How many of us write in a journal/ diary? I've been journaling for the past 3-4 years now and it wasn't until a friend read through some of her entries a while ago from her diary as a child, did I regret not starting earlier too. It's funny and interesting to see what we felt important enough to write about over the years, not to mention seeing how our handwriting and spelling (might have) changed!
I found out what the difference between a journal and diary is recently when I looked through The Complete Idiot's Guide to Creative Writing 2nd edition by Dr. Laurie E Rozakis. To make it easy to remember, diary is daily writing and journaling is not. I realized I did a bit of both. I started journaling in my rainbow journal gifted to me in high school, then in 2013 I made it a goal to write in my beach scene
I realized a few days ago while reading through my past entries that what I wrote wasn't really worth rereading. They sounded boring to be honest; like what I did daily or planned to do. That is what a planner is for in my opinion, not really a journal. Not that daily happenings aren't worth writing, I just got bored of writing and reading these almost all the time... So, I came up with 5 little "finish the statements" that I could do (mostly daily), to spice up my journal writing experience. I feel like writing at least these 5 sentences holds me accountable on how I spend my day and makes me really think about the good things in life. After writing these 5 sentences for the past few days, I noticed that I look forward to journaling a lot more now then I did before I started this. Yes, some sentences may focus on daily to dos, but not just that. There is more to it!
So the 5 sentences I came up with are:
1. Today I learned/ realized...
To try and learn something/ refresh your memory from THE day.
2. (Alhamdulillah) Today I am grateful for...
What happened THIS day that you were grateful for?
3. Today I accomplished....
To feel a sense of... accomplishment :P
4. Tomorrow, (inshAllah) I plan to...
Focusing on just 1 goal for the NEXT day should feel doable and so we wont feel like we completely wasted our day.
5. I need to repent asap (as soon as possible) for...
Because we all sin, we should repent daily for something. The smaller the sins (get), you will realize you may be improving!
For example, one day I wrote:
1. Today I realized driving is freeing!
2. Today I am grateful for selling a textbook!
3. Today I accomplished cutting my (own) hair!
4. Tomorrow, I plan to practice for my Praxis exam...
5. I need to repent asap for wasting my time on YouTube...
Whether you want to include these 5 statements in your journal/ diary or not, the point is to start/ continue writing and enjoy it! In Dr. Rozakis's book, she said to think of your journal as: A giant safe deposit box that hold the most valuable stuff of all: your thoughts; a place to make your deepest confessions; a safe place where you work out a problem; a record of your life and the lives of those whom you love; and much more! According to a ProductiveMuslim article, "Personal journaling can be a very valuable tool for self-reflection and development, and here’s a quick reminder why:
1. It allows you to reconnect with yourself and your life: In our hectic day-to-day lives, many details simply get lost, somewhere between breakfast and bedtime. Taking some time each day to sit down and write about your day makes you more aware of what you’re thinking, feeling and doing. And the first step to improvement is always awareness.
2. It helps you see the bigger picture and discover patterns in your life: When you journal for some time, you will find it much easier to connect the dots and recognize the patterns in your life and your relationships. Reading back earlier journal entries can be a real eye-opener and gives you insight about where you’re coming from and where you’re heading to.
3. It enables you to diffuse negative feelings and attitudes: Sometimes you just need to let off steam about something that happened to you, or perhaps you struggle with negative feelings and thoughts that hold you back from being productive. Writing about it can be an enormous relief and it can help you to let go of the negativity and focus on being positive and productive.
Whatever your reason is, I encourage everyone to start journaling/ writing in a diary as young as possible and to continue (if you already do)!
By the way, blogging is a form of journaling and if you don't mind sharing your original writings with the world, then bring your journaling online.
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