I discovered the power of journaling way back in high school. I used to be a reserved person and mostly kept to myself. I had a couple of friends, but at the end of the day, it was never really enough for me to just talk to people, in fact, talking to people seemed draining.
I decided I needed a healthier outlet to express myself. That was when I first tried my hands at journaling. I finally had somewhere I could be free, be me, and express myself unreservedly. I know what that seems like, childish and teenage-like, right? But through journaling, I discovered the peace that writing always brought me. It was like a home, somewhere I looked forward to going every day.
Not only did writing serve as a destresser for me, but I also found that I enjoyed it more than anything. From journaling, I progressed to blogging. I wrote about everything and anything. I wrote about things that were heavy on my mind, just as I would in my journal. Through journaling, I discovered that writing was just my thing. I began to explore other areas of writing and realized I also did great at them too. Through journaling, I got my own voice. I wrote things I was too shy to say or discuss with anyone. It helped me come out of my shell, at least a little.
First of all, when I started journaling, the toughest challenge I had was keeping up with my thoughts as I was writing. I started with the conventional style of journaling – pen to paper, so my thoughts raced faster than my hand, and I often forgot some of my important thoughts. Eventually, I taught myself to pace myself. So instead of hurriedly scribbling across the sheets (or typing furiously on the keyboard, as the case may be), I took my time and penned down my thoughts one at a time. But whenever a fleeting thought came by, I made sure to note it down somewhere, so when I was ready, I knew where to find it and then write about it. Here's my advice to anyone new to journaling: Take it slowly. Write each thought down in your journal as it comes. If it's too overwhelming, you might find it tiring to keep up. So you may want to try the technique I mentioned above. The goal is to write. It doesn't matter how much or how little as long as you are writing. Eventually, you would know what works for you and lose yourself enjoying it.
Honestly, I wasn't looking to discover anything when I first began journaling. As I said, it was merely an outlet for me. Finding my passion through journaling was simply an added bonus for me; the cherry on the top. Journaling helped to clear my head. Whenever I purposefully journaled, it helped me free my mind of unnecessary mind chatter that clouded my thinking space. It helped me to see things from a different perspective by introspecting. I believe that journaling would be of great benefit to anyone who wishes to discover their passion. You only need to pay attention to certain things that make you happy; things that make you forget about the time, things you enjoy doing and things that you think you are good at. Write about these things in your journal, and try to go over them frequently. You can't force your passion on yourself. Even if you don’t see it outrightly, journaling points you in the right direction. Continue to reflect on your thoughts as you put them down in your journal and let it come to you.
Author bio:
Cheryl Hearts is a passionate journalist from Boston, Massachusetts. She decided to dedicate her life to writing because she thinks this way she can be the most useful for the community. After obtaining a Master's degree in Journalism, Cheryl started running her own blog CherylHearts.com where she’s covering topics of great interest to society.