Chapter Eight:
Why Keep a Journal?

Here are just a few of the countless reasons that keeping a journal will improve not only your relationship, but your inner life.

• Journal writing helps us understand events that happen in our lives.

• Journal writing gives us the opportunity to be quiet, tune in to our thoughts, be open with our emotions, and release honest expression.

• Journal writing requires nothing elaborate. All you need is a notepad and a pen or pencil. You needn’t be an accomplished writer or have any special abilities.

• Journal writing can help record events that take place before memory corrodes or embellishes them.

• Journal writing gives us the opportunity to work through feelings without harming anyone else—including oneself. It’s best to set aside a specific time each day to write in a journal. Be consistent.

• Journal writing helps us pay attention to details. We often overlook the little events, but as the saying goes, “life is in the details.” The more you use your mind and the more you pay attention to the events that occur, the easier it is to see them clearly.

• Journal writing allows us to view the issues in our life with a more keenly observant and less frantic perception.

• Journal writing allows us to let go of the issues that occur in our lives and instead place them in the notebook, ready to be dealt with when we are more capable or understanding.

• Journal writing allows us to honor all the events of the day—from the special to the mundane.

• Journal writing encourages us to feel gratitude and allows us to be free to express regret.

• Journal writing is personal. Don’t worry about spelling, grammar, your handwriting, or whether you’re Hemingway. Write from your heart.