Journaling. What’s the point?

Let me tell you something about myself. When I was a kid, I wrote ALL THE TIME. I journaled, I wrote stories, I wrote poems. I even had an old typewriter set up in my room and I would be on it late at night just trying to get out the words that were in my head. I always thought I would be doing something that involved writing in some way. It was such a beautiful escape for me. A fun, creative outlet that I actually really enjoyed. I even wrote stories that I read to my friends during sleepovers, and they actually told me they enjoyed my stories! It was a sweet part of my childhood that I remember fondly.

But then as I got older, I started to focus on other things like school, relationships, what my future was going to look like, etc, and I left out writing. I kind of gave up on it because it just didn’t seem to fit into the plan that I had for my life. I really just didn’t think about it too much and spent my time on my studies and my relationships with friends.

You know what is really interesting about that change in my life? My prayer life changed as well. When I stopped writing, my prayers were not as direct, they weren’t as full, and they weren’t as deep as they were when I was devoting time to writing.

Now I know this may not be scientific, and I am only speaking from my own experience, but I thought it was worth mentioning that when I wasn’t taking the time to write out my feelings, my thoughts, my prayers, etc, it was almost like I didn’t know what to say in my prayer time. My focus was off. My attention was scattered in places that made it hard for me to apply my heart in what I was saying.

Hear me out. I’m not saying that My heart wasn’t in my prayers, I still was praying in faith, but it was just…. different.

I did a poll on instagram the other day about whether or not people would like some resources on journaling and the consensus was that people would like that. So for the first installment of my resources, I wanted to talk about WHY journaling is important, and then we will get in to some practical things to help with journaling itself.

In doing some research about this, I found some of these facts in regard to the practice of journaling:

1. It can help you take a step back to evaluate your thoughts, behaviors, and emotions.

One of the amazing capabilities we have as humans is to be able to take a step back from ourselves and be able to observe our own behaviors and thoughts from “above”. If you feel like you are having a hard time sorting through what you are feeling, journaling could be a good step to getting that right perspective of how you are handling things in your life, and give you a clearer picture at your overall perspective on situations. This also contributes to your EQ (Emotional Intelligence) and can help expand your overall EQ by helping you empathize more with others based on what you observe about yourself.

2. It improves your memory and concentration

This may be a no brainer, but it actually does help you remember things. It is a great resource to look back on and be able to reference over the course of your life. In addition to that, your mind may be more apt to recognize details throughout the day that you may want to recall later.

3. It boosts your immunity.

Okay, this one may sound totally bonkers, but there have been several studies to prove this! The core value that comes into play here is the stress relieving power of releasing your thoughts on to paper. As we know, stress causes so many critical issues to our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. This is one way to combat that and have a way to process your feelings in a safe and personal way.

If we do not take take to process what we are feeling, it will come out in other unhealthy ways that can affect our quality of life. Taking time to process your feelings and thoughts will actually help them heal faster and be dealt with more efficiently than if you ignore them completely or deny their existence.

4. It helps you communicate better.

Learning how to write out what is going on in your head helps you to form thoughts that make sense on paper. According to a Stanford report, “Writing has critical connections to speaking.” We all could use a little help in this area, right?

5. It helps you know how to pray, and can be a way that God speaks to you.

Personally, I am an external processor. Getting things out of my head often gives me a sense of clarity and direction. This may not be how you operate, but when we are writing out our prayers to God or taking time to verbalize our thoughts and feelings, it gives God an opportunity to help us see things in a new light. We know that this was often the case with king David, and even his son, king Solomon. They wrote as a form of communication with God. I sincerely believe this can give you clarity on things you are praying for, and help you draw closer to God in the process.

So now that we know the benefits, what should we do about it?

Over the next week, I will be sending out emails with prompts and practical tips for journaling. Five days of journaling practices that will help you start a habit of getting your thoughts on paper and living a fuller life!

Want to join me? Sign up for my email list with the link at the top of this page or send me an email at thebravebabeblog@gmail.com.

I would love to have you join me! Feel free to pass this onto a friend who may be interested in coming along on this journaling journey!

Is there anything I missed about the benefits of journaling? Let me know in the comments!

-Sarah

References:
Psychology Today 
Huffpost