Either you are a journal writer, or you are not.  But then you might be a partial record keeper, like me.  I don’t write every day, or every month for that matter.  I have learned that I like to see what I have accomplished at the end of a year, and if that isn’t written down anywhere, and I have most definitely forgotten my efforts, I feel very non productive, and that’s bad.

I have walked through a graveyard and seen a headstone with a name of a woman on it and “Mother” inscribed below; no dates, no family names, and no idea if the name is her birth name or her married name.  More than likely, that is the only record of her ever having lived on this earth.   There are too many women in this world who lived, but were never recorded as living.  I want to be remembered.
I keep a very unusual journal.  It is more a record of my goals and accomplishments, as opposed to my feelings and experiences.  If there is something special that I want remembered, I will write about that in detail, but otherwise I list things.

At the end of every year, I list everything I accomplished from reading the Book of Mormon through to painting the Living Room to sending off a missionary into the field.  I give myself credit for anything and everything.  I’ve worried that I’m forgetting some valid things, so I will list my accomplishments by month, so my list can be longer and more detailed by the end of the year.

Many years ago, I set a goal to read 100 books a year, so every year I track how many I have read.  Again, because of my questionable memory, I write the name of the book down and rate it from 1-5 (some books have managed to be 5+ or so, if it’s really really good).  Somehow by rating them it triggers a memory that I did indeed like it.  And I read any and every type of book imaginable.

I will also write down important things I’ve learned from books, talks, and people.  I have a section for quotes.  I have a wish list.  I tend to put myself through learning curves- learning something new in a hurry – and will have a place, for what I’ve learned, to refer to.  Of course, I always set new goals for the next year.  I actually achieve much of what I set out to do, because I want to write about my achievement at the end of the year.

Another journal I kept for years was moments in my children’s lives.  In one book, I sectioned out a space for each of my kids and through the years I wrote down funny things they said, important things they said, their experiences they were too young to remember, my feelings for them at any given moment, etc.

Here are some ideas to journal about:

• Things I’m thankful for
• Acts of service I have performed, or seen performed by others
• Scripture insights, talks, quotes, thoughts and inspirations
• All the things I have taken the time to learn and implement in my life
• Experiences I had that I want my children to know I grew from

I believe journals should always be positive.  There are going to be times when we need a place to explode or completely let go.  But if we don’t resolve it, measure what we have learned, or come to know, the event is worthless as a memory or to others reading it.  We must always strive to better our lives, move forward, learn, grow, remember; ultimately, be remembered.  My journal legacy is just that.