Here are seven reasons for writing in a positivity journal.
Do you know anyone who hoards? They fill their homes to the brim with everything imaginable, and navigating through these spaces becomes challenging. Sifting through your mind can feel much like this, but you need to find a way to open your mind and clear the clutter. It makes for excellent problem-solving. A positivity journal is a tool that can help you dig through all the useless things and eliminate the toxic stuff.
Do you feel like your mind is overloaded and cannot handle one more thing? You’re not alone in these feelings. Technology has caused a great deal of mental clutter, and this chaos negatively affects your physical and psychological well-being.
All day long, you’re spoon-fed information. Perhaps you hear coworkers gossiping in another cubicle, or you overhear a news clip about all the troubles in the world. All the things you ingest cause noise and confusion in your mind, prohibiting you from living a more meaningful life.
How Journaling Can Open Your Mind and Facilitate Problem-Solving
Thankfully, a positivity journal can help you open your mind, free the toxic stuff, and even be beneficial in problem-solving. There are six kinds of mental clutter that you must get rid of from your body, and they include:
- Negative self-talk
- Multitasking
- Worry
- Fear
- Guilt
- Regret
Which of these are you struggling with right now? Perhaps you need effective ways to deal with all the madness and don’t know what to do. When you sit down and journal, you help to improve your moods and balance your mental well-being. Here are some simple ways journaling allows you to be more open-minded.
1. When You Open Your Mind, You Improve Your Self-Awareness
Do you ever wonder what makes you tick? How can you go through this crazy world around you and make it each day? Journaling will help you improve your knowledge of what’s going on inside. It will also help you to become aware of how you’re coping.
Self-awareness is an essential part of being in touch with your mental health. It can be painful to dig deep inside and sort out all this mental clutter. The good news is that once you tear it all out and examine the contents, it’s then that you can put it back together or fix it.
Have you ever received a notice from the water company saying your pipes are leaky? You might not even know that there’s water escaping, but it’s undoubtedly affecting your bill. A plumber goes in with special tools and examines the pipes to find where you’re losing water.
Journaling is like that special equipment that helps you become more self-aware and identify the issues. When your thoughts and emotions are all over the place, journaling can help you determine where these feelings are coming from and identify and fix the root cause. You’ll be able to open your mind and see deep inside yourself to get to the crux of your issues.
2. The Process of Problem-Solving Calms You
Did you have a diary as a kid? When you write “Dear Diary” on paper, this book suddenly becomes your trusted friend. Journal is the same as having lunch and chatting with your buddy.
You can get all the things off your chest that are bothering you and open your mind to hear other opinions and views. Friends are the best at problem-solving, so you turn to them in times of trouble. Sadly, people aren’t always available when you need them, as they’re busy too.
A journal is a friend that’s always ready when you need them. It lets you offload all the stuff that’s bothering you, and you’ll feel lighter and free of your problems and worries. A study in the National Library of Medicine found that focusing on emotional expression, which journaling allows, is helpful. So in many ways, it’s just like having a trusted friend by your side.
3. You Recognize What’s Going on with Yourself When You Open Your Mind in a Positivity Journal
When you go to the doctor, you have something wrong. You present with symptoms, but they don’t know the issue until they run some tests. Think of journaling as a testing procedure or a problem-solving activity. It helps make you aware of what’s going on that’s causing things to be off.
Your thoughts and emotions can be powerful things to manage, and sometimes you’re not fully aware of everything in your mind. When you begin to recognize what the problem is inside, it’s then that you can start to heal it. Each person has a lot of stuff going on in the background of their life, or “white noise.”
You don’t realize how much this affects you until you uncover it. People learn to tune out this noise and push it to the side so that they can keep on going. Journaling is a mindful activity that allows you to connect with yourself.
4. When You Open Your Mind, You Can Clarify Your Thinking
Your brain is wired for negativity by default, as it’s much easier to be negative in this world than positive. Your journal can be used as a buffer to counteract your bias to be pessimistic. You can be more open-minded and start the task of rewiring your brain to be more positive.
Now, understand this can be a significant undertaking, such as cutting a new path in the forest, but it’s worth the effort. Think of the journal as the hacksaw and the pen as the scythe to help you to get through the brambles and clear your way to positivity. When you open your mind to seeing the positive things around you, it will improve your gratitude.
The benefits of positive thinking are remarkable. According to the Mayo Clinic, those who keep on the sunny side enjoy the following benefits:
- Lower rates of anxiety and depression
- Better resistance to sickness
- Longer life
- Better health, including cardiovascular
- Lower risk of infections
- Better coping abilities from stress
Of all the problem-solving methods you can do alone, journaling is one of the best. It can help you change and become the person you want to be.
5. An Open Mind Is More Rational
Do you struggle with black-and-white thinking and completely ignore that there can be a middle ground or shade of gray? This is not an uncommon thing among people who catastrophize things. You’re being overly self-critical, which is often an action brought on by stress.
When you grab a pen and your journal and start writing down everything that bothers you, it helps you rationalize. Have you ever thought about something inside, but it seems silly when you say it to someone else? Your journal can be the sounding board that can help you see the foolish things and those that warrant worry.
Your journal allows you to be more open-minded and see other viewpoints. Isn’t it amazing how getting things from the inside to the outside can do this for you? Plus, it’s one of the best problem-solving methods you can do yourself. Are you ready to open your mind and start journaling?
6. Achieve Your Goal by Being More Organized
Sometimes you have many thoughts about things you want to do, but they’re never ideas you want to share with others. They might not understand you or think it’s just another pipe dream. What if you wanted to delve into meditation, exercise, do more self-care, or give back to others?
Your journal is a great place to write down all these open-minded thoughts that have not yet come to fruition. Maybe you need help structuring your day to fit in such activities. You can open your mind and use problem-solving techniques to make you a better person. Your journal is a safe place to create goals and celebrate your achievements.
7. Taps into Your Self-Conscious
When you open your mind for the sake of problem-solving, it can be quite a journey. Everybody has stuff in the background that affects you, whether you admit it or not. Something from your past may be bothering you, or you’re under a great deal of stress that makes you more vulnerable to emotional outbursts.
Journaling is a great activity that helps you uncover your subconscious. It enables you to be more open-minded and identify that background noise is causing pain. Everything you ingest daily affects you, and you may not realize the effect until it comes pouring out suddenly or unexpectedly at the most inopportune times.
Being more self-conscious helps you to open yourself more to understand your state of being. The goal of getting things out on paper is to bring your subconscious into your consciousness, making you more open-minded and able to process better.
Final Thoughts on Ways to Open Your Mind with Journaling
Journaling is an easy activity with many proven benefits. It can open your mind to explore what’s happening deep inside, help you with problem-solving, and increase your gratitude. So get all the negativity and toxic thoughts out of your mind and shake free from those pessimistic ties that bind you by using a positivity journal.
