I want to make journaling a daily habit. I write a journal entry occasionally, but to show up and write down what you experience every day is a major challenge to people who are new to journaling. What if I run out of ideas to write?
Journal is a collection of thoughts, experiences, and memories you want to remember as part of your journey living your life. There are no rules in keeping a journal. You’re free to write anything in a journal entry, yet far too often, you run out of ideas when presented with a blank screen.
My first entry was on December 4th, 2011. It was about my experience initiating a conversation with an attractive girl in a salon.
I didn’t write regularly. Sometimes I would note down few quotes from the books I read, but apart from that, I would write about once a week. Most of those entries are one or two paragraphs of my feelings towards the events that are happening to me.
The most challenging part of keeping a journal is to write without judging your writing. You fail to write down your opinions and emotions because you set a high expectation for your journal entry. You can find journal templates online, but there is no such a thing known as correct journal format. It’s different for each person, and mistakes are acceptable in a journal. The journal is meant to be honest and personal.
Don’t even mention that you have nothing to write. You absolutely have something to write.
Our mind is like a dog. It’s attracted to anything that move. Try it yourself. Sit still for five minutes by focusing on one item in your room.
Can you stay focused?
We’re so used to distractions that we’re not aware of them. We’re always worrying, thinking, and planning for something. They’re all the topics you can write as journal entries. My mom is a Schizophrenic, and I have a bulk of emotional entries complaining and even showing hatred towards her.
Do I carry these feelings with me all the time? Maybe, but I choose to discard these destructive emotions in the journal, everything, by writing it down.
You will never run out of things to write in a journal. The only time you’ll run out of ideas to write is when you’re dead.