Required to write a journal entry

Every time I read a chapter in the book, "Crucial Conversations," I was required to write a journal entry. For every one of my journal entries, I would try and use the skill taught in the chapter first. This process allowed me to learn how to use these techniques in my everyday life as well as helping me to write down my feelings on the subjects. This gave me a place to vent. Sometimes, I would be very frustrated with a technique. I would get upset because it wasn't working in the way that I had hoped. When I wrote this in my journal, it helped me to calm down and start over. I could reread what I had written and then try again. This helped the concepts in "Crucial Conversations" stick in my mind a lot better than they would have if I had just done the reading.