And why it can be actually fun keeping one 🙂
I hear you thinking… journalling, that’s just not for me. In that case, you definitely want to keep on reading! Already a fan of journalling? Then let me know if I missed something.
I’ve never been the type that keeps a journal. Maybe too afraid that someone might read it. Haha, I honestly don’t know the reason why not, I just never did.
By the way, did you know that there is actually a difference between a diary and a journal? I didn’t, up to know! Since it’s all very confusing, I’m just going to call it journalling, sorted.
journal
/ˈdʒəːn(ə)l/a daily record of news and events of a personal nature.
Why I started to journal?
I’ve had the privilege to travel quite extensively. But, I found that after a while I started to forget the names of the small towns on the trip, names of people I met or details of my adventures. So, I started to keep a travel journal. When I travel, I’ll have a pencil and a notebook with me all the time.
Once home, I’ll type my adventures out (already part of the fun) and put it at the back of the trips photo album. It seems like lots of extra work but, it’s so much fun to read it afterwards. It reminds you on all the small things that made that trip so special.
My inspiration to start writing down my hikes & adventures!
Looking in one of those photo albums, I started reading the journal of the trip. It inspired me of taking a small notebook with on my hikes. Writing about my hiking experiences, things I encounter, animals I see gives me a fuller experience of hiking. To say it with some wise words…
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.
Benjamin Franklin
But, there are also other reasons why journalling, especially about your adventures, is worthwhile!
- You’ll be a more creative person. No idea how it works but a lot of research just simply says that it does. We’ll just take their word for it. I guess once you try it out you’ll soon find out for yourself.
- It boosts your memory : “What you write, you learn.”. I absolutely agree with this! When I go on a hike and I see something special, an extraordinary bird for example, I’ll look up its name and write it down. The changes are big that I still remember the name on my next hike, simply because I’ve written it down.
- You’ll give your sense of gratitude an extra boost. Writing your adventures down makes your realize that you just don’t have to take everything for granted.
- It’ll improve communication skills. Improving our communication skills is something we can all develop. Wether it is communicating with your children, your friends or colleagues. Good communication can solve lots of problems.
- Besides improving your communication skills, it will also make you a better writer. Ok, this doesn’t need more explanation I think.
- You’ll be more mindful about your hiking trip. When you are hiking in a group, ask everyone what their most fun or remarkable moment was of the hike. I’m telling you know that you’ll be surprised to find out that it will be different for everyone. It will also make you realize that you possible missed a couple of things on your way as well.
- But the most important reason:
You’ll keep the memories alive through the lost art of writing!
