Writing in Journals will Increase Your Love & Health!

I didn't do so well writing in a journal as I grew up...it seemed stupid to me. Plus, I didn't have much to brag about, nor complain about fortunately. However, I started really believing in keeping a journal when I was serving as a missionary for my church for two years. I actually wrote in my journal every-single-day (roughly 720 days in a row), for all but the last two weeks of that two years. Only recently did I start appreciating that I wrote in that journal (there's actually three of them filled). My son is serving a church mission as well, and he's appreciated seeing what I went through on my mission. About every six weeks I photo copy the page(s) from my journal that correspond with 1) the number of days he's been on his mission, and 2) the date. For example, he sees what I was doing on October 6, 1990 as compared to his October 6 of 2014. Also, he sees what was going through my mind on day 112 of my mission as compared to day 112 of his. Interesting that, though 24 years separated, our experiences, struggles, successes, frustrations, heartaches, etc. are very similar. He has told me a number of times how reading my journal entries has helped him on his mission.


A few of the journals I have kept and keep

When my son was 4 I had the idea to purchase a journal for each of my kids...just two kids at the time, and keep journals in their behalf. We now have five kids. My oldest son, the one on a mission, we kept a journal for until he left...consequently the journal was full, but I keep a mission blog for him now. Anyway, my wife and I write in these journals anytime something significant happens, or when we just want to say something to them that they will read when they are older. They will get their journals when they get married...assuming they all get married, if not, I will have a plan B. If nothing else, it's great to look back 10 years and read of various scenarios that played out in their lives, it's always entertaining.

Another journal I keep is just my personal journal. Sometimes I just vent, but sometimes I write what I'm experiencing and learning. It's good to reflect on, but I want my kids to see it someday. I don't write in this one very often, maybe 10 times each year. No doubt I should write in it more often.

I have a dream journal that I started recently because I've been having interesting dreams that I think are important and I don't want to forget them. It's on my nightstand.

I have a journal that I take to certain church meetings and conferences for me to keep spiritual thoughts in, and key messages I've heard, along with ideas that come to my mind that may help me to improve in various ways.

My favorite journal I only wrote in for one year. Each Sunday, at least, I wrote in a journal that I gave to my wife for Christmas. I started it the first Sunday in January a few years ago, and wrote in it each Sunday for that year. I wrote about my wife's week and everything I saw her doing. It was good for me to do this...I took note of her struggles, her successes, and even more importantly all the little (BIG) things she did each day for me and the family....and others in the neighborhood. It was good for me to see all she does, and to acknowledge her for it. Needless to say she loved receiving that journal. I thought I understood all she did before, but the journal opened my eyes much wider. I felt my love and appreciation for her grow exponentially, and I know she felt it.

I plan on starting two new journals: 1) letters to my family, and 2) a gratitude journal. A friend of mine, Shane Rosenberg, spoke in church about gratitude recently. He quoted Ray L. Huntington, a former professor at Brigham Young University, specifically about keeping a gratitude journal and some research that had been done on this subject. Ray Huntington said:
          "...in a ten-week study Dr. Emmons randomly assigned participants into one of three
          groups. One group of participants was encouraged to briefly record five things they were
          grateful for each week; a second group was asked to describe five hassles or negative
          events that had happened to them each week; and the third group was simply asked to list
          five events, but they were not told to emphasize the positive or the negative. Before each
          participant wrote about their blessings or hassles, they completed a daily journal in which
          they rated their moods, their physical health, and their overall well-being. The moods they
          rated included feelings like distress, excitement, sadness, stress, and happiness, while
          their physical health included ratings such as headaches, sore muscles, stomach pain,
          nausea, coughing, sore throat, and poor appetite. The participants also rated how they felt
          about their lives, selecting from descriptions ranging from terrible to delighted.

          The results of the ten-week study are impressive for the gratitude group. The gratitude
          participants felt better about their lives and were more optimistic about the future than
          people in the other two groups. The gratitude group also reported few health concerns,
          like headaches..." (full article at http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=2072)

So what's my point? Is it to brag that I write in a lot of journals? NO! It's to tell you how important journals are to those who will read them later, but also the benefits you can gain immediately. Keeping journals for those you love is a GREAT way to show them you love them. If there is a risk, it's that you may get in the habit of writing things they will only see later when they really need to hear or see them now. However, I found that writing these things prompted me to say them more as well.

Hey, whatever helps you love your wife and kids more, and to show it...AND makes you healthier along the way, that's what it's all about. Writing in journals helps me, and I'm confident it will you as well. Just sayin'.

SNAPP