'Journaling' is, and should be, practiced for many reasons. I mean writing in real, physical books -journals- that you can touch, feel and turn actual pages. This is not blogging; it is not micro-blogging; it is not "social" and it's not, "in the cloud." It's close, it's personal and it's private. We could use a bit more privacy these days.

As a self-taught writer, communications consultant and aspiring screenwriter who now keeps journals, yet DID NOT benefit from the habit of keeping them in my youth, I can tell you first-hand why I wasished I ALWAYS had. Here are my, "Top 10 Reasons for Everyone To 'Journal.'"

1. TO DOCUMENT YOUR PRIVATE THOUGHTS DURING SPECIAL MOMENTS AND EVENTS
Photos -if you have them- will remind you what the event or special occasion was, and where, and capture evidence of who; yet unless you write those impressions down, what you thought and felt may only end up an unarticulated, and therefore elusive, memory.

2. TO CHRONICLE MILESTONES
First dance; weddings; births and birthdays; funerals; awards; proms; graduations; anniversaries. The big events and major achievements that signify endings and new beginnings are those moments in time, that looking back, the lack of documentation, brings with it regret. Without a written record, there is a quiet sadness that there is not better evidence to help you remember or to serve as proof. Yes, pictures are worth a thousand words, yet words expressed well, can really tell what can only be guessed or imagined through photographs.

3. TO BUILD, OR TO DRAW FROM, MATERIAL FOR WRITING
Just the habit of writing your first-hand impressions in journals, makes a writer. Add to that habit, chronicling the people you meet and know, places you've traveled, conversations you've had, and stories you've heard, and it can all be referred and used as source material for writing. This applies wherever you're writing fact, fiction or just for fun.

4. TO TRACK YOUR PROGRESS AND MEASURE GROWTH
Recording your achievements in sports, academies and career lets you see where you've been and stay on path for where you're planning to go through your lifetime.

5. TO GAIN UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR FEELINGS and MASTERY OF YOUR EMOTIONS
If we write down how we feel on a consistent basis throughout our working, playing, loving -our living experience- we can then know our own patterns. This helps us know ourselves. Individuals who have mastered this self-awareness understand -and can manage- their own reactions. Persons with this level of insight are the most highly evolved, "cool," as in enlightened and capable, people you'll meet.

6. TO FOREVER REMEMBER THE INFLUENCE OF FRIENDS, FAMILY and OTHER SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS
So many people pass through our lives and make an impact; in many cases, too many to accurately remember and take the opportunity to acknowledge. When kept in a journal, this information remains accessible and timeless.

7. TO CAPTURE YOUR PAST
By thoroughly recording your personal history you can better recall and reflect on your life. Maintaining this intimate and telling portrait of your past ensures you gain perspective and will not stay stuck in your past.

8. TO TRIGGER RECORLECTIONS OF BRIEF, YET MEANINGFUL, ENCOUNTERS
Remember that beautiful spirit you met in passing and how it made you smile inside? Remember that revelation-generating conversation? Remember the revelations? You would if you had recorded it on paper.

9. TO RECORD YOUR CREATIVE IDEAS and WHAT INSPIRED THEM
Beyond jotting down tiny notes on random scraps of paper or the always handy, sticky notes, keeping a journal of your creative ideas will instill the habit of doing so and then build up your creativity. A more in-depth account of what you thought of, when, where and why, can lead you to recreate these stimuli when needed.

10. TO PROVIDE A PRIVATE OUTLET
This allows you to express your inner hopes, fears, needs and desires. These are things we as humans all need to express and not necessarily with others. These private expressions help you develop empathy, allowing you to learn your own motivations well enough to relate to others.

IN CONCLUSION:
There are many powerful reasons to keep journals through your lifetime, among them these "top" ten. Ultimately, keeping journals helps shape your inner 'voice' and outer aptitude as a communicator -which we all are- whether we're professional writers or not. More than ever, in this age of information, keeping journals is essential.

Source by Alysyn Curd