Keep your diary to yourself

I love to read that stationery sales are on the rise. It’s wonderful to imagine people handwriting messages of congratulations, commiseration, thanks, and other personalized notes, thinking of ways to communicate their thoughts and feelings in notes, cards, and letters that may well be treasured and kept indefinitely. Yes, text messages are a quick and efficient way to communicate, but there’s nothing like receiving a personalized letter.

There’s also something incredibly personal about journaling, even when it’s meant to be read only by ourselves in private. If you’re thinking about journaling, mark it as an important part of your journey, as a special commitment you’re making to yourself.

– With that in mind, make sure you buy an attractive laptop, a quality journal that you will enjoy using. The contents are special and as such deserve to be kept in a smart notebook dedicated to the process. Make a regular journaling appointment to write down your thoughts and feelings about what is going on in your life and allow it to become a kind of therapy in its own right.

– Transcribe the events of the day, obviously from our own perspective, it can help us process what is going on, allowing us to first reflect on the fact that we are expressing our own interpretation of each story. Then we can start working on how each situation impacts us. Significant or difficult trades often benefit from a bit of hindsight and consideration during this dedicated time and it’s nice to do it from the comfort and safety of our own home.

– We can write our goals, perhaps on a daily, monthly, or even yearly basis, and then determine the necessary stepping stones by which to measure our progress. That way we make our diary something to account for. And without a doubt it is an excellent way to monitor the traps or setbacks that arise and must be faced and overcome. We can learn from them and see how we find solutions or alternative routes to progress.

– Also remarkable things that inspire us can be treasured in our diary. Memorable phrases we discover, moments, sights or experiences that strike a chord can be stored for future reference. It’s nice to have a place where we know these little gems are safely kept, where they can be revisited whenever desired.

– Record your successes each day. Some people forget what they have actually accomplished and then lose the ability to take credit for those achievements. Introducing the discipline of writing down three things accomplished each day, things that made them proud or joyful, can change a naturally pessimistic or negative outlook. Then it becomes much more uplifting and positive.

– Learn also the bad habit of thinking negatively committing to regularly record even simple successes like shopping, doing housework, or even traveling to a new place. Things that may seem easy or simple to one person may require a lot of effort and be a huge milestone for another. Train yourself to regularly visit your journal and value your successes and positive results each day.

– Some people can use their diary to write a letter someone who has impacted your life. It may be a letter to someone who has passed away and there is now a desire to write an acknowledgment of the different emotions that have been experienced as a result of their being no longer present; gratitude for having known them, pain, loss and pain for missing them. There may be a difficult relationship that needs to be explored and somehow resolved. A journal can provide a therapeutic outlet toward healing.

– Keep your notebooks and journals in a safe place, in a private place is important. There may be an occasion when you feel inclined to show it to someone special, perhaps as a way of explaining some aspect of yourself, a deeply personal demonstration of the trust you have in that person and in the relationship.

At some point in the future, you may choose to reread your journals, reflect on your life, and truly value your journey to becoming the person you are today.