When it comes to daily journaling, stereotypes from childhood diaries come to mind. The “Dear Diary,” seems like it is exclusively reserved for the high school sweetheart or the anti-social recluse. But, others see journaling merely as a tool, a pragmatic means to an end, certainly without value in and of itself.
But, as usual, science continues to dissolve skepticism. For those of you sitting on the fence, these 5 benefits of journaling from Huffington Post will ignite a “Dear Diary” in you too.
1. Provoking Mindfulness
It’s the buzz word for a good reason. There’s a strong connection between happiness and mindfulness. Daily journaling puts you in a state of mindfulness. As you rage about past frustrations and stress about future anxieties, they begin to lose their edge in the present moment you are writing. Expressing you thoughts calls a wandering, anxious mind to attention to actively engage with your thoughts.
2. Expanding Your IQ
Always a hot topic, but strong cases report improvement in IQ. A report by the University of Victoria states, “Writing as a part of language learning has a positive correlation with intelligence. As you journal, you explore language. You don’t even realize as you begin to search the back of you mind for new words to increase your vocabulary.
3. Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence is the ability to perceive and manage your emotions, and of others around you. Daily journaling serves as an outlet for processing emotions and self-awareness. Once you become more aware of your own current emotional state, it serves as a bridge to understand others too. The ability to be on the same page as someone is a sign of intelligence and allows for a deep connection.
4. Goals
Daily journaling will often include your dreams and ambitions, whether it’s what you want on a specific day or what you want in a few years. The simple idea of scribbling goals down among the rest of your thoughts can help achieve them.
Scribbling down your goals signals to your brain, “Hey this is important.” The more detailed they are the better, as they provide a psychological blueprint to increase the likelihood of achieving them.
5. Boost Memory and Comprehension
There is a unique relationship between your hand and your brain, sparked by the “he who writes reads twice.” Words represent your ideas; the formation of letters causes the mind to compose and recompose ideas while writing. This strengthens prior covered information and forces you to engage in cognitive recall.
Now, as you begin to weave journaling into your daily life, remember it takes up to 21 days to start a habit. Patience and consistency are crucial in forming new habits. Start small, maybe write 3 times a week at first and build it up right when you wake up or go to sleep. And, after 3 weeks, you will officially be a “Dear Diary” person, and you should be proud of it.
