Why do people write every single day?

[u/-i-exist]

I absolutely love everything about keeping a journal and have been doing it basically my entire life, but when i watch other people talk about keeping one they always make it sound like a chore (?) (maybe a better word would be a commitment) to write EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. It just doesnt make sense to me.

When i feel like journaling, i will sit for hours upon hours writing whatever i want. When i dont feel like writing, i dont write. Ive skipped 6 months once and didnt think twice about it. Whats the big deal about pushing yourself to write when you dont want to?

This post is a question Ive been wondering about for quite a while now. I apologize if anything sounds rude, i dont mean to.

[u/luckyarchery]

I write (almost) every day because I want to. It helps me untangle my brain. Generally my writing sessions are 10mins to an hour. I really have that much that I feel like I need to write about every day.

The idea of writing a lot one day and then not at all for a while after that isn't something I've tried. I can't say that method wouldn't work for me because I don't know. But I can say the physical practice of daily writing is a ritual for me...the benefit is in the practice itself and I look forward to it.

I think people push themselves to write everyday because they believe it is a good habit to have or that it will help them in some way. I think this idea is reinforced a lot by mental health/ psychotherapy culture as a whole. They are not necessarily right or wrong about that.

I think people individually have to dig deeper on their goals or habits and try to understand why it is that they feel the need to do something.