Keeping a journal is one of the most beneficial habits I’ve implemented in my life. There are many reasons why, but this is the most important one–it forced me to be honest with myself and be conscious of my actions and habits.

Just like meditation, journaling got me to turn off my autopilot and become more present. It led me to actively inspect my life and identify blind spots I wanted to improve.

But what keeps many people from journaling consistently or journaling at all is the fact that journaling is misdefined.

Journaling has an Image Problem

I think journaling has an image problem. From experience, many people associate journaling with boredom, a waste of time, and weirdness. People simply think of journaling as a way of recording their days.

I do record my days in my journal, yes. But recording my activities is only the tip of the iceberg. The biggest impact from journaling comes from asking myself introspective questions.

“The unexamined life is not worth living” — Socrates

Journaling is the very best tool to examine and think proactively about your own life.

Start Asking Yourself Questions

I ask myself a few questions every day. Some are easier to answer, while others are more uncomfortable.

There are questions that refer to specific events that happened during the day, and other questions I ask myself regularly.

The goal is to uncover blind spots by asking good questions.