A journal is a record of experiences and growth, not a preserve of things well done and said.

Keeping a journal implies hope.

My Journal should be the record of my love. I would write in it only of the things I love, my affection for any aspect of the world, what I love to think of.

To have some account of my thoughts, manners, acquaintance and actions, when the hour arrives in which time is more nimble than memory, is the reason which induces me to keep a journal: a journal in which I must confess my every thought, must open my whole heart!

On Keeping a Journal.

Superficial to understand the journal as just a receptacle for one’s private, secret thoughts — like a confidante who is deaf, dumb, and illiterate. In the journal I do not just express myself more openly than I could do to any person; I create myself.

The journal is a vehicle for my sense of selfhood. It represents me as emotionally and spiritually independent. Therefore (alas) it does not simply record my actual, daily life but rather — in many cases — offers an alternative to it.

This is what the best journals look like. They aren’t for the reader. They are for the writer. To slow the mind down. To wage peace with oneself.

Journaling is the perfect way to shift your emotions immediately and process your feelings without judgment, so you don't get stuck in unpleasant experiences.

The best journals aren’t for the reader. They are for the writer. To slow the mind down. To wage peace with oneself.

Peter, do you keep a diary? ... Well, if you had a diary, I would tell you to record in it that this day our country has won a victory that will be recorded in the annals of history in the same terms as Trafalgar or Waterloo are recorded.

Memory is the diary we all carry about with us.

Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us.

Journalling helps you break out from the prison of your subvocalizations and the homeostasis of everyday life.

I noticed that many smart and happy people kept journals. They also reflected more on their life. More specifically, they reflected on the things they learned, mistakes they made, and the goals they achieved.

He started keeping a journal — had been, in fact, secretly doing so for some time: the furtive act of a deranged person.