So, What’s Your Excuse?
One of the most common reactions I get to the news that I keep a journal is the excuses people have for not doing so themselves. They tell me about the beautiful blank books they buy and don’t write in. They tell me how they’re so busy, how they don’t have anything interesting to write, how they don’t want to recall the details of their lives (yet they want to write great novels, poetry, stories, etc), how it seems so selfish, how they aren’t disciplined enough, how they don’t get any me time, how they’re too tired…
I think you may have identified yourself in there somewhere. I know I do, even though I do manage to keep a fairly regular journal, actually, two kinds. One I like to carry with me for those moments when I can grab a chance to sit down and write. This may not happen every day with my busy life. The other I write in every night, even though I may be drooping over the page in sheer exhaustion.
The point is I make sure I do journal, at some point. While life will always clutter your path with excuses, you can still sweep aside a little room for a few lines or ten minutes of writing in your journal. So, what are your excuses?
Tags: journal-writing, journal-writing-excusesRelated Stories
POSTED IN: General: Journal Writing
6 opinions for So, What’s Your Excuse?
Jennifer
Jul 26, 2006 at 10:17 am
My biggest excuse is that it’s too late … whenever I think about journaling, I start to think about all the years I haven’t journaled and tell myself it’s too late, I’ve missed so much already. Or I’m waiting for the perfect conditions for writing (like peace and quiet … do houses with children even have that?!), or the perfect supplies, etc. Or when I feel like starting up journaling again, it’s usually because I want to explore something that’s bothering me, and I hate to have the start of the journal being negative stuff, so I give up before I start. Ugh! Posting this comment just makes me realize how silly these excuses are LOL! Alright, I’ll go grab one of the dozens of notebooks I have lying around and get started ….
Heather Goldsmith
Jul 27, 2006 at 12:04 am
Hi Jennifer,
I’m glad you responded and got a chance to see your excuses for what they are. Good on you. Just grab something and start writing. ;-)
Susanne
Jul 28, 2006 at 4:36 pm
I know exactly what Jennifer means by being too late. So many things have already happened in my life and I never got to write them down. I love notebooks and journals and collect them and have an array of pens and pencils, but just don’t know where to start.
So, I decided to write one day at a time including a memory of a past event - as long as my memory is still fresh.
Susanne
Heather Goldsmith
Jul 28, 2006 at 9:23 pm
Congratulations on making that start, Susanne. I believe it’s never too late to begin writing a journal. And what a great way to begin; just with today and a memory of a past event. Thanks for your comment. ;-)
Sonya
Jul 30, 2006 at 1:30 pm
I’ve been keeping a journal on and off for almost 20 years (since I was eleven!), but there are huge gaps of months and sometimes years when I did not write anything. For a couple of years I’ve journaled fairly regularly, meaning once or twice a month. But I was not happy with that, and with the silly excuses I came up with that kept me from writing journal entries. At the end of last year, I decided that the thing about journal writing is that you just have to do it. I’ve written something every day so far, even if it’s just a couple of words sometimes. Even when I think I’m too tired, I sit down for a few minutes before I go to bed. I hope I can maintain that and won’t fall back into the old lame excuse routine.
Heather Goldsmith
Jul 31, 2006 at 7:42 am
Hi Sonya,
Thanks for sharing. Even keeping the momentum over all that time can be difficult. 20 years is a long time for anyone to keep it up, but I think you’re right. You just have to write something, no matter how little, each day or near enough to that. ;-)
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