Journaling is like whispering to one’s self and listening at the same time
Of all the things that have been registered as extremely helpful in an author’s personal growth and goal achievement, the meticulous habit of writing serves as a firm footing on which the road to success is laid. Writing in a journal everyday holds all aspects of your career together. Many famous writers have kept journals or diaries- for many it is a creative necessity, for others a place of self exploration and for some an art form in itself. It not only renders you the time and head space to write but also forces you to contemplate and analyse what you’ve just read. There are days when an author may not show any tangible progress at all for days together and may fall into the vicious circle of despair and frustration. A journal comes as a savior on these days too to help them realise that as long as they reflect upon the areas of improvement and work upon the areas they are are struggling with, it’s still progress.
Speaking of the technicalities, let’s dive straight into the topic, shall we?
What is journaling?
A journal is a written record of your thoughts, experiences, and observations. You can write in your journal daily, or only when you feel the urge. Journaling, though is a thoroughfare of emotional exploration, a way to chanel difficult situations or personal shortcomings into healthy and creative outcomes. journaling is whatever you want it to be. Underneath, it’s the gateway to recording life, experiencing all manner of emotions and uncovering parts of yourself you never thought existed.
Here in this post we have tips and tricks of the perfecting this art from the master himself:- John Lee Dumas
John Lee Dumas is an American entrepreneur and podcaster based in Puerto Rico. He is the founder and host of EOFire, a daily podcast that interviews entrepreneurs 7 days a week.EOFire launched September 22, 2012. As his subscribers grew, he published Podcast Launch in the Amazon bookstore. Podcast Launch is a guide of the exact steps he took to launch EOFire. In 2013, Dumas launched Podcasters’ Paradise, a community of podcasters. Dumas hosts a free, live Google Hangout Podcast Workshop as an introduction to podcasting every other week. EOFire has featured several entrepreneurs including Seth Godin, Gary Vaynerchuk, Barbara Corcoran, Tim Ferriss, and Brian Tracy The show was named Best of iTunes in 2013. EOFire generates 7 figures in revenue annually and Dumas continues to openly share his income breakdown in a monthly report on his site, verified by a CPA.
In 2016, Dumas launched The Freedom Journal, an excellent, leather-bound journal to help individuals set and accomplish a goal in 100 days. Dumas launched The Freedom Journal via a Kickstarter campaign in January 2016, which became one of the most funded publishing campaigns in the history of Kickstarter, with over $350,000 pledged in 33 days.
The Mastery Journal, on the other hand is a stupendous need of the hour Journal that will guide you in mastering productivity, discipline and focus in 100 days. It entails the features of:
Productivity: Accomplish tasks that matter to you and your business by putting a plan in place!
Discipline: Learn how to take your plan of action and EXECUTE that plan!
F.O.C.U.S.: Follow One Course Until Success and remain distraction free in the process!
The Freedom Journal helps you accomplish your first goal in 100 days whereas the Mastery Journal helps you master discipline focus and productivity in 100 days. The mastery journal is a follow up tour to help you plan your course of action once you have achieved the first goal.
Here comes the most important question of them all-
Why Should Authors resort to Journaling?
A chinese Proverb states, “The palest ink is stronger than the most miraculous memory” Journals for that matter have been the secret weapons for most of the skilled and best selling authors. Of all authors who embark on the journey of writing a book only 3% end up finishing it in real time. But why is this so? Aren’t the remaining 97% not serious enough to write a book?
Ofcourse they are. But they lose focus of the big picture. Tasks will always expand to fill the time allotted. If not bound by a limited time constraint, they would grow into infinity and ultimately never get accomplished at all. Freedom journal can be of utmost help here as it helps you conquer your target in only a hundred days.
The 8 reasons why Journaling is a must for authors:
- Improves your writing: As the saying goes, “If you want to be, Do…”. If you want to be a great writer the imperative and essential first step is to write. There will never be a better setting or a perfect topic or a specific theme to your liking. It is getting your ideas down on paper and working up the ladder. The more you write, the more those ideas will flourish and orchestrate themselves into something more complete.
- Accountability partner: A journal is the best accountability partner one can have as it no one else but you looking right in your eye and holding yourself accountable for the tasks accomplished. The freedom journal and mastery journal can be used in synchronisation as they are great accountability partners in themselves or even used with a friend. These journals should be treated as gospels for anyone who wants to reach the pinnacles of success.
- Inspires Creativity:We are all creative here. If you don’t consider yourself a creative person it’s probably because you haven’t tried looking for your domain. Your journal is hub where you can let your imagination run riots. The more you experiment with your style of writing, the more inspiration and possibilities you’ll find. Maintaining a journal is the best way to help your creativity bloom.
- Self Brainstorm: A journal helps us keep all the ideas at one place no matter how all over the place they might appear to be. You can note down the craziest of ideas that pop out of your think tank and later on come back to these half baked beans to nurture their connections and draw conclusions. This in return will help you new ideas. What more can a writer ask for?
- Organisation: Now this is a skill that is a must for all entrepreneurs and authors. Journals not only help you keep your thoughts organised but also comprehensible. By modelling journals that are topic and theme specific, you can archive and organise your thoughts even more. No matter what the content, writing in a journal helps you sift through the clutter in your reminiscences by organising your thoughts into notes, lists, memoirs and stories.
- Stress reduction: Writing down in a journal at times can be as therapeutic as meditation as it acts as a release of thoughts. When the ills of time mismanagement and missing of deadlines are taken to task, these dont harbor within you in the form of anxiety and stress.
- Self Assessment: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it”- Ferris Bueller
Journaling helps you enter a world of your own free from other chores and expectations. It helps you take a step back and reflect upon your thoughts and your style of writing. The benefits of journal writing is in the fact that you’re able to look back at pages you’ve written and think about how you’ve changed and discover areas and opportunities for improvement. Upon re reading your journal you’ll either be satisfied and happy or dissatisfied and sad. There’s no fooling yourself with the progress. It keeps track of the bigger picture and helps you get there one step at a time. Once the momentum kicks in there’s no stopping you.
Writing a journal in the evening as well works great for a lot of people as it helps you reflect upon all the minor goals accomplished throughout the day. It works best in the short term goal domain.
- Achieve your Goals: It is a known fact that you are more likely to achieve your goal if you write them down. By developing a journal, you not only can write down a list of ambitions and aspirations, you can expand on them. You can monitor your progress and continue to motivate yourself by documenting new developments and achievements.
- Improve Your Memory: By writing down ideas and thoughts that happen to pop up throughout the day, your brain is more likely to store that information. If you learn something new a journal is the best keepsake you can have, but as you recover and retrace those facts your brain will make stronger connections with those information and it will be easier recalling them.
In conclusion, The simple act of writing a few words, sentences, or paragraphs everyday can have a profound and instant effect on your life for the better.
Journaling can change your life. It makes you a more interesting person through the years and makes you feel more interested in your life. It is time to get those creative juices flowing and those ideas rolling. Your journal is the most powerful resource in manifesting your dreams.
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