So I started my journaling experiment.

The results so far have been interesting. I think. Good interesting.

In summary:
1) More happy thoughts about fun things.
2) Less mean thoughts about self.

Like everyone there are moments in the day when I notice the thinking going on in the background of my mind. I have noticed since starting journaling that these thoughts are way more interesting than they used to be. More designing and planning. More remembering previous (fun) moments in my life.

The frequency of boring, self-obsessed, mean thoughts has reduced.

It appears that because I write it down then I no longer have to try and store that thought in memory by thinking about it repeatedly.

That’s how things move from short term to long term memory. If you think about it repeatedly it gets saved forever. If you don’t think about it so often, then it never makes it to long term memory.

Why I would want to remember these thoughts is beyond me. I’m pretty sure they don’t help at all. I hope as the experiment continues that the reasons for this will become clearer.

So far, so good.