Here’s Why You Need to Start a Journal Today

The real value of practicing one small, powerful habit

Don’t believe people who say that keeping a journal is something only kids and teenagers do.

My experience has been the complete opposite.

There are many people, both at work and in my social circle, who have a habit of writing in their journals. Of course, many don’t do it but they keep track of their lives in different ways. They have sketchbooks in which they draw every day. They record the music they play so they can learn and improve their skill of playing an instrument. They take pictures of the food they make and have thousands of photos on their iPhone showcasing their creations — and sometimes post them on Instagram for the world to see.

I’ve been the more traditional, journal-writing type of person over the years. And I do mean years. It’s a habit I first started when I was 7, as soon as I could form sentences and scrawl the words in my first journal. I still remember what the notebook looked like. It had pink and purple flowers on the cover, and the lines were wide-spaced, just perfect for a 7-year-old to write in.

The topics have shifted over the years, as you would expect. That first notebook had a sentence that read, “Today I painted the toenails on my feet. AND…