How Journaling Leads to Mindfulness
By writing down our world, our ideas, and emotions, we make room for more self-reflection, and in turn for awareness, what Buddhism calls mindfulness: the intentional action of focusing our attention on the present moment and on specific thoughts, feelings or experiences.
Keeping a gratitude journal forces outwards any emphasis on what you don’t have and inwards on what does exist to be thankful for – it also helps one to be more mindfully present in the moment, as well as taking pleasure in those things and experiences that bring a sense of enjoyment and contentment.
Journaling, therefore, is a catharsis that can help to reduce pent-up emotions and gain distance from necessary struggles in life. A calm and centred mind is better equipped to handle the nuances of life.
Regular journaling exposes your patterns within your thinking and behaving, allowing you to exercise choice more actively and fully, rejecting crappy cycles, and helping to live a more intention-driven life.
Finally, by working with the emotions at the physical center of the body and putting them on paper, journaling helps people connect with the feeling of the mind and the body working together, as part of a healthy whole.
When we learn to use journaling as a vehicle for personal change, journaling can take on a transitive form and serve as a path towards a more flourishing life: People who engage in journaling for personal growth are more likely than those who do not to perceive journaling as a way for them to experience meaningful life changes. Journaling provides pathways towards greater self-awareness and the capacity to connect with one’s emotions. Both of these factors are important in psychological flourishing. People who journal for personal growth benefit from this kind of journaling in part because it can help them focus more on their inner selves and their emotions.
Ready to begin journaling your way toward more mindfulness? Grab our Self-love Journal. This is a 31-day digital hyperlinked journal complete with 31 journaling prompts. Get the Journal.