What does writing in a book have to do with anything related to achieving goals such as fat loss, more productivity, and mental strength?
You’d be surprised.
Writing (even if only for yourself) can be a powerful tool. Consider these ideas:
- Actually achieving what you set out to achieve
- Having a flash of brilliance and remembering it later during the day
- Alleviating symptoms from mental disorders like depression and anxiety
- Changing the way you think (in a potentially positive way)
Writing might not be something you’re comfortable with. Maybe you don’t know where to start. I remember staring at a blank page with pencil in hand while feeling completely paralyzed. So many ideas to think about and too many words to choose from! Sound familiar?
Don’t worry. By the end of this post, you’ll know how to get started.
What Goes into an Effective Journal?
Debits and credits Just kidding. Poor accounting joke.
Whatever is On Your Mind
By writing down whatever is on your mind, you can freeze your thoughts on paper. For whatever reason, writing something down seems to allow you to put it off your mind.
This comes in handy if you carry your notebook around and suddenly get a fantastic idea about something, too. Maybe this could be a potential topic for your term paper, a business idea, something you want to cook at home…anything. At the very least you’ll be eliminating the stress that comes with trying to remember the brilliant idea.
An entire journal was translated from ancient times and I love it. To look into the mind of a Roman Emperor who had to overcome some disastrous times, read “Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius.
Goal Setting
It’s not a rare practice to see top performers constantly reminding themselves of their goal. Kyle Dake, one of the best wrestlers in NCAA history, wrote down his goal in his notebook every day.
Four years later, he wins his fourth national championship and wins Sports Illustrated Male College Athlete of the Year.
Now, it’s important to note that I’m not saying that writing a goal down on paper guarantees that you’ll achieve what you set out to accomplish, but you’ll definitely stay focused on what you want. By remembering what you want to achieve, you’ll hopefully be reminded to act accordingly in order to achieve the goal.
Positive Reinforcement
Have you ever told yourself something so many times that you actually believe it? An affirmation is an idea you believe to be true. The more you write down an idea, the more you’ll believe in it. Also, the more you read the idea, the more you’ll believe in it. Affirmations have their use in sports as a confidence booster and more.
In Greco-Roman wrestler Dennis Hall’s words:
“Within a month I felt a change in my overall confidence level and how I felt about practices. My practices were used now to reaffirm my affirmations and it took my training to another level. Practices became fun again, focusing on creating the style of wrestling that I wanted to achieve. By working on my affirmations daily, my goals were within reach. Within one year of reading my affirmations, I won my first Senior World medal.“
–http://www.win-magazine.com/v2/2011/10/the-value-of-affirmations/
For what it’s worth, Dennis Hall went on to make three Olympic teams for USA. He also won several medals in his various trips to the world championships, including a gold medal in 1995.
(Side note: I get that all my examples are from wrestlers. Come on, dude. I wrestled in college and I’m a wrestling junkie.)
Feeling and expressing gratitude leads to an increased sense of well-being, improved sleep, willingness to accept change, and even lower symptoms of physical pain.
Shifting your focus to the positive can dramatically improve your mood (especially if you stay consistent). Focusing on the positive also alleviates symptoms you feel in depression and anxiety, too. If you’re looking for a cost effective aid to handling depression and anxiety, a journal can go a long way.
The gratitude section of your journal can be as easy as writing down three things that you’re grateful for each morning, and three things that you’re grateful for at night. That way, you start and end on positive action.
Tasks to do
Some days may be overwhelming in terms of what has to be done. Choosing a few daily tasks or goals allows you to keep grounded to those goals. At the end of the day, if you accomplish one or two of these tasks, you’ll feel as though you’ve at least set a goal and accomplished something. I’ve found this to be useful during overwhelming times.
An Example of a Daily Journal
I personally use a moleskine notebook. They’re on the pricier side in terms of notebooks but the quality’s good. If I have to look at this thing every morning and night, I might as well be looking at something that’s both durable and aesthetically pleasing.
On top of the page, I write down the date followed by “morning” or “evening” depending on when I’m writing the journal.
My morning page consists of the following:
“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” -Marcus Aurelius
Three things I’m grateful for:
1:
2:
3:
Tasks to do
1:
2:
3:
Long term goals
1:
2:
3:
4:
Affirmations
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
Mantra
I write the same quote, long term goals, affirmations, and mantra down every day. Those are more personalized to me so for starters, I’d recommend two or three long term goals at most, and even as little as one or two affirmations at a time.
My evening page consists of the following:
Three awesome things that happened today
1:
2:
3:
How could I have made today better?
1:
Affirmations
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
Additional notes
None of these entries have to be longer than a sentence, and feel free to do what you’d like with them. Happy writing!
Resources
This was how I got started into journal writing. I personally felt positive effects from it, and according to the reviews on amazon, it looks like other people do to. At the very least, consider buying one notebook for the explanation on how the journal works. It costs as much as a moleskine on Amazon.
Moleskine notebook:
I personally use a moleskine notebook. They’re on the pricier side in terms of notebooks but the quality’s good. If I have to look at this thing every morning and night, I might as well be looking at something that’s both durable and aesthetically pleasing.
If you prefer personalizing your own entries, consider the Moleskine notebook. There are a few variations, but pick whichever you’re comfortable with. If you’re into writing journal entries for the long haul, spending more money for a nice notebook is worth it. I bought my first one from Target and my second one from Barnes and Noble, but I’m sure other places sell them too.
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