One of the biggest benefits I find with journaling is that I will often solve problems for myself. I'll write about a problem and then find myself typing out "

One of the biggest benefits I find with journaling is that I will often solve problems for myself. I'll write about a problem and then find myself typing out "I should do..." and when I read that I know what I should do. There is a story about an old man going to watch the ancient Olympics. The place is packed and he can't find a seat until he arrives at the Spartan's section where the Spartans all leap to their feet to offer the old man their seats. The crowd of Greeks all cheer and the story's narrator observes sadly "All the Greeks know what is right but only the Spartans do what is right." I think there is a similar disconnect in my brain. Sometimes it is very easy to know what is right and harder to actually do what is right. When you're writing though you can easily leverage the "know what is right" part of your brain and when you see what you should do typed out in front of you, it's easier to engage the "do" part of the brain. You force yourself to confront the discrepancy between what you know you should do and what you are actually doing. I have benefited from this in everything from arguing with my wife ("I should apologize") to debugging ("I should make sure function X does what I think it does"). I have a standing order to myself to do what I think I should be doing.