Even Oprah Has A Journal -How to Use One to Improve Your Life
May 1, 2010
Download PDF version: The Navigator - May 2010 (32)
Spring brings the promise of renewal. Try writing down your hopes, dreams, and goals in a journal.
Even Oprah Has A Journal -How to Use One to Improve Your Life
By Rachel FordOne of my favorite personal development tools is a journal, even Oprah has one! Start by buying a notebook especially for this purpose and use is to record your goals, dreams, and whatever you happen to be working on at this time in your life. When you feel a bit lacking in the motivation department, go back to reread a few pages out of your “personal chronicle,” and let your own exploits inspire you! It’s all too easy to forget how great you felt at achieving a particular something, once the feeling naturally fades and time washes away the newness. A journal is a marvelous reminder to yourself that your capabilities are greater than you typically realize.
Below are a few other ways that journaling can help you.
Empty your mind.
It’s very easy to have a cluttered mind -we often have thoughts that aren’t worries per se, but manage nevertheless to irritate and distract us from what we really need to. You can begin an effective day by “pouring” the whole lot of these stray thoughts into your journal. As you write down your thoughts remind yourself that you’re setting them aside, to best focus on the day’s tasks. If you notice that random thoughts are nagging at you later on while you work toward your goals, then go to a new page and then repeat the process. After a while, your mind will become accustomed to focusing on the task at hand, and eventually let go of these stray, random thoughts.
Remember your “why.”
Staying motivated is a cinch when our reasons to want to improve ourselves are right there in our minds. But motivation can spray out like air from a slightly-punctured tire as we go on and an idea loses momentum. Use your journal to write down the reasons why you want to make these changes or pursue the goals you’re going after. Read them often in order to keep them in the forefront of your mind, and if there comes a time when you need a little “kick in the pants.” Reread them again.
Be grateful.
Gratitude can be a powerful ingredient in giving yourself a more positive attitude and kicking up your motivation. Either start or end your day by journaling a list of 5 things that you’re grateful for. While there’s nothing wrong with general things, such as your family, your health or the roof over your head, it’s even better to go into specifics of what you’re grateful for, progress you personally made, or any unexpected opportunities that pooped up. Before long, you’ll feel like a million bucks -and you’ll naturally want to create even more great things in your life.
