This is why grunts should keep a journal

Grunts may not pass literacy tests with flying colors, but it definitely isn't any indication they're not intelligent creatures. The infantry is full of different types of people with different ideologies and perspectives. Collectively, we can even develop philosophies based on our experience with the job. But what some of us don't think about is recording the thoughts and ideas that bounce around inside our heads.

Keeping a journal is more than just a method of remembering events that go on in your life. Writing down your thoughts and ideas could actually help you develop your mental strength as a warrior. Additionally, there are other benefits that come with doing this, beyond just keeping track of the one thing your First Sergeant did today that really pissed you off.

Here's why grunts should keep a journal:

It might help to write about a day like this.

(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Devon Burton)

A tool to fight stress

You may just want to chain smoke some cigarettes and trash talk your command with your friends, and that may work. But conversations can be cut short, and you may not even say 100% of what you're thinking. Writing down your thoughts as they are, without a filter, can help relieve you of the stress you're feeling on day 12 of a 10-day field op.

You felt a certain way about this. Why not write it down?

(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Matthew Callahan

Recording your thoughts

You may not feel like sharing everything that goes on in your head with your friends. That's okay. Write it down. This may be useful if you have a good idea regarding tactics or standard operating procedure that you feel you may not remember later. This is like taking notes but in a way that ties into the rest of your thoughts and feelings.

If you miss some shots on the range, you should record it to look at later so you can figure out how to avoid making the same mistakes in the future.

(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Reba James)

Tracking your growth

At the end of the day, it helps to go over the events in your head and think about the positives and negatives. Additionally, writing these things down and writing your thoughts on how to improve yourself can help you track your personal growth. Even something like recording your physical fitness test results can help you see what you can improve on.

Even the worst memories are worth recording.

(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Amaia Unanue)

Memory improvement

Writing things down is always a good idea when you have to remember them later on. But doing something as simple as writing down the day's events and your thoughts on them can help you keep your memory sharp which is a valuable skill no matter where you go.

Maybe the next time you'll remember how you solved that problem.

(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Sarah Anderson)

Improve problem-solving skills

While writing your thoughts and feelings about the day's events, you may find that there was a problem you couldn't solve earlier, but while writing it down, you discovered the solution. It's like thinking back on an argument and thinking of the perfect response that didn't occur to you in the moment.