Sometimes to see how far you have come, you need to see where you have been. More than that, you need to evoke at least some of the feelings of moments lived when reviewing them later on in a journal. Keeping a journal helps to mark moments of progress as well as regression. A journal also helps you recognize patterns that lead to successes and failures. However, recording memories in a journal needs to be more than just a list of facts. Your life is a complicated tapestry of colors and textures, and how it really looks is only revealed when you can see every thread in its weave. Here are some tips for keeping an honest journal of your life.
1. Keep it Real
You are not writing a journal of the person you want to be. You are writing the journal of the person you are right now. The events may be seasoned with your hopes, dreams and goals of what you wish to become, but the facts should reveal the person you are at that moment in time. Do not be afraid to tell it like it is, but be sure to apply tip number one to prevent misunderstandings and conflicts. The major issues of your life may include things such as drug rehab, serious illness, abuse, overwhelming loss or myriad other topics that involve the actions and emotions of family, friends, neighbors and even strangers. Even a trusted confidante may misunderstand the details of a personal journal, so keep it real but keep it private.
2. Keep it Safe From Prying Eyes
A popular plot convention in books and movies is the diary of a teenager being read by a parent, sibling or other person. It always causes some sort of conflict. This is such an issue that there are still diaries sold that have a rudimentary lock attached to them. Their security is questionable since it only takes a paperclip to open the locks. Securing a serious life journal takes a few extra steps. A lock box or small safe may suffice. Digital versions should be stored encrypted with secure passwords. Never post anything online you do not intend to be public no matter what security is touted by the online site or service.
3. Set a Reasonable Journal Update Goal
Those old diaries many started as a child or teenager have a handful of entries and plenty of blank pages. The goal of keeping a journal is often like a New Year's Resolution. The intentions are noble, but the actions often fizzle after a short period of time. Instead of setting a goal to write in a journal every day, it is better to set a weekly goal instead. One entry per week at a set time on a set day will become a routine that will be missed if not kept up.
4. Do Not Make Every Entry A Novella
A journal entry can be brief and concise, or it can be extensive and written in emotional prose that would make a seasoned novelist jealous. Journals reflect not only the emotions and state of mind of the writer by the words that are written on the page, but they also speak volumes with the length of the entries and the tonality of those entries. When reading back entries after a year or so, journal keepers often discover patterns in mood that correspond to seasons of weather as well as seasons in their lives.
5. Highlight Progress or Regression
Facing facts is important. Pick a time of year to read over the entries entered over the last few weeks or months. Then, write an entry commenting on the progress, regression or even stagnation. In addition to the emotional commentary, a little pragmatism on how to continue progress or beat regression or stagnation is in order. Words of self-advice are tough to argue against.
There is no right or wrong in keeping a personal journal. Though there is a start time for journal keeping that is self-imposed, there is no set end time. Some journal keepers record details every day as a lifelong goal. Others may only keep a journal to remember a particularly difficult ordeal so that time does not taint the reality. There is no right or wrong in what the journal is written on. Some type on a keyboard, and some write in fancy leather-bound journals that contain archival quality paper. Others may buy a stack of composition books at a discount store to record their personal thoughts. It is unique to the individual and what is desired from the journal keeping experience. The goal is to just write it down so it can truly be remembered, warts and all.
Elliot Caleira is a freelance writer in the self-mastery and health and wellness spaces. When he's not writing you'll find him cooking or teaching Portuguese classes.
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