Among the challenges that college students have, stress and confusion on how to balance life are the first that come to mind. Thankfully, there is a way to organize your thoughts and feelings, which are the roots of stress and imbalance. It’s called journaling.

I know what you’re thinking, ‘I don’t have the time to journal.’ Well, to that I say ‘You don’t have time not to.’

Typically, when I think of someone taking care of his or her body, I think of a person who preps and takes time to workout. Making sure they stretch and breathe is part of taking care of themselves while they workout. This is to prevent lactic acid from building up so the muscle can have a full range of motion and do its job. 

It is no different with your mind and emotions. 

So say that stress, which breeds imbalance, is lactic acid. If lactic acid builds up to prevent the muscles from having a full range of motion and doing its job, then similarly if stress is not dealt with, it can lead to impairing your range of motion in your life or how well you can function. If you can’t function well, then you find yourself burnt out like someone who suffered an injury and is forced to take time off to go through physical therapy. 

Journaling is a way for you to mentally and emotionally stretch.

When your life feels chaotic, journaling can help bring order. It forces you to think on why and how you feel about things. 

If I wanted to get rid of a weed, I would make sure I took care of its roots so it wouldn’t grow back. Journaling, in the same way, can help you realize what is under the surface of your emotions, deeper than you see, so that you can uproot stress, or whatever ‘weed’ is pressing on you. 

There is a Biblical principal about taking your thoughts captive. Taking your thoughts captive and clarifying your thoughts with the intention of uprooting weeds is important. This is because thoughts control feelings, feelings control actions, actions control habits and habits control your life. 

Journaling and meditation also go together. The combination of the two is like stretching with monitored breathing to prevent lactic acid build up. You journal to get out feelings and clarify thoughts. You should meditate to develop or process your thoughts. 

So, unless your thoughts and feelings on everything are clarified and in order and you have pristine balance in your life, you can’t afford not to journal. 

I am at the point where I avoid conversations on how I feel on something if I haven’t processed it. People notice how developed your thoughts are. My parents have actually told me to go journal before because they noticed I couldn’t articulate my thoughts or feelings on something. 

That is why it is important to journal what you are feeling with no restraint and be 100 percent honest. No one is going to see it but you. From there, chew on your thoughts, and let them be subject to development.  You can’t move forward unless you evaluate where you are and are open to change.