Journaling For Personal Growth - The Benefits of Keeping A Journal

Journaling For Personal Growth - The Benefits of Keeping A Journal

Keeping a journal helps to crystallise your thoughts and give you insight. The simple act of writing your thoughts down can help you to understand what you're feeling and why you feel that way. Journaling helps you to know yourself better and can be a vehicle for personal growth.

Why Journaling Works

When you write, your mind automatically slows. Writing your thoughts down helps you to become more aware of what you're thinking and what's important to you.
Journaling helps to change your perspective. When you read and summarise what you've written, it helps you to step back and look at things differently.

Keeping a journal can lead to self discovery because it helps you to identify beliefs that hold you back and dreams that you have put on hold.

Your journal is a safe place to express your thoughts, feelings, ideas and questions about life. It's somewhere you can be totally honest and a safe place to explore your thoughts.

Journaling is an effective, powerful way of venting your feelings. Once the words are out of your head and on paper you'll be able to see more clearly. Expressing your thoughts will give them shape and meaning and help you to identify what you have to work with.


Journaling helps you to make sense of your life. Writing things down brings clarity because it helps you to stop and take notice of what's happening.

As time goes by you'll begin to see emerging patterns and start to see the bigger picture.

Write Your Journal For Yourself

Write your journal for you. Be honest with yourself. Let your thoughts flow. If you do, your journal will be a useful tool on your journey towards personal growth.

"When I write down my thoughts, they do not escape me. This action makes me remember my strength... I educate myself proportionately to my captured thought." Isidore Ducasse

Tips For Using Your Journal For Personal Growth Keep it Simple

You don't have to buy a special journal unless you want to. You can use an inexpensive notebook or file or use your computer. There's no right or wrong way to journal. Feel free to journal your way; it doesn't have to be perfect it's for your eyes only.

Don't edit as you write

Allow your thoughts to flow freely onto the paper. Just write whatever comes to mind.

Focus on your thoughts and feelings

If you're struggling to get started, ask yourself questions such as:

- How do I feel?

-What do I want?

-What can I learn from this?

- How does God see this?

- How did I make a difference today?

Review And Summarise Your Journal Entries

Reading and reflecting on what you've written will help you to see things from a different perspective. Summarising your journal entries will bring new insights. As you begin to see patterns in your thinking and beliefs, ask yourself how you can use what you're learning about yourself to improve your life.

Journaling leads to personal growth and discovery through writing and reflection. If you've never kept a journal before, I encourage you to start today.

By Lynne Lee

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Lynne Lee is a Christian life coach and spiritual mentor. She helps people to re-design their lives around what matters most.

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