Why I Trashed My Past Journals–And Deciding If You Should, Too

I remember sitting on my bed, reading through a box of old journals I had tucked away in the closet. At first, it was fun, remembering some of the friendships I had and experiences I had gone through. Laughing at some of my immature moments. But instead of storing them back in the closet, I dumped them all in a trash can.

Have you ever done that? Back in episode 55, Elizabeth McCravy and I talked a bit about how there are times when you just need to throw your old journals away. And we’re going to explore that a little more today.

Because I’ve got to tell you, I don’t have any of my journals except the ones from the past few years. Everything else, I threw away.

Why? I’ll share with you my reasons why and also help you discern if you need to throw yours away, too.

Please note, throwing away your journals is not for everyone. It’s actually not for most of you. But how do you know if and when it’s time? I hope today’s episode will help you determine that for yourself.

The Benefits of Keeping Your Journal

Keeping your journals and reviewing them periodically offers a ton of great benefits. And I’m actually going to start by talking about those, because I want you to make this decision for yourself and not just toss yours because I tossed mine. That’s not how this works.

There are a lot of great reasons to keep your journals and review them. Let’s start with two main benefits of keeping your journals instead of throwing them away.

Re-read for Insight

First, when you keep your journals, you’re obviously able to re-read them periodically. And this re-reading allows you to see a few different things:

• You get to know yourself more deeply.
• You can see how you have grown and changed over the years.
• You get a glimpse of various themes you’ve been learning about over the years, such as grace, flexibility, or trust.
• You can get a fresh perspective about something you’ve been through—or are going through.
• You can identify how God has moved in your life.

In other words, by re-reading your journals, you’re able to learn from them and see things that you might not have been able to see in the moment.

For example, I can look back on my journal entries from a couple of years ago and be reminded of how God led my husband to resign from his job of 30+ years and pursue something else. I can read through subsequent entries how I have responded to that and let it draw me closer to God as a result.

What would you be able to see if you were to read through your journals?

Share Life with Others

Second, when you keep your journals, you’re also able to share them with others—either in their entirety or in bits and pieces. And when you share these things, you are usually able to build that relationship, to open up with one another, to share things that matter to you with someone who matters to you.

Now, this is a scary thought to some of you. You don’t want anyone reading your journals. And that’s okay! But there are some people who record their thoughts and experiences in order to share them with those they love. And that’s okay, too. There is no right way.

Back in episode 143, I shared a bit from my own journal about how an artist I like to follow inspired me to consider what I truly enjoy doing—not just mimicking others or doing things to please others. But what is it that I actually like doing, that I look forward to doing?

So those are two main benefits for keeping your journals: you can re-read them for insight and you can also share them with someone you love and build up that relationship.

Why You Might Considering Throwing Your Journals Away

So with those things in mind, why would we want to throw our journals away?

Let me tell you why I threw away mine.

I noticed that those journals took me back to a place where I didn’t want to be. When I re-read them, I ruminated on the past. I got stuck there. And it was hard to move back into the present or really to learn anything from them.

They didn’t help me. They didn’t move me forward in my healing journey. In fact, they seemed to hold me back.

And for me, the right decision was to throw them away.

And I felt so much lighter.

I found a chat online that I wanted to share with you, too, because this was a question someone else raised, about whether or not to throw away their journals. Many who responded were strongly for the “keep it” category, which, again, is something I normally support. Yet listen to what Sarah shares.

She writes, “I’m going to go against the grain here and say that, for me, destroying/getting rid of a journal is my favorite part. It’s sort of a release, letting go of everything that might hold me back… the journals where I’ve been through a dark time are the best to destroy, [in my opinion], because it feels like I’m closing that chapter of my life, and a weight is off my shoulders and I’m ready to start fresh.”

Can you relate?

If your journals are weighing you down, if they’re keeping you stuck, if they’re not moving you forward in the healing journey… then you, too, might want to pray about whether you should throw those journals away.

Sometimes this looks like throwing away stacks of old journals. Sometimes this looks like journaling on a random piece of paper and immediately tossing it in the trash.

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The True Benefit: Journaling

Here’s what I need you to know: the act of writing in and of itself is so incredibly powerful.

Even if you never read that journal page again, you have reaped tremendous benefits just by writing something out: By processing your emotions. By naming where you have noticed God. By exploring different decisions you can make. By praying through a difficult relationship.

If there is something in those journals that God wants you to remember, He can bring it to your mind. John 14:26 tells us that the Holy Spirit will remind us of everything He has said to us, and though Jesus is speaking to the disciples here, I believe this is for us, too.

So sit down and ask Him. Say, “God, help me remember what You have taught me in the past. Remind me of truths and promises and lessons I need to hold close right now. Speak Your Word to me.”

We do not have to keep our journals forever, as good as some of those benefits might be. There are times when we need to let them go.

Ecclesiastes 3:6 says there is “a time to keep and a time to throw away.”

Which time is it for you?

Journal Prompt: Are my past journals helping or hindering me?

Your journal prompt this week is, “Are my past journals helping me or hindering me right now?” And if they are hindering your journey, is it time to throw them away?

Again, this might look like throwing away entire notebooks. It might also look like blacking out a page or two, or tearing them out and tossing them in the trash. Maybe it means storing them away for awhile to see if that helps you take some steps forward.

Or, is this actually a season that God is inviting you to re-read your journals, to glean that insight from them and see how He has been moving?

There is a right time for everything. Ask God what time it is for you.

If you want to learn more about journaling during hard seasons, be sure to check out my Journal Gently program at lovedoesthat.org/journalgently.

Prayer

God, we thank You that You can use journaling as a way to speak to us—not just in the moment when we journal but also as we re-read what we wrote months or even years ago. Yet if those past journals are hindering us in any way—in our healing, in our relationships, in our walk with You—we pray that we might be willing to lay those down. Is it a time to keep or is it a time to throw away? Help each one of us to know, Lord. We pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.

RELATED EPISODES:

• Episode 55: Reflection and Journaling as a Lifelong Practice with Business Strategist Elizabeth McCravy
• Episode 123: A Conversation with Marla Beech: Journaling as a Daily Practice
• Episode 163: Letting God Use Our Wounds: A Conversation with Russell Joyce

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