7 Benefits of Journaling
Posted on January 28, 2013 by Jeannea Spence, One of Thousands of Leadership Coaches on Noomii.
Short-term, focused writing benefit all types of people – depression, rumination, and general anxiety drops after writing about emotional upheavals.
Dr. James W. Pennebaker, professor in the Dept. of Psychology at UT-Austin has spent his entire career encouraging people to spend 15 to 20 minutes a day writing in a journal. Short-term, focused writing can benefit all types of people – reports of depressive symptoms, rumination, and general anxiety tend to drop in the weeks and months after writing about emotional upheavals. Pennebaker states in Writing to Heal, “People who engage in expressive writing report feeling happier and less negative than before writing.”
JUDGMENT-FREE: a journal is a safe place to express thoughts you might not otherwise feel comfortable sharing. Nobody else ever needs to see it or judge it. You can purge emotionally and come to terms with situations that are creating strong feelings, which can be harmful if not expressed. Journaling caters to both left- and right-brained people and has no rules – neatness, perfect penmanship, and excellent grammar are not required.
OBSERVATION: what happens to us is not nearly as important as the way we interpret what happens to us. Journaling shifts us into the “observer” role and allows us to step back and see our interpretations, giving us the opportunity to reinterpret them in a more helpful way. Our thoughts create our feelings, which create our actions, which create our reality. Observing our thoughts on a regular basis gives us insight and empowers us to lead happy and purposeful lives.
UNDERSTANDING: Journaling uncovers your own personal processing style – how you think, learn, create, and utilize your intuition. Writing down your innermost thoughts connects you to the bigger picture and provides you better understanding of your feelings, beliefs, and values. Once you clearly understand your core values, you can align those with your actions and live a life of integrity.
REVELATION: taking the time to write down your thoughts and emotions in your journal will help you quickly get in touch with your internal world, revealing your desires and dreams, as well as your goals and aspirations. What you record in your journal can be an outward expression of unknown inner impulses and also reveals the depths of who you are at your core.
NEEDS ASSESSMENT: Journaling is a powerful way to seek answers to your life’s challenges. Roger Hiemstra, author of Uses and Benefits of Journal Writing, offers up that potential solutions to problems and challenging situations are much more likely to surface when those problems are written down. Clear-minded, judgment-free brainstorming is an effective way to generate ideas where ruminating over your problems in your head is not.
AWARENESS: Keeping a journal on a regular basis can not only help you see where you are doing things well in your life and where you might need to make adjustments, but will also remind you of your blessings. Callahan McDonough, a licensed clinical social worker and life coach in Atlanta improves the quality of her clients’ lives by teaching them daily morning and evening rituals, which includes beginning their day by writing a gratitude list.
LIFE QUALITY: Setting aside as little as 15 minutes a day to journal significantly decreases stress and anxiety. Not only is this relaxing, but it also provides numerous health benefits — it is widely known that reducing stress levels also reduces risks associated with cardiovascular disease, improves digestion, decreases headaches, improves sleep, and lowers the risk of substance abuse and depression.
Sign up for a FREE 52-week online self-guided journaling program: http://indispenceablecoaching.journalengine.com
Jeannea Spence is a Life and Leadership Development Coach in Richmond, VA, who partners with her clients to discover their core values and connect their inner purpose and passion to outer goals and strategies, creating lives beyond their wildest dreams. When you’re ready for IndiSPENCEable Inspiration, contact Jeannea for a no-cost, no-obligation 30-minute consultation: 804-447-1390 or jeannea@IndiSPENCEableCoaching.com.
