What to do with your writing

The words you pen in your journal are for you. Only you. Your journal is a space for you to be honest with yourself. It is a place to write your truth, however, it appears to you, and it is a place for you to be honest, open, and candid with yourself. After you let out your thoughts and feelings on paper, you may be wondering what to do with them. You can do two things really, keep it or discard it.

My personal preference is to keep my writing. I write about everything that’s on my heart and mind, my highs my lows, fears, plans – you get it, everything. And I find that whenever I go back to old journals, I’m able to get a snapshot of what was happening in my life at the time and I get to see how my thoughts and feelings have evolved. I also get to see if and how some of my concerns were resolved. I get to track my personal growth and development So for these reasons, I don’t destroy my journals.

Everyone is different. You may not be interested in tracking things over time or you may not be the nostalgic type. You may simply want to get it out and feel a sense of relief or experience some measure of catharsis. In that case, you’re free to discard your entries if that feels good to you.

Whatever you choose to do with your writing, the key is to get it out on paper (or your preferred medium). You can’t save or destroy something you’ve not written.