I've always been curious about the fact that many famous people kept and keep diaries. Such extraordinary figures as Thomas Jefferson, Charles Darwin, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Winston Churchill - all of them always carried notebooks with them, and wrote down in them everything that seemed important to them. I couldn’t understand why they needed this, I was wondering where they got their ideas from, and what made them write in the first place.
In a word, such an activity as keeping a personal journal has always fascinated me. I took great pleasure in reading the writings of people like Francis Bacon, who wrote reflections on all sorts of topics in his notebook, or Susan Sontag, who in her writings said everything that she could not say to people in person. Diaries like these never cease to amaze me.
But no matter how captivated I was by the idea of keeping personal records, the one thing I still couldn’t get around to doing was starting my own journal. One of the main reasons was that I did not feel the difference between a journal and a regular diary in which I would write down how I spent the day. What's the point of wasting time writing nonsense like what I had for breakfast? I didn't want to just scribble paper, I wanted to write outstanding things, like Darwin or Jefferson. I thought that I was a small bird, and my flight was low, and keeping a diary was out of the question.
To say that I was wrong is to say nothing.
What I absolutely could not understand was the true role of the magazine in a person’s life. Its value is not in writing incredibly thoughtful and amazing things, a journal is a memory that stores your innermost thoughts. I was blind and did not see the benefits that such activity gives a person. A journal is “a vehicle for expressing your individuality,” a space where you can “release your emotional and spiritual independence.” This is your refuge, which will help you achieve peace, and maybe make you sad, it motivates and gives food for thought; makes you hate yourself or love yourself - your reflection on paper.
Why is this necessary?
The fact is that everyone has their own reason for taking on such records. Some people journal because their friends do; some, having read someone's diary, found it touching and “decided too.” That's all well and good, but the best reason is this: it's an opportunity to use writing as exercise. thought process- an unusually useful thing. And whatever your reasons for keeping a diary/journal, the process itself will significantly improve the quality of your life. How? Below I have listed what you can achieve by starting a magazine, I have supported these theses with statements from famous people.Your notes will help you understand yourself better.
Barack Obama, US President:Writing in my life important tool, which helps me understand what I believe in, what I see, what excites me, what my highest values are. The very process of turning mental chaos into a coherent, intelligible sentence forces you to set yourself more and more difficult tasks.
The point of keeping a personal journal is to describe how you feel. Not so easy to pick Right words to express what's going on in your head. Not in the sense that it’s hard to write about what worries you, but it’s hard to gather thoughts together, structure them and put them on paper. In fact, only the most important and important things that are constantly bubbling in the brain remain on paper.
Repeating this process many times will allow you to learn to understand yourself better. This is a kind of filter that turns on automatically, filters out everything unnecessary and leaves only the essence of things on the surface - what is of decisive importance for you. Virginia Woolf wrote in her diary that when she re-read her old notes, sometimes a completely new meaning was revealed to her.
When you happen to re-read what you wrote after some time, then you will understand what the power of a diary is. You will realize the weight of the words you leave on its pages, and you will understand how that strange, inarticulate note in which you tried to justify your decision will help you now avoid making mistakes and make your life happier.
A journal will help other people understand you better.
Yes, such a magazine is a deeply personal thing, but you are unlikely to deny that you would like someone to read it after your death. Be it your children, your loved one. Your notes will help them understand the decisions you made in your life and will provide answers to many questions. People will be able to peer into your world through pages full of spontaneous thoughts and reflections.This may sound strange, but your thoughts and reasoning, collected in one place, practically give you immortality.
The journal stores all those little things that you might have long forgotten about.
Charles Bukowski:“Some moments in life are wonderful, some are even more wonderful, and some are worth writing about.”
Remember that breakfast joke? But the truth is, life consists of little things. And the diary - perfect place, in which you can store these little things - a look, a taste, a feeling, a moment. Any detail that will make you smile ten years from now.
Keeping a personal journal helps you develop as a writer.
Shawn Blanc, creator of shawnblanc.net:As a writer, I can say that keeping a personal journal is extraordinary. important thing. Nobody will ever find fault with these records; they don’t need an editor. A magazine is an opportunity to write for a truly ideal reader—your future self. He understands all my jokes and conventions, in a word, he knows where his legs come from. I love to write about anything, in any way, without worrying about accuracy, clarity, or content. Without a doubt, this is how I grow as a writer.
I agree with Sean - a journal doesn't have to have any restrictions. Some people are not good with spelling and syntax, but with each new entry (which, ideally, should be done regularly), writing develops into a habit and culture writing grows on its own. And on my own behalf I want to say that on the pages of my diary I can really observe progress - the result of constant training.
A personal journal is the best motivator
Franz Kafka:In your diary you find evidence that even in conditions that seem unbearable today, you lived, looked around and wrote down your observations, that, therefore, this right hand moved, as today, when, thanks to the opportunity to survey the then state, you, it is true, grew wiser, but with all the more reason you must recognize the fearlessness of your then aspiration, which was preserved despite complete ignorance. (translated by Evgenia Aleksandrovna Katseva)
Couldn't have said it better.
I am incredibly glad that I was able to discover this art in quite a while. early age; It is a great pleasure for me to spend some time talking to myself; I am pleased to know that those minutes that I experienced will not fade from my memory; I'm extremely glad that I keep a diary.
Why Day One?
After I decided to start keeping a personal journal, I had to choose in what form this would be done; there were several options: a paper notebook, a Word document, a number of applications. It was important for me that the method I chose met the following requirements:- ease of record keeping
- availability
- ease of use
- reliability of data storage
- confidentiality
In the second post in this series, I will answer the question “What to write about?” Sometimes it can be difficult to decide what to write in your personal journal and what not to write about. I will try to help you figure this out.
Many people think that keeping a personal diary is an activity for teenagers who do not want to share their experiences with others. But such a judgment is very far from the truth, because people of almost all ages keep personal diaries and social groups. A personal diary is an ideal stress reliever that will listen to you carefully, keep your secrets and will cost much less than the services of a psychotherapist. In addition, you can write in your diary useful ideas, interesting notes or make small sketches. This will help organize your thoughts and unload your memory.
Keeping a diary has a positive effect not only on psychological, but also on physical health. Expressive writing, which you use in your journal, helps your body relieve stress, improve sleep quality, normalize blood pressure, and improve the functionality of your immune system. As a result, you begin to feel much better, your mood improves, and communicating with others becomes easier and more enjoyable.
Despite all the benefits, not all people who start keeping a diary continue to do so. The fact is that they are approaching this matter incorrectly from the very beginning. Excessive seriousness and pedantry can ruin your impressions of the first entries in your diary and discourage any desire to continue writing. Therefore, we will tell you how to properly journal and enjoy it.
1) No need to be confused Personal diary With literary work. Write freely, without paying attention to spelling, punctuation or the beauty of your sentences. No one but you will read this, so there is no point in being distracted by such trifles. In addition, when remembering how to spell a particular word, you may miss the point.
2) Use paper and pen the old fashioned way. Even if you type quickly on a keyboard or tablet, writing by hand will help you avoid being distracted by editing text. Red and green wavy underlines in text editor will distract you and confuse your thoughts, and the paper will tolerate your typos and won’t say a word if you miss a few commas in a fit of inspiration.
4) Choose a place where you feel comfortable writing. You should not be distracted by noise, extraneous sounds or exciting events outside the window. Plus, it should be a place that you always have access to, so it's best to do it at home.
5) Keep your diary in a safe place, away from prying eyes. It's best to store it in a desk drawer, safe (if you have one), or another place that can be locked with a key. Well, if you don’t have such a place at home, you can carry the diary with you.
A personal diary will help you cope with many stressful situations, because if you don't have loved one, to whom you can tell absolutely everything, then it will be difficult for you to keep all your problems and experiences to yourself, and a personal diary is a good listener who will never judge you and knows how to keep secrets.
Michael Grothaus
Writer, independent journalist. Founder and CEO SITU Scale.
I have been running a personal account for many years. Twelve to be exact. When I tell people that I keep a diary, some begin to think that these are some kind of work-related notes. Others imagine a teenage version in the spirit of: “Dear diary! Now I feel...” And that’s all.
When I first started journaling, the first page was a real pain. But today, journaling is one of my favorite parts of my day: writing down my thoughts makes me feel better both physically and mentally.
Surprisingly, improving your well-being by keeping a diary is not just psychosomatic. This is really a matter for those who deal with it. According to Dr. James Pennebaker, a psychologist and leading expert on expressive writing, journaling helps strengthen immune cells called T cells. Thanks to this, mood improves and social activity increases. Also appears beneficial influence on the quality of close relationships.
Most research on expressive writing is conducted with measures of physical health, which allows you to track changes. As a result of numerous scientific experiments, it became known that thanks to keeping a diary, one begins to function better. the immune system, blood pressure is normalized, stress is improved, and stress is reduced. After several months of keeping a diary, people begin to see doctors less often. Other studies have found that this activity improves fast healing wounds and greater mobility among people with arthritis. And the list goes on.
So what is journaling? This is the combination of personal reporting, based on facts, with the study of one’s own, sometimes irrational, but always important.
giphy.com There are weeks when I write every day, and sometimes I go a whole month without writing a single word. The point of keeping a diary is not only to organize your thoughts - after all, you can simply think about them carefully, and this will also bring certain benefits. When keeping a diary, it is the act of writing down thoughts that brings the greatest results.
When you take notes, the left, rational hemisphere of your brain is working. While it's busy right hemisphere can do what he does best: create, predict and feel. Keeping a diary removes all psychological blocks and allows you to use all the capabilities of our brain to better understand ourselves and the world around us.
Maud Purcell, psychotherapist, writing expert
Already intrigued? I think yes. But maybe you're like me 12 years ago, when I didn't know where to start. Therefore, I offer the following 8 tips that will help you master the art of journaling in no time.
1. Use pen and paper
The modern world is all about keyboards and touch screens. But when it comes to journaling, regular pen and paper have more advantages.
I find that most of my patients intuitively understand that writing down thoughts by hand is more effective than using a keyboard. And research confirms this. It turns out that while writing, the reticular activating system is stimulated - that area of the brain that filters and brings to the fore the information on which we focus.
Maud Purcell
Writing by hand has additional benefits. This keeps us from editing our own thoughts. Although many people in their 20s and 30s have lost the muscle memory of handwriting and may find it slow and awkward, it won't be long before you feel comfortable writing by hand again.
When I can convince young people, especially 20-year-olds, to take good old-fashioned note-taking, they are always amazed at the results because it really calms them down and helps them cope with problems.
Maud Purcell
2. If you don’t like writing with a pen, find a suitable tool for you
Perhaps, after trying to write by hand, you will realize that this option is not suitable for you. There's nothing wrong with that.
Luckily, there are a huge variety of options available today. Personally, I prefer to journal by hand using the V5 Hi-Techpoint pen, which has a very thin tip. Yes, only this specific option. I think it's the perfect tool to help my thoughts flow from my head to the pages of my Moleskine notebook.
But, if paper and pen are not for you, turn to their technological counterparts. Standard editors (Word from Microsoft or Pages from Apple) and more minimalistic solutions like . Perhaps you prefer touch screens. In general, look for the most convenient solution for yourself.
3. Set a reasonable limit for yourself
giphy.com Previously, people set themselves a limit on the amount of writing, for example, 3 pages every day. But experts agree that more effective solution There will be a time limit when keeping a diary.
Rationally consider how much time per day you can allocate to this activity in your busy schedule. Even if it's only 5 minutes at first.
Time limits help people focus on a specific goal when they start journaling. Seeing 3 blank pages in front of you can be difficult, and the matter will end before it even begins. And the time limit will not seem like an ordeal.
4. You don't have to be Shakespeare
Most (regardless of what they write: journal entries, an article for a popular magazine, or a long novel) are usually mistaken in believing that everything they write must be deep and sensual. And when you start keeping a diary with such a delusion, you can be sure that it will lead to failure. Such activities are directed outward, at others, but you should keep a diary for yourself. True depth appears naturally, spontaneously, even by accident. Pretentiousness occurs when people deliberately try to appear smarter.
Shakespeare was a great writer because of his natural talent and careful study of human nature. But what's good for him doesn't have to be good for you. You don't have to show off your literary talent. You just need to write.
I advise my patients to forget about spelling, punctuation and just pour out their stream of consciousness on paper. This way, keeping a diary will help bring to the fore information that is stored a little deeper than consciousness. Let it pour out.
Maud Purcell
5. Don't edit
One of the purposes of journaling is to explore areas of your mind that you may not want to explore. Diary entries are not articles. No one will check your spelling, grammar, punctuation or content structure. When you edit, you become thoughtful and focus on your writing rather than your thoughts.
The essence of journaling is to write without thinking. By thinking, we interfere with our intuition, and therefore the whole meaning of the diary is lost. Journaling can help us explore ways we may not consciously discover. We can find extremely interesting topics if we stop thinking for a while.
6. Journal in the same place every day.
giphy.com You don't have to lock yourself in a secluded ivory tower to write down your thoughts. However, having a specific place where you write your personal journal will encourage you to take better introspective notes.
I have a favorite cafe in London where I like to write. Even when it gets noisy with cups clinking and customers talking, I find the background noise calming. It helps me immediately get into the right frame of mind, and I dive into my diary. If a coffee shop isn't your thing, try writing in a quiet room at home or on a park bench.
Let it be an attractive place, where it is cozy, where there are things that inspire you, where you can see, touch or smell them: flowers, sentimental items, memorabilia or pleasant drinks - your choice.
Maud Purcell
7. Leave room for content.
When I buy a new Moleskine, I always skip the first two or three pages before I start journaling. When I fill my entire notebook (usually in a year), I wait a while and then re-read it.
As I re-read, I highlight notes or thoughts that I think are important, note the page numbers or date of writing, and then move them to the very beginning of the journal. This is how the content gradually develops, thanks to which I can easily find important entries. This helps me a lot when I face difficulties. I can look at how I have faced challenges in the past that seemed insurmountable but that I was eventually able to overcome.
Experts do not have a consensus on whether a diary needs a table of contents or not.
“Some people like structure, some people don't,” Pennebaker says. - Some people like to reread what they have written, others don’t. The point is to find a way that works for you."
Purcell has a different point of view: “I like the idea. Of course, some parts of the journal will seem more relevant to your life as a whole. And quick access to these notes will be useful, especially in confusing or confusing times. It’s great to be able to remind yourself how you dealt with seemingly impossible situations in the past.”
8. Keep your diary away from prying eyes
Find a reliable and safe place for your diary. For this activity to be truly effective, you must feel as free as possible and write down things that you cannot tell even your best friend.
A personal diary is not a letter to another person. This is not a document by which others should judge you. Want to ? Fine. Write a book. The diary is just for you alone. If what you write may hurt the feelings of others or harm your reputation, destroy the diary or hide it in a safe place.
Remember that you are writing only for yourself.
Every day a person has to wear masks: a strict teacher, but a kind father; an insecure middle manager by day, but a great stand-up comedian by night. It is very easy to get confused in your personalities. Self-knowledge is considered in a great way psychotherapy, and one of its powerful tools is a personal diary. Taking it will help you recognize your strengths and weak sides, avoid repeating past mistakes, learn to express your thoughts.
What is a personal diary?
A personal diary is a way of expressing one’s thoughts, helping to convey events occurring in a person’s life, giving them an emotional overtones, analyzing them, and drawing conclusions. It is created on paper or in in electronic format. Some psychologists recommend conducting it by hand, but in the age of electronic technology this does not matter, the main thing is that the person is comfortable.
It is not necessary to make notes every day, but it is advisable to write everything down there important events, triumphs and defeats, experiences and joys, even minor ones. Keeping a personal diary is at the same time a confession, a psychotherapy session, and planning.
Why do you need a personal diary?
1. Memory games.
Memory is arranged in a very interesting way. A person experiences some events and it seems to him that he remembers them thoroughly. But over time, the picture becomes cloudy and the brain fills in the gaps in its own way. This is often observed when breaking up with a loved one. In the first days, only good memories come to mind, how wonderful it was together, what great emotions were felt at that time.
But once you look into the diary, it may turn out that everything was completely different. Resentments, suspicions, premonitions recorded in the diary will help you survive the breakup and understand that this is the right step to which you have been moving from page to page.
It also happens the other way around: resentment clouds the mind, and a person refuses to remember the good. And then the diary will become a wonderful reminder of ancient times. It will help you cope with anger and see everything in real light.
2. A dump for negative emotions.
There is a useful psychological technique. You need to write by hand everything that makes you angry, upset, ruins your mood, or prevents you from moving forward. And then tear, crumple, throw away, burn or destroy the sheet in any other way. This is how a person frees himself from negativity. The diary has almost the same function, with only one difference: you shouldn’t destroy it.
Most often, after throwing out emotions on paper, even electronic, relief comes. It is not always appropriate to express your point of view to the offenders’ faces. This most often happens during a conflict with superiors, partners, or clients. The diary will bear everything.
3. Getting to know yourself.
Sometimes a person does not fully know himself. It’s not for nothing that Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote: “The main thing is, don’t lie to yourself.” On the pages of a diary you can be yourself – weak, nasty, angry, cynical. The more honest the better. At first it will be difficult, because this can lead to disappointment in yourself, your goodness, your correctness. What is written can be scary.
For example, hatred of parents, envy best friend. But you absolutely must do this, because this is the only way to see your shortcomings and correct them. You also need to praise yourself! This helps to discover hidden abilities.
4. Your own psychologist.
They go to psychologists to sort out their problems. But the therapist never gives answers; he helps the person ask himself the right questions and answer them on his own. The diary does the same thing, only the person himself acts as a psychologist.
Having coped with previous paragraph and having become acquainted with yourself, you can begin to analyze. What exactly causes anger, why does it happen, at what moments, what becomes the catalyst? This will allow you to get to the bottom of the true source of the negativity.
It is also worth looking at the positive aspects. What does victory taste like, what feelings does it evoke, what does it push you towards? What causes Have a good mood what brings happiness? Sources of positivity need to be nurtured and maintained in “working” condition.
5. Goal achiever.
It is especially useful to set yourself goals for the year or month. For example, on December 31, you can make a list of goals in your diary for which you have been given 365 days. For those who are especially undisciplined, it is better to start with goals for a month or even a week, so it will be better to see what is constantly being put off until later.
At the end of the specified period, you should analyze what has already been done and what it led to. The analysis can also be carried out during the period, for example, to remind yourself that the jogging never started, and the announcements about new job no one looked at it.
By the way, the recorded goal is put on autopilot. This makes it easier for the brain to perceive it as a real intention. You can even go further and come up with a plan to achieve it. Moreover, the more detailed everything is described, the better.
For example, you need to renovate the bathroom. The chain of achieving this goal could be something like this: look at the tiles on the Internet, go to the store and compare prices, call a specialist, meet with a plumber. And continue on the same principle. It is necessary to write what exactly has been done from the list.
6. Protector from old rakes.
Not all people are able to learn from mistakes. But if it does, it will be much easier. Life is designed in such a way that events repeat themselves. We can say that this is how the Universe checks how much a person has learned a lesson in the past, and how he will behave now.
For example, a girl complains that she constantly comes across guys of the same type. If she already has experience with them, she knows what to expect from them. Yes, and besides, she was smart and kept a diary all this time; it wouldn’t be difficult for her to analyze the recorded experience and do everything differently in a new relationship. Firstly, it may turn out that it is not always a matter of “ bad guy" Secondly, it will help you not to get involved in an initially failed relationship.
7. Future memoirs.
It doesn’t matter at all whether the recordings become public or remain a hidden secret forever. Writing a diary will help you learn to structure your thoughts and express them correctly. To do this, you need to periodically re-read the diary, you can even make editorial changes to it, the main thing is not to change the essence of what was written, because the value of thoughts lies precisely in their relevance at the time of writing.
8. Back to the past.
Sometimes it’s very nice to plunge into memories and read old entries with a smile. You may be surprised to notice dramatic changes in your personality, and simply feel nostalgic, re-experiencing the emotions that you experienced in the past.
A personal diary will become an assistant, friend, psychologist. This is a secret door to the world of the subconscious. It must be carried out consciously, only in this case it will be beneficial.