Five Reasons to Journal.

Confession: I toss journals into the recycling bin on a yearly basis. I have never been able to maintain a journal. Why? I am totally anal about handwriting. I tried to keep journal entries in Word, but it wasn't the same. There is nothing comparable to journaling with nothing but a pen, a blank page and your own thoughts.

I'm giving it another go.

I've covered five pages of a new journal that I vow to never throw away. My first entry was April 16th, so it's clear that I've been slacking. However, I'm gearing up to be in full recording mode. I'm in a major transition mode and I'm not sure it would be appropriate to neglect penning the details.

In an effort to stay motivated, I wanted to share five reasons to keep a journal:

1. It gives you an opportunity to self-reflect. It's in our nature to seek advice from elders and people with shared experiences. However, many of us have been blessed with good conscience. We generally ask for advice to simply confirm what we already know is right. Journaling really helps you to focus in on your own ideas and beliefs without those outside influences.

2. Writing is a great form of expression, which can heal you. In many cases, writing is a great way to vent. Sometimes, when I'm upset, I tend to write letters to the person my anger is directed towards. In most cases, they never see it. By the time I'm done, the moment has passed.

3. Your story is important. Keeping a photo album is one thing, but I've found that keeping a journal is the best way to record those special moments you don't want to forget. If you hang on long enough, you can share these moments with your children and their children.

4. It helps you to record your own growth. There's nothing better than reading an old journal entry and wondering what the hell you were thinking. Going through an old stack of entries that didn't make the garbage pile, I realized how much I'd grown, and that was beautiful.

5. Flex your writing/creative muscles. When I'm not working on a creative piece (ex. my novel, a poem or article), I find that journaling gives me an opportunity to still play with language and frolic with words. In fact, many of my pieces are direct results of a topic I've journaled about.