A digital journal can make your life that much better. Keeping a journal is a great habit to support your happiness. Even if you don’t keep track of it daily. I use my digital journal in periods when my head is a bit fuller as a place to spar and create air.
Below are some ways a journal can help you become happier. Maybe it’s time you started keeping a journal too?
1. You can clear your head
Your journal is a place where you can vent. You know only you will read it, so you can actually write down what you feel. Your journal is the only place outside your head where you can be yourself.
And that is valuable.
Writing off you frees up a lot of space in your head. That’s how the brain works: as soon as you write down your thoughts, your subconscious dares to let them go. Because it trusts that you will not forget those ‘important’ things.
This reduces worrying thoughts, worrying and the build – up of chronic stress. Pretty nice.
2. A digital journal helps you to create order
I often start writing with a full head. Then I feel negative, overwhelmed and confused. And after a few minutes of writing I usually end up with the same conclusion: life is pretty fun.
When your head is full, all your thoughts get ‘tangled up’. I like to compare it to a string of Christmas lights that is completely confused. By writing, you separate the Christmas lights one by one, leaving a cord that you can use again.
If life overwhelms you, start writing. Chances are you’ll come out the other side with more clarity and peace of mind.
3. A digital journal helps you deal with emotions better
Negative emotions are sometimes intense and overwhelming. By describing them in a digital journal you make them less intense. Why? Simple: negativity is always a result of fear.
And fear is like darkness – if you shine a lamp on it, it disappears.
Ask yourself why you feel what you feel. And describe it exactly, also where you feel it in your body. And use your journal to work through the emotions. Then you will see that – often, not always – you are left on the other side with light and space in your head and heart.
4. A digital journal gives you a lot of self-insight
I’ve been using this digital journal app for years, and I really enjoy the ‘reminder’ feature. If I wrote something on a date in previous years, I get a notification.
I often take a moment to read my stories and am amazed at the growth I have made. I read about how I used to worry about things that I don’t even think about anymore.
A digital journal helps you get to know yourself better. Immediately, while writing. But also by reading back. You see very clearly how you develop and how your ‘inner world’ changes.
5. A digital journal is a fertile breeding ground
Once you get used to keeping a journal, you can use this habit to make your life even better. When I write in my digital journal I usually answer these two questions:
What’s on my mind right now?
What do I feel grateful for now?
The first question helps me to clear my head and to create order in my life. The second question invites me to end with gratitude and appreciation for the things that are going well in my life. And that habit adds a lot of fun and happiness to my day.
