Have you ever found an old letter or an old picture and just felt all warm and fuzzy.  I know I sure do.  As a young girl, I used to journal all the time. I wrote down a crazy amount of details about what was happening at school and who my latest crush was.  My step sister and I used to write letters back and forth and so did my cousin Stephanie and I. Anytime we would go on road trips or a sleepover, that’s just what we did. You know, it’s like today’s version of social media and we would share the latest gossip! Lol 🙂  And I don’t have alot of those letters left or in storage to go back and reminisce but when every now and then, I run across a gold mine and I could sit there for hours reading it. Half of the stuff i don’t even remember!

At one point in my life, I lost the urge to write in journals. I lost the ability to be able to define what was going on in my head and now at the ripe old age of (almost) 30, I feel like I’ve lost myself.  As I’ve been going through a ton of Personal Development over the past few months, I realized that I should start journaling again. Not only to help sort out my feelings but to keep a diary of what’s going on in my life so I can remember all the amazing (and not so amazing) day to day experiences.   My daughter is 19 months and these months have flown by and I want to remember every little detail and milestone possible.

So, These are my Five Reasons to start back writing again and maybe some will resonate with you!

1. Personal Development: Writing on a daily basis helps the mind sort out everything that’s going on and therefore you can process it a little better.  Sometimes, getting a pen and a piece of paper is more therapeutic than typing out on a computer. I don’t know about y’all but I think computers in general can be a hindrance to writing because there are so many distractions. I mean Facebook or Pinterest is one click away and we all know how that can turn into hours of nothing.
2. Walk down memory lane: Writing on a daily basis allows you to keep a diary of your day to day activities.  What happened that day, how you were feeling, what your goals are, what your friends or family members are doing. It helps you keep up with the small details of your life and gives you that opportunity to be able to look back and remember them. Writing in a journal is also very different from our posts and pictures on social media these days because sometimes a picture or 120 characters in a tweet just doesn’t catch your true feelings.  Which leads me to my next point…
3. Freedom: Writing in a journal allows you the freedom to just write whatever the heck you want to write. You can be short and sweet or write as long as your heart desires. You can write about your favorite movie, your favorite book, or who gave you #1 sign in traffic that day. For me as a woman, I like to write before I go to bed because it can also serve as a Brain Dump.  I don’t think I’m the only woman who lays in bed and goes over a million and ten things that happened that day and what we have to do the next.  I find that when I write at night, I am able to go to sleep much faster! 🙂
4. Accountability:  When you are setting goals for yourself, writing them down in a journal helps you stay on track and hold yourself accountable. It allows you to keep track of your progress and/or show you when you’ve fallen off track. It really all depends on how you use your journal but for me, I know I’ve slacked off when my last journal entry was 6 months ago. :X.
5. Inspiration: Writing in a journal can also be a source of inspiration. When you need to figure out what’s next in life, just start writing, or doodling. You can also go to Pinterest and search for quotes and writing your favorite inspirational quotes in your journal or around your pages can help keep you inspired.

I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.

• Why do you keep a journal?
• Was there ever a time you found a journal from many years ago that just poured into your soul?
• What does writing in a journal do for you?

Have a wonderful day!

XoXo: Jennifer