I'm a Dude, I'm Not Keeping A Diary!

Like most people, when I  first started my self improvement journey, I had a lot of misconceptions and areas of my life that I needed to improve.  The most profound of those was my warped view on journaling.  I thought, "I'm a Dude! There's no way that I'm going to keep a diary!"  Obviously, I was very uneducated on the subject of journaling and how it could be a hugely valuable tool on my journey.  Once I gave it a shot, it quickly became a practice that will stick with me for the rest of my life!

Through Certified High Performance Coaching, I discovered that a journaling practice is something that the vast majority of successful people use.  From Presidents to CEOs to Professional Athletes, journaling has been a valuable development tool for millions of people throughout history.  We live in a world today where we are constantly bombarded by negativity and other people's agendas.  If, we're not careful, it's easy to get caught up in all of the noise and quickly lose sight of ourselves, OUR dreams and OUR priorities! For me, journaling acts like a force field against all of that noise.  Each day, my journal helps me to clarify what is really important in my life and what the best version of myself would do during difficult challenges.  It helps me to intentionally design the day I want to live instead of being in reaction mode.

Keeping a daily journal has also helped me to become significantly more self-aware.  In the past, I would simply react to the noise and challenges that we all face each day.  Unfortunately, I would carry those stresses with me throughout the day.  From activity to activity, that stress would build, and my family was often the recipient when I got home from work every day.  That is not a version of myself that I was proud of!  My wife quickly came to notice days that I journaled versus days that I forgot.  She would call me out, "You didn't journal today, did you?"  While, the daily habit was difficult to stick to initially, she definitely helped hold me accountable!

Fast forward several years, journaling has become the most valuable weapon that I have in my self development arsenal.  Both my morning and evening routines include a short journaling practice.  I strongly believe that most people could benefit from a bit of writing in their lives.  How do you think a journaling practice could help you achieve your dreams?  How are you going to make it an intentional activity each day?