Quotes in my Journal

            I love quotes. I have always loved quotes because they’re such a simple reminder of such important truths. My home page on my internet browser is Brainy Quote’s Quote of the Day. I record quotes as I read, and I screenshot quotes that I come across on my phone.

            So as I thought about what to include in my journal, quotes seemed like a natural choice. I wanted to include important quotes within the journal, following the relevant day’s entry. I might record something someone said to me that made me laugh, or I might record a meaningful quote I came across in my reading. These allow me to remember specific moments of my day, and they also let me remember what I might have been thinking about that day. Whenever I add a quote, I start a new line, indent it, and start it with a tilde (~) so that if I’m flipping through my journal it’s obvious where quotes are. This is really helpful because I usually end entries with quotes, but sometimes I’ll put it in the middle if it’s something I’m thinking about, so it’s nice to easily be able to find them.

A quote within one day's entry

            Since I love quotes so much (and I really believe one could live their life by following good quotes), I wanted to include quotes in a way that I would see them regularly and make me think. In my room, I have quotes that I’ve taped to the wall next to my desk, quotes taped to the back of my door, and quotes taped under my light switch. I keep quotes everywhere so that I see them when I’m doing something else, and they make me pause and think for a minute. I also have a wall that I’ve covered with large handwritten quotes for some of my favorite quotes.

One quote display on my bedroom wall

            In order to include quotes more prominently in my journals, I decided to write important quotes on the inside front and back covers. I usually handwrite them (although sometimes I type it if it’s longer like a poem) and glue them into the covers. Sometimes I do this when I start the journal, if there’s a quote that I want to inspire the way I write in that journal. Sometimes I do it as I’m writing the journal, if I’m recording a quote in one day’s entry that I want to think about more often. And sometimes, I get to the end of the journal and realize I never did it, so I go back through the journal and pull out some quotes that stand out to me. This way, when I finish the journal, I have a small collection of quotes to remind me what types of ideas I was inspired by while I was writing.

Some quotes on the covers of my journals

            For me, quotes are an important part of my journal because they’re an important way I reflect on my life and my priorities. Do you record quotes in your journal? Or, do you have something similar that you could include in your journal? I have friends who add a sketch everyday, glue in a picture they took that day, or glue in natural items (leaves, flowers) that they found that day. Journaling can be a great place to not only collect your thoughts and ideas, but to remind yourself of the things that inspired those ideas.

Since I can’t resist, here are a few of the quotes collected from my journals and my wall:

~ “A bird sitting on a branch is never afraid of the branch breaking, because her trust is not on the branch but in its own wings.” (Unknown)

~ “You don’t have to believe in it. Just suspend your disbelief for a little while and give it a chance.” (A friend, describing the benefits of mediation).

~ “Just because it’s hard, doesn’t mean it can’t also be good.”

~ “Life doesn't get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient." (Steve Maraboli)