Writing at The Atlantic, Kasia Cieplak-Mayr von Baldegg discusses Teresa Amabile's tips on keeping a diary. They're quite good.
I kept a diary for several years, partly with the egotistical thought that one day someone in my family might find it of interest. I scribbled away my observations through days good and bad, some exciting and many too boring truly for words.
Then I stopped.
Time was one factor. Another was a recurring lack of progress in certain areas. Self-censorship was serious barrier plus I found that the overall feeling evoked by the process was not positive. It was too easy to slip into a form of introspection that was less of a boost than a trap.
I'll probably shred the damned things.
An admirable alternative to daily journals is to do what a sage employer of mine practiced: Write an annual account of what you've learned about life.
Now that could be of real benefit to your descendants.
6 comments:
In an era of no privacy, better never to write anything down. And, my descendants can learn the hard way, the way I did.
Rick,
That position is understandable. I've had clients who ask for an audit on the condition that there be no written report.
As for individual diaries, although those documents can also be discovered, I fear that if no one writes down anything we are going to lose a lot of valuable history.
Michael
Isn't blogging a sort of a 21st century diary?
Miriam,
I'd say that for many that is definitely the case. There are blogs that are very "biographical." Waiter Rant and The Bleat come to mind.
Michael
I was told at a young age never to write down something that you wouldn't want the world to see. This stuck with me. I never kept a journal after that. I read frequently about the positive aspects of journaling, but I know I would never feel good about it.
Thanks for the post. It's good to know that I'm not alone.
Kenna
Kenna,
I'm torn between the cautious and the "to hell with caution" positions. History may record that people today fashioned their daily routines to avoid embarrassment in a courtroom.
Michael
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