Why Journal

Someone once told me: Write down everything you possibly can, you will thank yourself later. Out of the advice I’ve recieved from people much older and successful than me, this is my favorite.

There are a lot of ways I could argue why you should follow this advice, but I will keep it to this: there is a richness to life that cannot be captured by the human mind. Life’s beauty is hidden behind the curtains of the mundane. The mundane is your enemy. It is everywhere. The mundane is so prevalent that even when interesting, beautiful, and memorable events happen, they become drops in the chasms of the ocean. So months down the line, how will you remember what you said to that girl you liked, or the first time trying a new food, or the conversation you had randomly with a stranger? You will forget the details: You will forget that someone brought you a treat even when you didn’t ask; you will forget how the sun looked a little brighter than usual which made you happy; you will forget that text from a friend, reminding you that you are not alone. How much better would life be to remember these small moments?

You should write for the incongruous, the anomalous, the hidden, and the discrete because it is these moments that remind you of life’s beauty.

If the best reason to write is to remember the smaller moments of life that give it its flavor, the second best reason is that journaling is by far the best reward you can give to your future self.

People, especially ones that want to pursue excellence and impact, are constantly re-adjusting what they want compared to what they have. There is some evil to this: to never be satisfied with what you have or have achieved. Yet, a lot of it is necessary: to achieve greatness you need to have goals that are beyond your current self. For these people, they are on a path that never has an end for each end gets farther, longer, and more dangerous. Journaling reminds us where this path started, and to be grateful for it. One day, you will reread your journal and remember where you came from and to what greatness you have achieved. You will value your success, but treasure your journey even more. You will be reminded that hardwork, talent, luck, and upbringing have lead to your success, but that it is the process and not the results that make the man. In the words of Theodore Roosevelt, you will be the man in the arena. You will be someone who at the best knows in the end the triump of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

The fruits of journaling are plentiful, the needed labor meager, and the sowing daily.