Two and a half years ago, I made the decision to start journaling, but I’d tried the whole “dear diary” thing before and could never commit.
Aside from essays, this was the only other form of writing I began to find annoying. It was the act of gathering whatever diary I had, a pen, and sitting there at the end of each day – what a drag. But I knew it was something I wanted and needed to do for myself, so, I looked into other options, and I found a digital diary I could use on my phone: Daylio. And before you ask, this is not an ad – I’m just a huge fan.
The reason I felt, so strongly, the need to keep some sort of journal was because I realised I had no way to keep track of how I felt and what caused me to feel such a way. I had to rely on my memory where not only did I forget certain things, but specifically good things.
Previous to journaling, if I had a bad day within a week, I would’ve deemed the entire week as bad. The negativity from that one day loomed and leered, overcasting the positive days surrounding it. Even deeper, a negative moment within a good day used to outshine any positivity that went on.
I knew it was ridiculous and I knew I had to show myself that although negative moments feel heavy, I cannot let them weigh me down and dampen the entirety of something good.
With Daylio, at the forefront of each entry is “how are you feeling today” which is an aspect I love. It’s all very well you did something in the day to make you happy, but do you feel happy? Or are you still processing something upsetting that happened the day before?
Instead of enduring the never-ending circus of thought, write it down. Make sense of events and emotions in your own time – and own them.
Own both the good and the bad feelings, address them to their fullest extent through the written word. With it all splayed out in front of you, it’s like having a conversation with yourself. Check in with yourself. Even on days where you’ve done absolutely nothing of note, write that down. Bullet point it if you must.
Speaking from experience, it’ll help you understand yourself better by giving your thoughts more eloquence, which is easier to sift through.
It’s a chance to notice yourself, as you deserve to be noticed. This is something very much just for you, like a time capsule for every past version of yourself, even who you were yesterday. It’s never too late to start, trust me, your future self will thank you.