But to get the maximum benefits available to Y. O. U.:
You may be uncomfortable with these guidelines at first. You may question them, or look for ways to get around them. Why are they so important? Do I really have to journal every day?
I understand that it takes practice and commitment to embrace these principles. It will probably require some time and patience before they feel natural to you. But I believe strongly that they are essential to getting the most out of journaling. When you write longhand in your journal every day, you open up new opportunities for health, happiness and healing.
Let’s take a closer look at the why behind each idea.
Journaling must be done by hand.
Pen-to-paper journaling reveals what you are thinking, feeling and experiencing in a way that typing on a screen simply can’t. There is physicality to writing longhand that solidifies the link between mind and body; research shows that journaling reduces stress, promotes personal development, and improves spiritual, physical and mental health.
When faced with only a pen and a blank page, you have no distractions or excuses. You learn to tune into what is going on with you, internally and externally. You push past whatever is on the surface, and get to the heart of what you want and what is troubling you. Journaling gives you ample room to explore questions, problems and solutions.
Journaling must be part of a daily routine.
Journaling has profound power to transform and heal – but only when you make it part of your everyday life. Journaling is like physical exercise; you need to strengthen and train your muscles regularly to experience results. Just like you can’t run a mile every three weeks and hope to finish a half-marathon, you can’t journal a few times a month and expect to see dramatic changes in your life.
Start small, and commit to writing in your journal for a few minutes every day. Scale up or down depending on the day, but stick to this daily habit, no matter what. Make it as essential to your day-to-day routine as brushing your teeth or making your morning coffee. It’s actually liberating when you no longer have to think: Should I journal or not today? You simply always do it, so you don’t need to use any mental energy debating it.
From my international best-seller, Journaling Power: How To Create The Happy, Healthy Life You Want To Live. Check it out here.