fbpx
Journaling and Writing for Personal Growth

Journaling and Writing for Personal Growth

Journaling and Writing for Personal Growth

Journaling is a powerful tool that few people take full advantage of. It can seem like a silly waste of time to some. However, journaling provides a ton of benefits and a surprising number of highly successful people make journaling a daily habit.

You can learn a lot about yourself and gain a lot of insight into your life. There’s something magical about writing that thinking alone just doesn’t have.

While you can type your journal into your computer, most people find it more effective to use actual paper and write.

Use these tips to take advantage of journaling to gain insight into your mind and your life:

1. Review your day. Take a look at your day and make some notes.

● What happened?
● How can you use this in the future?
● What did you learn?
● What mistakes did you make?
● How can tomorrow be better than today?

2. List progress toward your goals. Think about your goals and list the progress you made toward each. If you failed to do anything to make progress toward one or more of your goals, note that, too.

● Be proud of the progress you’ve made.
● Become more determined by the progress you failed to make.

3. Address your fears. Write about your fears. What are you afraid of? Why do you think you’re afraid of those things? How do your fears impact your life? What is your plan to address those fears?

4. Choose one way to enhance yourself. Pick something you want to work on and work on it. Write about it in your journal. Perhaps you want to lose 10 pounds or strengthen your communication skills.

● Choose something that would enhance your life and write about your thoughts, plans, and progress.

5. List your goals each day. Writing down your goals each day is a powerful way to stay focused on them. Write your 10 most important goals each day and notice how they evolve over time.

6. List five things that make you feel grateful. What are you grateful for? Make a list of several items each day and notice how your perspective on life changes.

7. Write about the obstacles in your life. What’s standing in your way? List the obstacles in your life that you believe are blocking you from happiness or achieving your goals.

8. Make a plan for the future. Aside from your specific goals, what does your dream life look like? How are you planning on getting there? Think about it and sketch out a plan.

9. Write about what is causing you to feel negative emotions. What is getting you down? What are the situations, people, habits, and beliefs that are causing you the most grief? Why do these things bother you? What can you do about it?

10. List the best thing and the worst thing that happened today. What are these two things and what was so great or terrible about them?

11. Use journaling prompts. There are literally thousands of journaling prompts online you can choose to use at any time. Here are a few examples to get you started:

● Make a travel bucket list.
● List five things you appreciate about each member of your family.
● Describe your ideal day.
● If I could speak to my teenage self, I would say…
● I wish that others knew I…
● I wish I could say no to…

Journaling each day can take some time, but it’s time that’s well spent. Develop a routine that incorporates journaling into your life. It won’t be long before you begin noticing the benefits. Do what the most successful people in the world do and write about your thoughts and your life.

How to Make Yourself Accountable to Yourself

How to Make Yourself Accountable to Yourself

You might be accountable to your boss at work, but are you accountable to yourself? Do you regularly let yourself down or fail to live up to the standards you’ve set for yourself? You’re not alone.

Most people struggle to behave in a way that is congruent with their values and goals. Most people make plans that they never follow or set goals they never come close to achieving.

This is a frustrating and ineffective way to live. There’s no one to hold you accountable if you don’t do it yourself.

Be accountable to yourself and anything is possible!

Follow these tips to master the art of accountability:

1. Keep a to-do list. If you don’t have a plan, you can’t hold yourself accountable to anything. Start each day with a detailed plan of what you want to accomplish. This list should consist of things that need to be done to maintain your life, as well as things that will bring you closer to achieving your goals.

● The first step to self-accountability is a to-do list that you take seriously.

2. Make a schedule. A list of tasks isn’t enough. When are you going to do each item on that list? What is most important? What needs to be done first? Create a schedule and hold yourself to it. Start each day with a plan.

3. Review your performance. Review your performance each day. You can review at the end of each task or review all of your tasks at the end of the day. Make note of your successes and failures.

● What can you learn that will make you more effective?
● What do you feel good about?
● What embarrassed you about your performance today?

4. Reward and punish yourself as appropriate. When you do well, give yourself a reward. When you’re not performing up to your standards, punish yourself. Most people don’t have trouble thinking of rewards, but here are a few ideas for punishments:

● Don’t allow yourself to watch TV for a week.
● Give money to a charity you don’t approve of.
● Don’t allow yourself to ride your motorcycle for a month.
● Embarrass yourself publicly.
● Snap your wrist with a big rubber band.
● Force yourself to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for a week.
● Make yourself watch a news channel that you despise.

5. Be clear on your goals. Your to-do list is largely dependent on your goals. It’s easy to sit around and accomplish little if you don’t have well-defined goals. You can’t hold yourself accountable without something to hold yourself accountable to.

● What are your five most important goals? Make a list and review it at least once each day. Be able to recite them without thinking.

6. Have others hold you accountable. Whether you’re training for a marathon or trying to buy your first rental property, let others know your plans. You might be more inclined to take action rather than suffer the public embarrassment of failure.

● Who will hold you accountable without trying to sabotage your efforts? Who really wants to see you be successful? This person could be a great accountability partner.

It would be nice to be assigned a drill sergeant to hold us accountable each day. Unfortunately, we have to manage ourselves.

What would you be capable of accomplishing if you could hold yourself accountable each day? The sky would be the limit. However, we allow ourselves to get away with regular displays of mediocrity and simply sigh as a response.

Today is the day you can begin to hold yourself responsible in all areas of your life. Be accountable to yourself and you’ll be amazed at what you can achieve!

I am true to myself.

I am true to myself.

I make my relationship with myself a top priority. I align my actions with my values. I make my own decisions instead of being pulled off course by external expectations and peer pressure.

I increase my self-awareness. I meditate and pray. I observe my thoughts, feelings, and actions. I keep a journal and review it frequently. It helps me to track my habits and understand my motivation.

I live mindfully. I focus on the present moment.

I stand up for my principles. I hold firm to my beliefs while respecting the rights of others. I remain calm and search for common ground. I am comfortable explaining my position in business meetings and personal relationships.

I advocate for myself. I set reasonable boundaries. I let others know when I need help. I remind myself that I am worthy of love. I validate my feelings and repeat positive affirmations.

I develop close and honest relationships. I reveal myself to my loved ones. I earn their trust.

My work is fulfilling for me. I choose a career that is compatible with my strengths and passions. I define success on my own terms. My self-esteem grows when I help others and build on my accomplishments.

I take care of my physical and mental wellbeing. I invest in myself by exercising regularly, eating healthy, and managing stress.

Today, I treat myself like a beloved friend. I honor my commitments to myself. I have the courage to be who I am.

Self-Reflection Questions:

1. What holds me back from speaking the truth sometimes?
2. What are my core values?
3. How can I tell when I am being authentic?