While finishing up the final gear checks for my expedition across Greenland, I came across my journal from my last trip to the Himalayas. On every trip, I take a journal to document my thoughts while experiencing the harsh, yet peaceful reality of living in the wilderness. The journal allows me to relive the spiritual journey upon my return to civilization.
Years ago, I began to implement this practice no matter where I am. Although I am still working on doing this on a regular basis, when I do write, I find that keeping a journal in daily life is not only fulfilling, but it boosts productivity and keeps me on track to creating the life I want for myself. So here are ten reasons why I think you should keep a journal every day of your life:

1. Plan
Many of us go through every day without any semblance of a plan on how we intend to create the life we want to live. Sure, there is something to be said about living every day in the moment without any thought of the future. But the fact of the matter remains, there needs to be a balance between the two. If we want to be and live as the greatest version of ourselves, we need a plan. A journal serves as that plan. So write down your future. Map out the journey on paper and see what it takes to get from point A to B.

2. Remember
I use a journal to remember those few moments of brilliance that strike me every once in a while. As soon as something hits me, I write it down. Do that for yourself. You will be surprised how much that serves you. Your journal will become your memory on paper. It will be the place for you to remember every experience, every thought, every encounter. No matter what happens in your life, your journal will be that place where you go back to remember the life you have lived.

3. Immortalize
Immortalize those moments when all is right with the world. Those perfect moments. Mark them down on paper so you know exactly how they felt. What you saw. What you heard. Everything about them. The words you use to describe perfection define your personal ideal. Immortalizing them on paper will allow you to share them with all your future generations. But the journal does not have to be only an account of the amazing. Heaven or hell, the words you write will forever be a testament to your outlook and your perspective. They will serve as lessons to all those you love from now until the end of time. Isn’t it awesome just to imagine yourself being immortalized in history? Why not make it so?

5. Create
Writing a journal is a form of creation. It will create new thoughts, new ideas, new realizations. Your journal will be the real you. Not the you that you have to show to the outside world. It will be the place for you to create and define yourself. These manifestations will shape your external reality once you give them the power to do so. You give them power by writing them down. So create your reality by writing it down on paper and expressing it to the universe. Write down how you will create everything you want and deserve. Do it everyday to plant the dream not only onto paper, but deep into your being. Do it in first person too. So the ideal life is not just a hope for the future. It becomes the now on paper. Soon enough, you will see that the now on paper will become the now in reality.

6. Organize
With one million different thoughts running around in your mind on a regular basis, you need a place to organize them and structure them into something you can act upon. A journal is that place. As an entrepreneur, i constantly have ideas flowing into my head. My journal helps me organize those ideas so they are not just a mess of words floating in space. I create my own success by organizing my thoughts on paper so I have a clear plan of action. To do lists are a form of organization. A journal simply takes that to another level by organizing not just your daily tasks, but every aspect of your being and your doing.

7. Log
Log everything. Whatever you are trying to achieve, log it. Log your workouts, your diet, your successes, your failures, your vacations, everything. By logging it, you will know what you need to improve upon or what you are doing right. It will give you the means to make any necessary changes so that you can fully harness the power that is within you.

8. Relief
Sometimes when everything is going wrong, your journal will be your best friend. It will serve as the source of relief for you to get all the stress, anger and frustration out of you. It will remove it from within you and place it down on the paper in front of you. Your journal will free you from all that negativity. It will be the release so you can express what you need too. You won’t have to hide it or pretend the anger isn’t there. Because it is. Your journal will be the means for you to get it out of you so you can return to your most powerful self.

9. Acknowledge
Your journal will be the place to acknowledge everything you have done and achieved in your life. When you are down and fear or doubt begins to overwhelm you, look back on your journal and see your greatness. A journal acts as the testament to your amazing, powerful and great self. Use it to acknowledge your greatness and build your confidence. Use it to reignite the belief in you!

4. Self Awareness
As you write in your journal, you will find that there are moments when you have stopped thinking and you are just flowing onto the paper as a stream of consciousness. These words will help you discover who you really are and what you really want. Your journal will tell you what made you act a certain way or remind you why you should stop getting caught up in fear or anger. It will show you the insignificance of the little things in life that you sometimes find yourself worrying about. Your journal will remind you of the big picture. It is the manifesto of your life purpose. This will make you and keep you on the path of self awareness. The first step to greatness is being aware. So use this tool to become aware. From there, the possibilities are endless.

10. GROW
I believe the most important reason of all is a look toward the future. Your journal WILL help you grow. It will teach you the lessons you have learned from the past and what you should take with you to the future. It will remind you of the greatness you have found within yourself and within others so that you may apply those principles to manifest your destiny. Take all the reasons above and apply them not just to your own existence but to others who have achieved what you want as well. Use your journal to log the successes of others. Use it to remember how your heroes manifested their dreams. Use it to recreate the power of the men and women who have come before you. Mark their thoughts, ideas and actions down on paper. They will define your formula for success. As cliche as it may sound, there is no need to reinvent the wheel. Use your journal as a source for your personal growth and accomplishment based on everything you have learned from your own life experience and the the life experience of others who have found the success you want in your own life. I have discovered that the most value I get out of writing a journal is that it helps me grow as a human being.