The Secret Tool of Saints and Scientists

5 minute read

Albert Einstein, St. Therese of Lisieux, Leonardo Da Vinci, Winston Churchill, Flannery O’Connor, Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, Mother Teresa, Ernest Hemingway, C. S. Lewis, and J. R. R. Tolkien.

This is a list of people who did incredible things in their lives, and were able to become influential one way or another in their respective fields. Why group them all together? What do they all have in common that is relevant for us? What tool did they all use that history has shown to be a valuable asset? Each one of these exemplars kept a journal or diary, through which they documented their lives, thoughts, ideas, struggles, loves, hopes, and fears. They utilized pen and paper to assist themselves in organizing the day, and unweave complicated situations. It became a habit in each of their lives that each would attest to the wonders found within personal documentation. Whether it was a spiritual journal, a daily diary, or a philosophical notebook; each writing process became a fundamental backbone to the lives of great achievers.

To find an impressive agreement in the successful community and to have passed the test of time, journaling can’t be simply neglected. Thus, the thought that comes to mind now is not “if journaling is helpful” but “why is journaling helpful.” I would like to first make clear that I am not considering myself an expert in this field, nor do I place myself anywhere near the ranks of the aforementioned icons. I simply came across the tool of personal journaling at a young age, and have utilized it on and off now into my adult years. I can only speak of my experience with it, and why I find it to be immensely helpful. I find journaling to be resourceful in 6 ways that I can only assume would be similar reasons for the historical greats.

1. Expression - Writing down emotions and thoughts from stressful events.

This is placed as the number one reason because it follows as the first use most of us have in our day to day lives. Especially for me personally, this acts as a way of releasing all the thoughts and feelings I have bubbled up throughout the day or week, and vent them out onto paper. Instead of bottling them up and letting them swarm around inside me, I put pen to paper (or simply type on my laptop) and exhale all that is stuck in my mind. Use this time to unload the weights of the world and get them in front of you. When thoughts and feelings stay in your head and your heart, it can be difficult to make sense of it all and see things logically.

2. Reflection - Reviewing your thoughts and feelings to understand what happened and why.

Now that you’ve purged your mind of events and thoughts, you can now take a step back and review what you’ve just written. You’ve gone through the emotional side of the affair, when you can be blind to any objective reasoning, and now can process the information as a spectator. The way you initially perceived the situation might have changed or produced a different view that brings enlightenment to a puzzling thought. By doing this at the end of the day, you are simply aiding your mind in digesting the day in order to better your tomorrow.

3. Documentation - Recording your life’s events in a historical timeline.

Another benefit to journaling is a mere way of documenting what has happened strictly in a historical sense. When thinking about the month you can look back to your journal to see when exactly you did something, which in turn, will boost your memory overall. Especially special events you care to fully recall at a later time, such as a first date, beginning a new job, moving to a new house, a child is born, etc. These life events can remain alive in the written memories you preserve.

4. Solution - Utilizing written thoughts to see an answer.

Connecting back to the second reason of reflection, by journaling, you may come across solutions to problems you are stuck on in your life. Such a problem that has come up in my life, is figuring out why and when I become anxious. I seemed to become anxious at a certain point fairly frequently. It was only till I wrote in my journal after I would become anxious that I came to a conclusion of when and why I would dip into despair. I was able to recognize the trigger which then helped me understand why I was feeling that way each time I would leave this certain situation.

5. Progression - Marking your progress along a journey.

One of the key elements of this blog is viewing our faith and passions as a journey that you venture out on, with highs and lows along the way. It has helped me tremendously in my various endeavors, especially when it comes to faith, to journal my progress as I go. Sometimes it can feel like I have no traction at all in terms of moving forward. However, after looking through my entries I can see small victories and understand the setbacks, rather than get discouraged about apparent stagnation.

6. Transmission - Passing along your writings to someone else or a future generation.

The final resource I’ve found from journaling is the hope and possibility of passing along any useful information to others or my children. We all have experiences that if documented could potentially be a source of wisdom for a future generation or an audience. When Anne Frank was writing in her diary, she didn’t know the kind of impact it would have on the world years after she had passed. As you journal, you can keep that in the back of your head, because who knows where your writings will go or who they can help.

This is part of my goal for the new year; to write and journal more than ever. Not only am I pushing myself to write more for the blog, but also using my journal as a spiritual exercise and personal growth. I hope you will join me in this adventure, and if you do, be sure to comment your experiences and maybe some tips and tricks you find along the way.