Why Not Write Now?

by Mark S. Fulton

I’m a word nerd. I like reading. I like writing. I like reading about writing. I even like grammar—a predilection that endeared me to my junior high English teachers and evoked hostility from some of my classmates.

Over the years, my interest in words and writing has found expression in various professions and personal pursuits. I’ve been an English teacher, radio news director, television reporter, marketing director and freelance writer. I’ve also dabbled with writing short stories and poetry.

I realize my affinity for writing is not shared by everyone. In fact, experience has taught me that many people have an outright aversion to it. If you find writing to be a tedious or burdensome chore, I ask you to seriously consider what I’m about to suggest before dismissing it.

Much of what we know about history came from firsthand accounts recorded in personal journals. Samuel Pepys wrote an 11-volume diary that provided a vivid account of life in 17th-century England. Explorers Lewis and Clark chronicled their daring expedition across America and introduced us to the Native Americans they encountered. Anne Frank’s diary depicted a poignant portrait of a family desperate to escape the murderous Nazis.

Nowadays, however, the diary is most commonly associated with young women who revel in recording their romantic trials and triumphs. But you don’t have to be Bridget Jones to profit from the practice of keeping a personal journal .

In her book The Many Faces of Journaling, author Linda Senn says that personal journaling provides two main benefits: coping with today and creating a legacy for tomorrow. “Old journals are amazing portals to the past,” she writes. “I find that some entries stir a sense of pride in how I handled a difficult situation or reawakened my dormant backbone. Others remind me of anxieties that I hope never, ever to experience again. Still others bring back fresh surges of joy and laughter.”

A personal journal can be a practical tool that is suitable for a variety of business as well as private uses:

Achieving goals. I believe that goals aren’t real until you write them down. The act of writing out your ambitions and intentions endows them with an aura of tangible existence that precedes their actual fulfillment. For example, the Declaration of Independence was a written goal statement that transformed a notion into a nation. Declaring your personal and business goals in writing is the first step on the path to reaching them.

Attaining personal growth. “Life is a narrative that you have a hand in writing,” says Henriette Anne Klauser in her book Write It Down, Make It Happen. Maintaining a personal journal enables you to track the changes you initiate in your life and the progress you achieve in your career. At the same time, writing about your development energizes you to continue developing.

Documenting personal and work history. A former colleague of mine kept a notebook on his desk. Each day he wrote an account of his major activities, including his thoughts and feelings about them. He has been doing this for more than 30 years. Even though you may never publish your memoirs, producing a written history of your life can provide you and your loved ones with a rich resource for recalling and reliving memorable events.

Polishing thinking. A personal journal is a workbench for hammering out decisions and tinkering with new ideas. Actions may speak louder than words, but words are often the fuel for actions. Putting your thoughts on paper before you undertake some endeavor can save you time and money and generate a more effective approach to a project or a better solution to a problem.

Venting emotions. An anonymous wit called diaries "penned-up emotions." Actually, personal journaling is a time-honored technique used by psychotherapists and counselors to help their clients cope with life’s challenges. A personal journal can serve as a friend who will allow you to blow off steam without scorching an employee, colleague or boss. It can also be a laboratory for dissecting fears and probing relationships.

Being creative. Playwright Oscar Wilde wrote, “I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train.” Even if you don’t live a life that’s as unconventional as Wilde’s, you can still have great fun playing with ideas in a journal. One of my client’s uses poetry as a means for mulling over feelings about his career direction. Who knows? You may discover latent talents that will take you in new directions.

There’s no right or wrong way of doing a personal journal. The key to success is to use an approach that you find appealing—so that you’ll do it. Writer’s Digest has a web site especially for journaling (>www.journalingmagazine.com) that will give you suggestions and resources for getting started.

A final note for you guys who think journaling is for sissies: Where would Captain James T. Kirk have been without his captain’s log? His dutiful entries ensured that future star trekkers would know what he and his crew were doing while they boldly went where no one had gone before. Perhaps journaling may keep your “enterprise” from becoming lost in space.

Copyright 2001 © Mark S. Fulton