Mindset
Three things you can write about every day that will make a difference in the quality of your state of mind and your life.
I design solutions for human performance problems. One of the pieces of advice I give my clients is to journal daily.
For some, this tends to be received with a squished-up just sucked a lemon type of face. The type of face that says, I am not interested in journaling, period.
For others, the face is more one of dismay, followed with “I wouldn’t even begin to know what to write”.
Still, others listen and even give it the college try, but they often come back with the same sort of reaction; “I’m lost on where to start or what to write about”.
So here’s what I do every day, that helps keep my state of mind open to the possibilities, clears the mechanism so to speak, and helps me craft a positive and productive day. There may be much more you can write about after reading this, but I suggest you get consistent at just writing these three things down each day first.
Why, because consistency is the key to the outcome. If you don’t do it consistently, there will be limited positive effect, and you will determine (incorrectly) that there is no value in journaling.
So, heed my warning, give this a fulsome try, do it for a minimum of one full month every day (if you miss a day once in while don’t give up, just get back on the horse and keep rolling!), and I will guarantee you will feel a difference in your life.
What do you write?
First, decide when you want to journal and try as best you can to pick a time of day that is relatively consistent. This way you begin to see the trends in what you write, and it is in identifying or realizing those trends where all the gold is located. Stay with me here.
First thing you write is what story or conversation you have been having with yourself today. We often chirp incessantly at ourselves about a whole host of things, some negative and occasionally some positive, and often just repetitive themes. A lot of times we have “what if” conversations about things that might happen to us, or we beat ourselves up about something we judge about a recent moment or encounter. Bottom line, we have real conversations with ourselves that we would NEVER have with someone we love, is or even someone we like!
We often talk to ourselves the way we might speak with someone we hate, but we’d likely not have that conversation because we wouldn’t give them the time of day. But we sure do give it to ourselves! Nastily!
So, write the most recent conversation down on paper, experience your language, and realize on paper how insensitive you are being with yourself. Purge the ideas circling in your mind.
After you’ve done that, immediately switch gears and write something down that you will do today that you know will make you smile. What one thing are you going to achieve today that makes you feel positive. It might be as simple as calling a friend, or reading a book, or taking a walk, or it could be completing a project, making a sale, helping a friend or family member. Bottom line is there is at least one thing you can do every day that you can appreciate as positive.
Finally, write down the one thing you did yesterday that you consider a win. Something you are happy you completed or did, or experienced.
If you write your personal conversation, your smile factor, and your win from the previous day down in a journal every day, once a day for one month, you will begin to notice trends. Trends in your language, trends in the things that make you smile, and trends in the things that make you feel accomplished.
Stay tuned because I will be back with what you can do with this information to begin to really change your personal conversations, and take your life to a wonderful place.
