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Journaling of thoughts and feelings can allow almost any person to gain a greater understanding of oneself. When you write down some of the content of your conscious mind, it allows better ability for you to know what you are thinking.

It might surprise you to realize that you may not be conscious of many of your thoughts and feelings. This is because some of them may be in the periphery of consciousness or beyond the periphery. Or, in other instances, some thoughts and feelings are submerged.

Sometimes we submerge emotions to protect our consciousness. Therefore, journaling could give some amount of air and light to things we've been avoiding. We could get in touch with pain that we've been afraid to face. Sometimes this can cause adverse results. Yet, for the most part, journaling will help most people.  

Journaling allows you to have effectively more processing power than you would otherwise have. As an analogy, computers are designed with something called "cache memory" which is extra storage that can be retrieved quickly by the system. A sheet of paper on which you write down your thoughts is like that. It effectively increases mental capacity. 

This is not to imply a lack of mental capacity. It is to say that more mental capacity is usually better. 

If you write down thoughts about which you have doubt, it is easier to focus on whether a thought seems to be realistic. If you write down angry thoughts, this is a better alternative than acting or speaking from anger. Yet, you should not write down any threatening content, even if you don't mean it. 

Journaling should never be done on a computer. 

For more than thirty years, I've regularly done exercises that combined journaling and meditation. When I write down a particular method that I want to use to meditate, it helps me remain on task. 

Journaling is a private form of self-expression. It allows you to express your thoughts and feelings, especially when the journal is not intended for anyone else's eyes. When you dispose of notebooks, it may be a good idea to shred them first. What you write is none of anyone else's business. 

In modern times, with Facebook, people post things that are completely inappropriate and that should be kept private. Journaling is a low technology alternative that prevents damage to your reputation. No one can access your material through computer hacking. 

For me, journaling was a precursor to writing for publication. Once I got most of the garbage out, I was able to express myself in a manner that other people could read. 

I continue to do journaling. All of the above reasons for me to do this are still valid. Additionally, I usually carry one or two mini notebooks in my shirt pocket. If I have an idea for an essay or fiction piece, I jot it down. If I didn't do this, the thought would be forgotten, and I would be absent of an idea for a piece that could be used. Someone said, and I forget where I read this, that for good memory, never rely on memory--write things down. 

The problem I now have is an abundance of partly filled small notebooks--many seem to get misplaced. But a person can't have everything.