The Importance of Journaling and Self Reflection

Have you ever been told that you should "journal" when you are upset? When you are trying to lose weight? When you are trying to seek happiness? I know I have. But let me tell you something... IT WORKS! It does not matter if you have been doing it for years, if you just started. It does not matter if you use a certain type of journal, you could use your phone, a notebook, or something fancy from Target or Barnes and Noble!

I am not here to tell you HOW to journal or what kind of journals are the ultimate best, I am here to tell you the benefits that I seek personally and from other websites (they will be linked) that talk about the importance of journaling and self reflection. I feature the journals/types of journals I use (which to some may seem excessive).

Let us get started!

1. What are the different types of Journals?

There are so many different types of journals out there in the universe! It is not a "one size fits all" situation. I don't have all the types of journals listed; however, I will do my best to give you some insight on this.

Guided Journals

Guided journals are something that I personally love. These are journals that ask you questions to assist in your self reflection. All the guided journals I currently am using will be pictured as you read. In one of the journals that I use it asks questions like "Have you ever been caught in a bad storm? If you have describe the circumstances. If not, does stormy weather make you nervous?". Simple enough questions, am I right? Other guided journals may lead to more in depth questions resulting in you to really dig deep. I mention one of these circumstances in my Toxic Friendships blog post.

So why guided journals? Can't I just sit down and write out what I am feeling? Yes you can; however, this is not easy for everyone. I like to think of guided journals (well all journals) as unofficial therapy. I firmly believe that you should go to therapy at some point in your life; however, these journals kind of help with that as well. They ask you questions that you never thought to ask yourself. Instead of writing "Dear Journal, I hate so and so and blah - they make me crazy", you can kind of dig deeper. Some of the questions could be silly at times; however, they are soul searching all the same.

Bullet Journals

Here is a confession - I am not sure what bullet journaling is so like everyone else, I Googled it! Tiny Ray of Sunshine says it best: "The Bullet Journal is an analog system created by Ryder Carroll, a Designer based in New York. In his words, the Bullet Journal is meant “to help you track the past, organize the present, and plan for the future.” It’s an amazing system that keeps a record of everything you could ever want to toss at it. It can be your task manager, sketchbook, journal, idea catcher, and much more!The Bullet Journal is a organizational system in a notebook that keeps track of anything you would like to write down in an coherent way."

This does not seem like something that I would do; however, I am going to get a bullet journal and try keeping it for a month! I will come back on here and test it out! Refer to the link above (Tiny Ray of Sunshine) to read more on bullet journals.

Basic Writing Journal

Now these are journals that you can use anything for! Your everyday thoughts and issues. In my personal journal I like to journal about the good, the bad, the spiritual and everything else in mine. Last year I finished a journal I had since about 2010, it only took 9 years to finish it! I have a goal to be better about writing in my journal. I will discuss this more later on in this post but I was feeling like crap and I decided to journal it and the world was so much better for me!

Dream Journal

I do not keep a dream journal; however, sometimes I think I should! Dream journals are great for when you have recurring dreams about circumstances. For instance - I keep having a dream where I meet faceless people. I would probably want to track these dates down. Also if I had vivid dreams (which I do), I would want to remember these. Jofelo says it best: "Many people have very vivid dreams. Unfortunately, when it’s time to wake up, they tend to forget what their dreams were about. Some people get messages through their dreams, and they take the dreams very seriously. Keeping a dream journal is helpful because it can serve as a tool to help you remember what your dreams were about. Sometimes, your dreams are sent so that you can analyze them and learn more about yourself. As soon as you wake up, do your best to write down the dreams that you had in a dream journal. Keep the dream journal by your bedside so that you won’t forget."

More Journals

I won't write a ton of detail on these next journals but Jofelo has more information on them:

- Food Journal: lots of people write down what they eat. Personally I use apps like My Fitness Pal to write down what I eat.

- Travel Journal

- Art Journal

- Reading Journal

- Prayer Journal

- Gratitude Journal

- Project Journal

- Garden Journal

- Pregnancy Journal

- Workout Journal

- Junk Journal

- Poetry Journal

2. Finding Self Reflection in Journaling

As I have mentioned a few times in the post already, journals are a great way to figure out the thoughts and feelings we are having. The journal pictured above is something I write in almost daily! The other day it had me reflect on this:

These are some of the most important mistakes I've made in my life.

It then provides you with an area to list them or write them out. Included with it is a quote that goes along with it. I sat there thinking from a young age up until recently. I don't regret a lot of things in my life or think of certain things as mistakes; however, there were a few significant things on here that if I would have done A instead of B it makes me think of where I would be today. Sometimes it causes me a bit of anxiety. Would I have met so and so, would I have gotten a Master's, would I have been happier?

Sounds like a lot of jumbled thoughts but it all honesty, it made me grateful for my life. I felt a sense of peace!

As I mentioned briefly earlier, when I feel like my life is in chaos - I turn to journaling and self reflection. Self Reflection for those people who are religious, this can be reading their religious texts. For those who love nature, this can be going outside to walk or hiking in the mountains. For those that love reading, it can be going to a bookstore and finding new reads. For those that love being active, it can be through exercise or sports. I find it for me that journaling, showers or baths and reading some of the best self reflection times.

December was not my best month with my Depression. I know that the holidays is hard for a lot of people! So last week I decided to sit down and write in my personal journal! I just wrote and did not even think about anything. Word vomit on my page. When I was done, I felt like 100 pounds lifted off my shoulders. I knew that I had things to talk about; however, I did not want to talk to anyone because I have been "talked to" or "dismissed" when I try to even talk about some of my darker thoughts. It was such a great thing for me, I felt clarity and most of all - weightless.

3. What does this mean for you?

So you made it to the end of this post, thank you for reading! I have provided so many personal experiences and opinions on the matter; however, I want you as the reader to be satisfied! Journaling in any aspect is important. When I was younger if I had something mean to say to a friend, my mother would have me write it down, put it away, then go back the next day to see if I really felt that way. I think this can be a benefit of journaling as well. Sometimes just writing down our thoughts can help us find what we are looking for. I know that journals are important because for future generations they want to know what you did as a younger version of yourself. Think of all the history we have because of the journals that went on.

Sometimes I think "well I don't want my future kids to know how weird I am" but that is the best thing! Journals can be your autobiography, they can help solve crimes (like this podcast I am listening to...), they can also be a way for you to find inner peace!

Comment below with any thoughts!

Thanks for reading!