8+ Personal Journal Templates – PDF
There’s a different kind of high we get from simply being able to express ourselves without the fear of being judged. It’s the kind of freedom that truly matters because the moment we stop telling stories and listening to others tell theirs, we lose our sense of self. We lose our understanding of the lives we have lived and why our journeys matter just as much as anyone else’s. You may also see recipe journal templates.
Perhaps, these are also the very things that most influential people in history have thought about, so that they kept a record of their lives in journals that others have managed to gain access to, publish and share to the whole world, opening their truths, their soul, their heart, to the rest of us. And their thoughts were the worlds for the taking. Whether they were writing to hopefully influence a multitude of people for generations long after they were gone or simply kept journals for some sort of release, they are proof that having a personal journal is good for what could be a hundred other reasons. You may also see vintage journal templates.
Journal Module Sample
download.nos.org
Journal of Social and Personal Relationships
greatergood.berkeley.edu
Sample Personal Journal Template
winthrop.edu
Why Do We Need a Personal Journal?
Maybe you also want to leave a poignant record of posterity. Maybe you want your family and friends to know your life as you have seen it, long after you are gone. Maybe, just maybe writing entries on blank pages of a journal is the best way to keep your mind fresh and your creativity flowing. Maybe you just want to write so you can freeze a fragile moment on your pen and paper just like how a photographer captures that rare ray of light on the ocean, knowing it may never come again and you just have to repeat it for other people, but mostly for you. Because these are what journals and diaries are made of. We keep so many thoughts we cannot seem to make sense out of, swimming inside our head and we put so little of them on paper. You may also see excel journal templates.
Thoughts may just be a bunch of mundane little something but they can be overwhelming. And, if we don’t write down what we feel at the height of our emotions, in our darkest and brightest times, these feelings will pass, without us having the pleasure to repeat it ever again, except memory. And memory is often very tricky, so a great way to keep what we think and feel, organized and keep our minds clear, is by writing them down. Writing lets you express yourself from a very personal place, in ways that are unsurpassed, like helping you stay sane in the midst of madness and chaos around and inside you. You may also see word journal templates.
Journal Writing Sample
wou.edu
Personal Journal Template
llcc.edu
Get Started
It’s never too late to start writing a journal, regardless of your fast-paced life, age and the lingering “diaries are for petty teens” stereotypes. You don’t need to be Sylvia Plath or Oscar Wilde to warrant writing down the daily whatnot of your life. You don’t need to be a pro at writing, you just have to make sure that it’s something you want to do, if not daily, at least, once a week. You don’t need a theme, and you don’t need rules. Journals aren’t for rules. They’re all about breaking what rules you may have believed to be involved in writing personal stuff. Then again, it’s not called “personal” journal for nothing. You may also see journal paper templates.
You’re free to make mistakes and let the mumbo jumbo of your thoughts flow. If you’re sure that you want a journal, just start by setting an entry schedule. This will make you more committed to making it part of your routine, a habit that you would eventually voluntarily do, not just by keeping to the schedule but out of choice. When you have a schedule, it is easier to develop journaling into something natural that you can look forward to, without even realizing it. You may also see journal website themes.
Mind Matters
Other people find it hard to understand how those who love to read, could trade a party for a cup of coffee, a good book, or their journals. But then that is what their idea of a weekend or free time well spent is. And naturally, these people somehow have the ability to connect with their environment and steer clear of it whenever the need arises, by writing. It is important for anybody to take about 30 minutes or more from their daily environment, because being mentally prepared for your first journal entry, is a good way before getting down to make sure that your mind is in the right place. You may also see photography journal templates.
Different people have different ways of clearing their heads and setting their thoughts for writing for themselves. Some listen to soothing music while others read since reading gives a great inspiration or write. Then there are those who take a moment to meditate and be connected with the sounds and sights of their surroundings. There are also people who find that talking with loved ones helps a lot to put them in the mood to write. All these and more will help you gear up before you start and it also naturally triggers and sets the right mood for thinking deep, learning and visualizing. You may also see inspirational journal templates.
Write to Reset
Physically, we need recharging away from work and away from everything and everyone else we see on a regular basis so that our bodies can find the strength to work at a pace we expect and were used to, again. The same goes for our minds and even our emotions. The best ideas always come when we are far from our desks, relaxing and watching sunsets on the horizon, with only our thoughts, and our journals to keep us company. Seeing things clearly about where we want to be, what we want to do and who we want to be with, is easier when we give ourselves a well-deserved reset once in a while, if not more. Pressing our very own reset buttons is good, especially if we really take the time to be alone and in tune with our thoughts and emotions. Having whatever comes to mind, written down in some worn-out pages, while we’re at it, is of course, better. You may also see dance journal templates.
Nature Journal Sample
fishandgame.idaho.gov
Benefits of Keeping a Journal
“Dear Diary” isn’t reserved for the long-forgotten teenage series that you were guilty of watching some yesterdays ago. Don’t let the judgment of journals being made for society’s most awkward introverts only fool you into skepticism, as research, especially in psychology, stands by the value and benefit of journal writing. Some people may see writing as just a way to pass time or an inevitable part of a fraction of our lives without any proven tangible value. Not convinced? Not for long, as the following benefits beg to differ to any argument about the wonders of writing journal entries. You may also see coffee journal templates.
1. Emotional Intelligence
It has been argued that emotional intelligence is the key to a person’s overall growth and success. Emotional intelligence defined is the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships with fair judgment and empathy. Journaling gives you that since it provides a great chance to be more self-aware and pay attention to what you feel. The internal familiarity then becomes an outlet for putting yourself in another person’s shoes so that you are also aware of what people around you are going through. It also further harnesses your emotions to the extent of establishing a better connection with people around you. You may also see writer journal templates.
2. Self-Discipline
Developing a schedule to write your journal entry and committing to it is a personal responsibility that not everyone can handle. Whether you set the time to write at a specific time of the day or just plain write any time of the day at all, is in itself a form of discipline. It takes discipline to be disciplined. The more you build it, the stronger your sense of discipline becomes, and that helps a lot in turning an otherwise messy life around. Before you know it, you will suddenly see yourself making up your bed in two minutes, doing your tasks and finishing them on time, and so on, forming healthy, simple but life-changing habits as you go along.
3. Healing
How many times have we seen people getting into trouble just because they find it very difficult to express themselves? We already know that being misunderstood or hiding your pain and all other emotions would make a vulnerable person a ticking time bomb, causing massive trouble and danger not only to themselves but also to people around them. Expressing yourself by writing is one of the greatest ways to one’s recovery from physical, psychological, and emotional pain. We translate what we feel into a language that we alone can grasp and understand. And, people have no idea how very important that is. This is the reason why many psychologists suggest writing as part of one’s therapy and healing process. Because we write to remember. We write to forget. And sometimes, we write to heal. You may also see education journal templates.
Personal Journal Template Format
escapenow.wikischolars.columbia.edu
Weekly Journal Example
ecok.edu
If you ever think about taking writing seriously after you discover the joys and wonders of writing your journal entries and writing without even thinking or caring whether the things you wrote down are coherent should anybody else get to read them at all, remember this: Before writing for others, we have to write for ourselves. We have to tell our stories to ourselves first. Only then can we become worthy of telling stories about others, for others. You may also see magazine journal blog templates.
More in Journal Templates
