At the top of 2019, I was approached by a friend and colleague who was considering me to assist in co-authoring her next book. "Soaring Beyond The 9 to 5".
This was not something that I had ever done before, nor would I even know where to begin if left on my own. However the more that I gave the offer thought, the more I realized that I had nothing to lose and everything to gain by stepping outside of my comfort zone.
After graduating from High School, I began to write and journal. This was before "journaling" was a trend. It afforded me the opportunity to gather my thoughts, plan out my short and long term goals, work on my love for writing, and help me to process and develop my understanding of the world around me.
Now I was being asked to actually publish, and profit off of something that I considered a fun hobby.
At the beginning of the writing process, I realized that this was not a task that I would be able to complete in one shot. I would have to take the writing in very specific chunks, just as I did with my journaling. I took apart the suggested questions and prompts; which is what lead me to contribute my chapter effectively.
My familiarity with journaling helped me gather my thoughts in an organized way, helped me stay on task so that I not only shared quality information with the future readers, but did so while staying within the scheduled completion deadline.
Journaling is POWERFUL.
Keeping journals is not just for adults this is very beneficial for kids of all ages from Elementary to High School.
For kids, a journal can be as simple or as elaborate as you want. They can use a plain composition notebook, with maybe a few scented gel colored pens, a slightly embellished/colorful book from a local Michael's, AC Moore, Walmart or Dollar Store. Depending on the age of the child could determine if prompts are needed or if it would be a freestyle journal where words, and drawings were entered.
By writing and drawing in their journals, kids are deciding what events they want to remember from their day. By creating these histories, children develop writing and storytelling skills that will help them in school and beyond. Kids experience new things every single day. Journaling gives them a safe space to go over these events and reflect. Some kids’ journal entries are serious, but a lot of them are very silly. They are laughing and developing their sense of humor at the same time.
For adults, you may want a journal with a little more sparkle and personality. I personally love the colors fuscia and turquoise (wink, wink), with inspirational sayings on the front. Journals are EVERYWHERE now; Barnes & Nobles, Amazon.com, Etsy.com, and on websites belonging to some creative small business owners. Just enter 'Journals' in your Google search- you are bound to find what you are looking for. Thanks to advanced technology, there are even apps such as Momento, Moodnotes and Five Minute Journal that make journaling convenient and fun.
Here are some of the many benefits of journaling:
Relieves stress
Inspires creativity
Hones writing skills
Encourages Self Expression
Encourages positive communication
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