The Power Behind Continual Journaling

Thank goodness for journaling and those who journal.  If it were not for journals, much of history would be lost forever.  We owe so much of our knowledge of our forefathers and the world before us to those who took the time to make entries in their journal. 

 Ship captains kept daily logs while at sea and most of our founding fathers kept journals as they formed a new nation.  Long before that, records were kept on scrolls with quill and some form of ink.

Hieroglyphics line the ancient tombs of the pharaohs giving us an insight into what their lives were like.  Even cave men recorded history on rocks and hillsides.  Where would we be today if it were not for journals?

You may say, “Sure that’s all well and good for famous people such as presidents and celebrities, but I don’t have the time – and even if I did, nothing of any importance happens to me.”

Journals should be kept for you and what they can do for you regardless of your position in life.  That’s reason enough, but think how much your children and grandchildren will learn about their ancestors from the journal you may start today.

You may think you’ll always remember what you did on a certain date and why you decided to buy that article you always wanted but as the saying goes:  “The faintest ink is better than the most retentive mind.”  Writing down your thoughts and actions is one of the easiest and most compelling ways to remember and record your personal life.

Your brain is trained to think in a sequence of events.  Every thing is in order and has its place. The mind is capable of processing myriads of thoughts at any given moment.  And, as you would imagine, those thoughts are like sentences.  They contain a beginning, a middle and an end.  It’s like giving a speech when one thought relates to another and so on until the logical end.

By writing down your thoughts in a journal you can break free of sequential thinking and examine them from a new perspective.  Remember when Merlin in Camelot urged Arthur to soar like an eagle to view his thoughts and problems from high above the land.  From there he said there are no fences and no boundaries.  His thinking was set free with nothing to restrain it in conventional limitations.

Journaling gives clarity to your problems and allows you to substantiate your progress.  It’s easy to think you’ve made no progress and nothing of import occurred until you reread your journal a year later.  A question you may have thought impossible to solve will suddenly present itself with a solution when you view the written word.

Be specific when making entries.  It may seem trivial at the time but later when you examine the big picture you’ll see how it all came together and how events are still unfolding.  Write down your goals, intentions, obstacles, challenges, your likes and dislikes.  Make a note of people who’ve helped you and those who likely will in the future.

You can create a journal in a book or on your computer.  Software for this purpose is available.  A journal gives you direction.  It shows where you’ve been, where you are now and where you’re going.  Begin a journal today.  You’ll gain more insight into yourself than you ever thought possible.