It's a Journal, Not a Diary. : GENT'S POST

Emotions are hard. Thoughts are even harder to process, and sometimes, just writing those thoughts down in a journal (or on a piece of paper) can make all the difference in your mood.

See also: A Gentle Reminder for 2022>>>

We have a million things to do, and not enough time to do them all. We often get caught up in a tornado of thoughts which eventually leads us to frequent that wretched rabbit hole of self reflection. That’s when it gets scary. So what do we do? We “snap back to reality” and leave those thoughts buried slightly beneath the surface where they can’t hurt us. But that pain? That is where the growth is. Step into the discomfort.

Gentlemen, we need take some time out of our busy days to write down our thoughts and feelings. This will help us to understand them more clearly. Unless you’re lucky enough to be an alien, you are going to struggle with stress, depression, and/or anxiety. Keeping a journal can be a great idea because it can help you gain control of your emotions. And who doesn’t love being in control.

Diary vs. Journal

Lemme guess, only your little sister kept a diary and diaries are for little girls!

First of all, that’s blasphemous.

Secondly, you can have that one, today only. “Diaries are for girls”…cool. We’re here to discuss journaling anyway.

A diary is a book in which one keeps a daily record of events and experiences, vs a journal, which can closely be defined as the process of recording personal insights, reflections and questions on personal topics. Although very similar, a diary can always be called a journal, but a journal can’t always be correctly called a diary.

Now that we got that out of the way, let’s discuss what to write in our journals.

Journaling 101

“What do I journal about?” he asked, and “how do I even get started??” Let’s start with the latter:

Get a writing utensil.
Get a piece of paper.
Set a timer on your phone for 15 minutes.

Once you make it a habit, you’ll start lusting for that serenity you’re guaranteed to feel fifteen minutes after that fifteen minute timer goes off. Don’t be shocked when you find yourself at the store, excited to be picking out your own journal that you can keep in a safe place. But the only goal right now is to get started.

Journal Prompts

A simple Google search will give you an endless supply of journal prompts, which are just ideas to help you focus on what to write. Here are a few personal favourites:

What is the last thing that upset me that shouldn’t have?
What are three things I’m going to accomplish this week/month/year?
Write a letter to future you.
Write a thank you note for someone you can’t say it to in person.

There’s something about the effects of pen-to-paper that has often been imitated, but will never be duplicated. It’s literal insanity to equate a gender to sheets of paper glued or sewn together along one side and bound in covers. If you’re still worried about being chirped for having a journal and that it’s apparently being too “feminine”, honestly, let it go. If you’re not there yet, explain to the boys in the group chat that it’s a journal, by you, for you, and just get to writing. It will help.

Cheers to growth, progress, and future healing Gentlemen!