"[[Saint Athanasius of Alexandria]] wrote in his [[Vita Antonii]] that one of the benefits of journaling—Confessions, as the Christians called the genre—was that **it helped stop him from sinning. By observing and then writing about his own behavior, he was able to hold himself accountable and make himself better**: Let us each note and write down our actions and impulses of the soul . . . as though we were to report them to each other; and you may rest assured that from utter shame of becoming known we shall stop sinning and entertaining sinful thoughts altogether. . . . Just as we would not give ourselves to lust within sight of each other, so **if we were to write down our thoughts as if telling them to each other, we shall so much the more guard ourselves against foul thoughts for shame of being known**. Now, then, let the written account stand for the eyes of our fellow ascetics, so that blushing at writing the same as if we were actually seen, we may never ponder evil." ([Location 1300](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07QY3CZ9L&location=1300)) --- **Tags** -- [[quotes]], [[journalling]], [[routines]], [[self-control]], [[ego]], [[bad-habits]] **Source** -- [[202409180133 - B - Stillness is the Key]]