Journaling may be the secret to you finding peace… and it’s so much simpler than you think.

There are four beneficial ways we can use journaling, all of which can improve our mental health and well-being.

1) Reflection: Write down thoughts that are coming to mind and try to identify feelings underlying them. Reflect on what you wrote. Do they relate to other themes you’ve journaled about? What do you notice about word choice? Do they tend to be negative or positive?

2) Narrative: Write about experiences in story form. Try to organize story in a way that highlights meaning and significance. Do you sense a hero’s journey? Can I make sense of my pain and hardships? Do I have wins and victories along the way?

3) Tracking: Food, exercise and sleep in particular can be helpful to measure in a daily journal along with many other things. When we do so, we become a “self-scientist”. We are more keenly observant about the things we want to change and how to change them.

4) Second brain: Write down things you don’t want to forget. Especially with the many distractions we face today, things move in and out of our minds quickly. This helps us remember important things but also removes the stress of keeping everything in your mind. It was said Beethoven never went anywhere without a notebook to quickly jot down musical notes that came to him. Because of his little habit, we have some of the greatest musical compositions in the world.

These four approaches are a great place to start exploring the world of journaling. Find the one that appeals most directly to you and give it a try. You may be surprised by the almost instant benefits you experience from the practice.