Why Journaling is a Life Skill

I was in the middle of making a guided journal for my publishing house, and while I was working on it, I had this thought.

What if I had this when I was younger?

What if someone had given me a journal that didn’t just give me blank pages, but told me how to think. What to write. What to focus on. Which emotions to tap into. What questions to ask myself.

I have been journaling since I was 13. I’m 26 now. That’s 13 years.

I have around 10 to 15 journals filled. Completely filled. With my stories. My emotions. What happened during the day. Which guy looked at me. Where we went for dinner. How I felt about it. What my friend said. What I overthought about.

I don’t regret writing that way at all.

If I pick up any one of those journals and read it, I am instantly transported back to that time. I remember what used to excite me. What used to make me happy. What made me cry. What my goals were. What I was dreaming about at 14, 16, 19.

That experience is beautiful. It’s almost time travel.

But while building this guided journal, I kept thinking.

If I had given even one month of my life to writing with structure, with prompts like:

What failure am I still defining myself by?

What was I afraid of when this happened?

How did this situation actually make me feel?

What roles am I trying to fit into that are not mine?

If I had questions like that earlier, I think I would have evolved faster.

I would have been more emotionally aware. I would have understood myself better instead of just narrating events.

And today, emotional awareness is rare.

Even the simple act of listening to yourself has become a luxury.

There is so much noise. Everyone telling you what to do. What to think. What to eat. What to wear. What success looks like.

Everything has an Instagram version.

And I know how much that can crowd your brain.

My brain is rarely quiet. I am constantly thinking.

Right now, I have 3 active projects I am working on. Not just thinking about, working on. And at least 10 more ideas sitting in the back of my mind. Things I haven’t started but feel responsible for. Things moving in the background.

While having a stable 9-5 job.

And even then, I feel like I’m not doing enough.

Like I’m behind.

There is no silence in my head.

The only time I can actually hear my thoughts is the 15 minutes I journal every day. I restarted that habit last week after almost six months of not journaling. I was in between cities. A lot was happening. I stopped.

So I consciously decided to give 15 minutes of my day back to it.

And it feels nice. It feels grounding. It feels like I am meeting myself again.

But something strange happened.

I don’t know what to write about anymore.

In 10th grade, I would sit and write 10, 15, sometimes 16 pages in one go. I had so much to say. And objectively, I was doing nothing. Just studying. Living a normal teenage life.

But everything felt important.

A teacher said something and I analysed it for three pages.

A friend smiled differently and I just knew it meant something.

A small comment felt like a major life event.

Everything was associated with emotion.

Now?

I got into one of the best schools in the country. I got into my favourite company. I’m working across multiple cities. I’m starting new projects everyday.

So much is happening.

But I feel like I have nothing to write.

That is the strangest part.

It’s not that life is empty. It’s just that I’m not in the habit of processing it.

And that’s where a guided journal makes sense.

Because maybe I wouldn’t just write what happened at work today and who said what. Maybe I would ask myself:

Why did this bother me?

Why did this not excite me?

Why do I feel numb when so much is objectively going well?

Why has my value system shifted from when I was younger?

Why did a small smile once feel worth documenting, but now big milestones feel normal?

A guided journal forces reflection. It makes you conscious of your own mind.

And I genuinely believe we are getting out of touch with ourselves. We no longer ask why we feel the way we feel. We just react. Move. Scroll. Compare. Achieve. Repeat.

That’s why I think everyone should journal.

And if you don’t know what to write about, start with a guided journal.

Use prompts. Let someone else ask you the hard questions until you learn how to ask them yourself.

Do that for a couple of months. After that, you won’t struggle to fill pages. You’ll have things to say. Real things. Honest things.

This is your legacy.

Everyone should have a book about themselves.

If no one else writing it for you. Then you need to write it yourself.

---

Today's craving - Peach soda with ice 🧊

If you want to give guided journal a try, check out Reconnect with Yourself by Mindscape Studio on Amazon.com