I’m an avid journaler and a big proponent of keeping a journal.  My personal bias is that pretty much everyone should try to keep at least a basic diary, if not a journal.

Diary Or Journal?

What’s the difference? The difference between a diary and a journal is that a diary is more of a day to day record of life events. Whereas, a journal tends to be a place to record all kinds of writings and thoughts with a wider variety of entries. A journal is a place to record insights, questions, and thoughts about life and such.   Both formats have their own value and each can have an important place in our lives.  Just think, if Anne Frank hadn’t kept a diary, we wouldn’t have the gift of seeing life through her eyes as a young Jewish girl in hiding.

Today I took some time to re-read entries in my journal that spanned the last three years.  I always find this to be such a valuable and personally enriching experience.

Why Should You Consider Keeping A Journal?

Here are 32 quick reasons why off the top of my head:

Preserve the memories: all of us have moments in life that are so important and significant to our growth and formation that we couldn’t possibly ever forget them.  But we do and we will.  Unless we write them down. 

Record insights learned:   I process life events in my journal to discover the learnings and insights.

Log of prayers:  it’s encouraging to see how over time prayers are answered.

Confession:  it’s good for the soul

Listening:  sometimes I am completely silent, I listen, and then I write down what I sense God saying to me.  This is way awesome.

A reminder of dreams and goals:  writing these down assures a greater degree of success

A way to remain centered:   I can’t even tell you how many times my journal has served as a reminder of things that are important to me.  I can forget way too easily.

Catharsis: emotionally vomiting in my journal first is better than emotionally vomiting on those around me.  Trust me on this one.  I know.

Healthier Communication: related to above, once I’ve dumped it all out in my journal, I can communicate hurts, breakdowns or misunderstandings in much healthier ways.

Depository of favorite quotes:  ever see a quote that moves you so powerfully you swear you will remember it forever?  Me, too.

Reflect on meaningful scriptures:  particular scriptures have become life markers for me.  I collect them in my journal.

A place to pose questions:  I pose questions to the universe in my journal, and wait for the answers.  More often than not, the answers come.

A place to record the answers:  I write those down too

Using time well: I get that what’s happening on Facebook  is all important, but in the end it might be time better spent writing in your journal.

Unscramble thoughts and feelings: I’m a verbal processor.  Not always are friends available, or sometimes stuff just needs to be processed alone.  Writing my jumbled thoughts out has on many occasions helped me to get better clarity.

Clarity:  related, journaling helps me to see things I would otherwise miss.

Track progress:  seeing the ways I’ve grown, or our family has, helps me to see how we are learning and growing and moving forward

Learn from failures: if I write down where I’ve really blown it, I have at least a better chance of not blowing it in the same way again. 

Identify strengths:  some of the most fun journal entries to re-visit are those I wrote during a season of intense self-discovery.

Remain true to yourself:  not who everybody else thinks you should be

Family:  recording clues to our kid’s emerging personalities and gifts

Just for fun:  it’s kinda fun to go back and see what was happening last year at this time.

Record important milestones:  celebrate the milestones once, and  for years to come

Become a better parent, spouse, child:  honestly, writing stuff down like who got what on which birthday is the only way I can begin to keep it fair.

Track your kids’s development:  spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally

Collect life markers:  you give yourself a huge gift when you can look back over years and see the larger story

Creative outlet:  you can pretty much write or draw anything, any way you want to.

Practice writing:  a life of journaling has helped me to become a better writer

Crush writer’s block:  we don’t get “talker’s block” because we talk every day.  The same dealio applies to writing.

Create to-do lists:  it’s rewarding to go back and see everything that was accomplished. Or, all of the steps it took to get that dream trip off the ground. Plus I sleep better when it’s all written down.

Legacy:  journaling helps me to get in touch with the legacy of my life.  As I review entries over the years, I can see themes emerging which all point to legacy.

Capture ideas: we all have moments of genius, ideas the world could benefit from

Dream Diary:  ever wake up from a vivid dream that seems somehow significant?  Write it down!

How about you?  Why do you write in a journal or diary?  Let me hear your reason for writing by leaving a comment.