The Journaling Challenge

About a year ago, I decided to start a journal.  The easy part was going to a shop to buy a nice book to become my journal but the hard part was getting started with actually writing something in my pretty journal.  One year on, I’m still journaling and am finding it really useful.  To be honest, I haven’t written something in my journal every day but I am trying my best to journal regularly.

Is journaling something new?

Absolutely not.  People have been inscribing their sentiments, ideas, and reactions in journals for thousands of years.  Nearly 2,000 years ago, Ma Dubo recorded his adventures as he trekked from the capital city of Luoyang to the legendary mountain, Mount Tai. His daily diary provides insight into how ordinary people lived and thought. 

English naval administrator Samuel Pepys recorded his daily life in 17^th century England from 1659-1669 and this provided insights into the Great Fire of London.

Other famous journalers include Albert Einstein, Leonardo Da Vinci, Thomas Edison, Charles Darwin and Marie Curie who used their journals to record and ruminate on their experiences and ideas.  In short, you’re in good company should you start to keep a journal.

Why should you write a journal?

A journal helps you to express your feelings. You can write whatever you like – things you may not wish to share with your nearest and dearest but your journal is a safe (and hopefully private) place to write down what’s happening in your life at that point of time.  So it’s a good way to manage stress and anxiety leading to improved feelings of wellbeing and even better sleep.

Journaling should be relaxing and it can therefore decrease the release of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline.  Overproduction of these hormones can suppress your immune system so journaling can be good for your overall health.

When you look back at your journal over a period of time, your journal helps you to track what you have achieved and how far you have come.  In other words, it can be inspirational.  It is also a great way to boost your writing skills.

What can you journal about?

Absolutely anything.  Even writing one sentence a day or a few bullet points is a good place to start.  You could write about what has happened on that day, what you hope to achieve in the future , what you are grateful for at that moment in time or whatever tickles your fancy.  Perhaps someone did something kind for you that day so you could capture that act of kindness in your journal entry for that day.

Try to build up to longer journal entries – the ideal journal entry is apparently 15 minutes every day but I have to confess I usually only write for five minutes each day. 

As well as my written journal, I’ve also recently started a Photo Journal which captures my #200Rambles challenge.  This is where I’m trying to have at least 200 rambles this year with each lasting at least 30 minutes.  I take a photo for each ramble which I post on Facebook but recently I’ve started to print out these photos and I’m storing them in an old-fashioned photo album.  It’s a great way to reflect back on where you have been and who you have been with – a happy memories book.

And then there’s Art Journaling for those of you with artistic skills.  This could be a little drawing, cutting out magazine pictures or even collecting a train ticket from a special day out.  I’ve recently started to attend an Art Journaling class at Cancer Focus NI in Belfast even though I am not remotely arty.  But I can paint solid colours on a page and write down my thoughts on a beautifully coloured page.

The journaling challenge

For me, my challenge is to keep journaling and trying to make it something that I do every day.  Perhaps your challenge is to get out of your comfort zone and buy a journal so you can start your own journaling journey today.  Or you could just start your journal by typing on your laptop.  The important thing is to pick a regular time to journal in your day – first thing in the morning, on the train travelling home or after your dinner.  Try to make it a regular part of your day just like cleaning your teeth.

All the best with your journaling and please let me know how you get on.