Journaling – An Invaluable Tool to Transform Life

“I write in a journal daily. This extraordinary ritual has revolutionized my mindset, transformed my heartset, and generally influenced in my life exponentially” -Robin Sharma

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Do you wish to transform your life to fill it upto the brim with ecstasy, contentment, clarity and peace?

If you said yes!

Allow yourself to familiarise with the timeless art of “Journaling”, which should be regarded with paramount importance to revamp your life remarkably.

What is Journaling?

Journaling is making a record of the occurrences, experiences and reflections in your life on a daily basis.

To put it into simple words, it is a diary entry that you might have heard as school going child.

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To sustain good relationships with your loved ones, you need to understand them and their association with you on a deeper level and connect with them on a positive note for peace and happiness in your life.

Similarly, to have a good relationship(connection) with your brain, process your thoughts and gain understanding with absolute coherence, the art of journaling is considered an important tool in transforming your life to lead with bliss and tranquility.

Why Journaling?

You might feel journaling is just writing down large chunks of words, sitting in a designated place for a couple of minutes to read them in the future. You have been mistaken!

The following listed reasons ignites an idea in your mind about why you have to take journaling seriously as a part and parcel of your life.

• Calms and clears your mind

Attributing to the the jet-speed lifestyle, your mind is like a convoluted circuit board with numerous sockets to plug in thoughts and relate them one to another correctly to accurately interpret your actions.

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Putting down your thoughts on paper helps you visualise, develop clarity and make logical connections between various aspects.

• Reduces symptoms of depression

You might feel anxious about certain things in life and be depressed about the outcomes.

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I would like to cite an example here,

One of my friends had a deadliest fear of exams. He was contemplating about his performance in the upcoming Graduate Record Examination (GRE), which is a demanding examination with a 3 hour 45 minute duration of absolute focus, calmness and composure to come out with flying colors.

He ruined his first attempt, scoring a 280 out of 340 due to hypertension. He was wary about the second attempt and started penning down about his first attempt - his state of mind , the thoughts, fears and strengths. His venture into this work helped him gain clarity and confidence.

The outcome was fantastic!

My pal, who was always a knot of stress and anxiety was astonishingly calm and composed during the exam. The result was an extraordinary 333 out of 340!

• Helps deal with post trauma

Life is a blend of happiness and sorrow. Days can neither be rosy with laughter all the time nor be filled with sadness for eternity.

For instance, you might have been bullied or humiliated by people around you.

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It might have been hard for you to deal with such experiences. But, you cannot just linger over the incidents, keep ruminating them endlessly and deteriorate your mental health.

Pen down your trauma, the pain you felt and your actions. You will consequently understand your thoughts and your reactions.

Furthermore, you develop a mechanism to handle things with ease like an expert and stay happy, paying no heed to anyone.

• Learning from experiences and struggles

Life is not always a marble floored pavement with fresh roses on either sides. It can be a rough path with thorns and uncertainties.

Making an account of your experiences and struggles allows you to analyse and become a better person.

Every experience delivers a learning.

Every struggle makes you a stronger person.

I would like to put up something which happened in my life when I was pursuing my bachelors degree.

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The people upon whom I placed a lot of trust and considered my best friends betrayed me. It was a heart wrenching incident with sleepless nights, I couldn’t take it!

It helped me understand that we shouldn’t believe in people easily, be discreet in everything we do and share our thoughts and feelings with the right people.

Also, you shouldn’t form opinions on a person whom you met a while ago and decide to be intimate with them in just a couple of days.

I wrote down my pent up feelings. The results were astounding!

I became a calm and composed person taking up every problem as a challenge and solving it without a dime of worry and sadness. Every time I dealt with these problems and emerged out successfully, the levels of confidence within me leaped boundlessly.

• Success Stories

Motivation is a driving force for individuals to do something.

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If failures teach you lessons, success gives you the zeal to improve your performance and conquer onerous tasks.

So, jotting down your success stories serves as a source of motivation for future endeavours.

I would like share about a story about a friend of mine.

My buddy was a medium performer when we were doing our schooling. He had an epiphany to perform well in his end exams and he turned out to be a demon for work.

Hardwork never goes in vain! He was the school topper.

He wrote his success story in the first page of his journal which serves as an inspiration to him even now , he says. From then on, he became a focused and confident person achieving laurels in everything he does. Isn’t that a startling shift in a person’s life ?

• Extinct the negative emotions and move to positive energy

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Putting down your thoughts and feelings kills the negative emotions and gives genesis to positive vibes, essential for the overall well-being of the individual.

I can recall the time when I met with an accident that damaged my knee, made me lose my job and left me almost physically and mentally crippled for a few months in the year 2018.

I believe it to be the inception that helped me grow as an individual with qualities that are essential for everyone and gave me the motivation to workout for my fitness and weight loss.

My sadness and stress which I delineated in my journal during those late nights, when I sat ruminating about what happened. It actually became an eye opener to do something challenging and pushed me to the extreme, breaking those ties of limitations.

I felt like a bird free from the cage, flying to great heights in the sky when I lost around 8 kilograms in 45 days. It helped me in alleviating the unbearable pain I used to suffer in my knee. The fitness regime and the rigorous diet I followed over months helped me develop patience, determination and perseverance.

• More confidence

When you posses exemplary knowledge in a field, you naturally become well versed and confident. On the same lines, when you have deep insights about your feelings, thoughts and actions, you deal any quandary with enormous confidence and with a lot of go.

How to do Journaling ?

• Private space

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I recommend you to sit in solitude and write down in your space with peace of mind to avoid any distractions. You could sit in the patio looking at the greenery in your garden and pampering your feet with the soft grass.

• Write everyday

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For something to become a habit, you have to do it for 21 days straight, no matter what. It would be difficult to give the commitment in the beginning. But, once you get a hang of it, you would love the work and do it with great delight.

• Give some time to reflect after writing

Journaling is not just about thinking in the mind, oozing them on paper expeditiously and then closing the book.

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After you put down your thoughts, feelings and experiences, it is essential to introspect and understand your mind.

• Keep it private

Your journal is something that you possess solely.

No one can or should intrude into your privacy, the person can be your mom or dad, spouse or your sibling. It’s your own place to portray yourself without any fear of judgement.

• Be open

You should be open to express your deepest thoughts and feelings.

Consider your journal as your confidant, be open minded and ask deep questions which help you arrive to the best possible solution.

You should not restrict your thoughts like the way animals are restricted by enclosing them behind stockades.

• Think and re focus

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At some point of time, you might be lost and have nothing to pen down in the midst of your writing. You have to think, explore, focus and begin to pen down again.

• Always Conclude

Either for every speech delivered or for every article written, there should be a key takeaway. Likewise, when you write each day, do not give up on concluding.

You could write,

“ I want to be productive from tomorrow “

“ I will try my best to stay calm”

“ I will not become angry and try to breath in and out “

“ I won’t waste my time overthinking “

“ I will always try to see the positive side in everything “

What are the benefits?

• Decreasing symptoms of various health issues

Emotions impact your physical health. With journaling, you can handle those emotions like a cakewalk and stay healthy.

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Now, don’t you feel Journaling as a panacea to all ailments ?

• Improved cognitive functioning

Your brain functions like a super computer. You become a strong person and deal everything with finesse.

• Helps with recovery

Journaling is like a magical wand that effaces all your agony and helps you see light.

• Optimism and Happiness

Journaling has a calming effect on you and helps you see everything with rose coloured glasses and makes you cheerful.

• Progress towards goals

When you write something down, you naturally become more determined to achieve it.

So, when you write your plans and aspirations, it drives you crazy to chase your dream and accomplish your goals.

The Upshot

I urge you to make journaling a part of your daily routine.

Journaling is an amazing tool to alter your life and become better individual by imbibing qualities essential to lead a life with eternal bliss, ultimate positivity and unbroken internal peace.