7 Journaling Myths You Should Unlearn!

If you ask me, I strongly believe that journaling is an act of self-care . . . very simple, yet so powerful!

Journaling is the simple act of expressing our thoughts and feelings in words. It is a mindful exercise that engages our mental, emotional, psychological, and physical faculties.

It has helped me a great deal.

Amongst other amazing benefits, it is super therapeutic, which is why I readily recommend it to friends, who later share their awesome feedbacks.

I have also found that Journaling and Personal Development go hand in hand. You can’t talk about personal development, self-improvement, personal leadership, self-mastery, etc. without some form of journaling. And I believe it is almost impossible to achieve any of these without the art of journaling.

Today, I would like to address some myths around journaling and share my perspectives based on my experiences.

Here goes some of the myths . . .

• ‘Journaling keeps you bound to past pain’

While I agree that journaling can be abused if not properly understood, one of the powerful essences of journaling is that you are able to reflect on your experiences (pleasant as well as unpleasant) in a way that propels you towards purpose and growth.  

One of the reasons why we repeat certain mistakes again and again, is because we chose to forget and move on from past experiences without learning from them.

With journaling, you can reflect on, learn from, and leverage your past experiences to better navigate your present and future experiences and avoid negative recurrences.

• ‘Journaling is a female thing’ . . . laughs in Spanish.

Journaling is not gender-biased. Seeing that it is a simple act of expressing one’s thoughts and feelings on any matter, it is a choice for males and females alike.

Journaling is a mindful exercise that engages our mental, emotional, and psychological faculties; hence everyone has the capacity to practice it.

• ‘Journaling is for painful and negative emotions and/or experiences’

While journaling affords you the liberty and privacy to let out your emotions, it is not specific or limited to only painful experiences. It is an avenue to express your emotions (pleasant as well as unpleasant), and you are at liberty to decide which of them you want to journal.

Personally, I journal my happy moments as much as I journal my not-so-happy moments. And I can remember to appreciate my wins despite unpleasant happenings. At other times, it’s just fun to be able to go back in time and have a good laugh.

• ‘You must be a good writer to keep a journal’

Not at all!

If you can write, you can journal. Journaling is simply expressing your thoughts and feelings in words and it is not exclusive to anyone. In fact, even if you can’t write, you can keep an audio journal.

• ‘You have to journal daily’

You do not necessarily have to journal daily. You are at liberty to decide what frequency works best for you.

• ‘Journaling is for weak-minded people’

By no means!

On the contrary, journaling is an indication of strength. It is influenced by a strong sense of self-awareness and self-leadership.

As a thinking human with many different concerns, journaling helps you to sort through your thoughts, declutter your mind, and free up mental space for more important and productive concerns.

• ‘Your journal has to be big and fancy’

A big No! Your journal doesn’t have to be big and fancy.

Your journal is a catalog of your thoughts, and it could be in form of a simple physical notebook or a digital/audio journal on your computer or mobile device.

The best thing is that you are at liberty to keep separate journals for the different expressions in your life:

– a personal journal for your thoughts, mental and emotional releases, or for events/happenings in your life,

– a spiritual journal for your spiritual experiences,

– a financial journal for your money related matters,

– a work/career/professional journal for your work responsibilities, KPIs, professional/career goals, etc.,

– an ideation journal for your dreams, big ideas, and creative juices, etc.

At this point, allow me to share some of the benefits that journaling affords me.

• Journaling keeps me in tune with who I am.
• It affords me the liberty and privacy to release painful emotions and heal from them.
• Journaling de-stresses, calms, and refreshes my mind.
• Reliving happy moments infuses me with confidence and positive energy.
• Journaling affords me the opportunity to reflect on my experiences (pleasant and unpleasant) and learn from them.
• It helps to declutter my mind and free up mental space so I can focus on the things that truly matter.
• It gets me organized with my responsibilities and improves my productivity.
• Journaling sparks my creativity and infuses my mind with ideas.
• It helps me reflect, meditate, draw insights, and gain clarity on knotty issues.
• With journaling, I can articulate my thoughts and make sound decisions.
• I can track my progress and stay focused on my goals.
• Reflecting on my experiences fills me with a sense of peace and gratitude.

I hope you had a good time reading this.

What are your thoughts on journaling?

Which of these myths’ tables were you on?

Which of them do you find the most ridiculous?

What other myths or benefits of journaling are you familiar with?

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section, I’d be happy to read from you.