovering the power of constancy. Moreover, we have freed ourselves.
And we have been sincere, able to write and face our emotions honestly. As if this were not enough, we have felt good. Now, what do we do with what we have already written?
Don’t Read It
At least not immediately. Not right after finishing the first session on the first page. Let’s wait.
Why should we wait? Because if we reread, there is a danger of being too critical of ourselves. To let excuses and certain attacks make us doubt. And this is not the time to doubt. It is not the time to think that I don’t like this. That I write badly and make excuses like that.
It is the time to write. To keep writing. So, let’s go on! It’s not a good idea, just at the beginning of a journey, to look back.
It stays with us. And we will start to look at reality from a more conscious, empathetic, and emotional point of view.
In the pages of our diary, we should feel free without brakes. To allow ourselves to be even contradictory. For this, it is better to keep it out of the reach of the eyes of others.
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