This post series will be reflections on items that I have learned from my journey in self awareness and following some of the most dynamic leaders in the realm of personal development. While I like to consider myself somewhat of a maverick, or a rebel chick of personal development, there are some traits that the majority of thought leaders do and they see great results. It has been a learning curve to decide which are things I need to learn and in turn do, and which things I can pass by. But I am a believer in learning from those at least 10 steps ahead of me and to not reinvent the wheel. I choose to learn from their experience.
One habit that I see emulated by leaders is writing. Now I don’t mean just a big best-selling book, although you definitely see that writing! I am talking about writing in the form of journaling. Do you journal? Or maybe writing about visualizations? Do you write to capture emotions where you are in a moment in time, or just to capture ideas? Or do you write out your goals? Does your writing have an element of reflection or is it mainly a list of “to do’s”?
What Constitutes Writing?
It has taken me quite a long time to take up writing, or what I called journaling. First I had to get over the fear. Fear? Fear of 
journaling you might ask? Well, yes. I have always thought of journaling as diary writing. I thought the purpose was to write down your inner most thoughts and confessions. And what if someone sees it? Then my wonderful mentor asked me: So what? So what if they see it? Does it really matter? And does that say more about them or you? After soul searching I realized that it really didn’t matter. So there went that excuse not to write!
Then I fretted over form. I worried that I had to have a formal journal. And I needed a consistent structure. What helped me immensely was that I realized that my journaling could take any form I wanted it to. So there went that excuse not to write!
So after removing all my pretense and excuses about writing, it was time to get to it.
If you are nervous about committing words to paper, here are some tips:
- The form can be anything you want it to be. Whether it is in a bound moleskin book, or a three ring binder with loose paper, or a file on your computer, it does not matter. It only has to be in a form convenient for you.
- Your journal does not have to have a specific schedule. You can write every day, or write when the urge hits you. A suggestion is to try to write on a more frequent basis at the start if possible as this will help solidify a new habit. But don’t let a schedule stop you from writing. It is better to have infrequent entries than no entries.
- There is no specific format for your writing. I start mine with 3 things I am grateful for. Then I write what comes to mind. When I was trying to get used to just writing and nothing came to mind – I just wrote that! And let that be my entry. It may seem silly, but at least I had SOME writing on the page.
- If journal entries are uncomfortable one form of writing that is incredibly powerful is writing out your visualizations. I would suggest you be clear and vibrant in your description. It doesn’t have to be a certain length as long as it captures your imagery. Now you have a new tool to use for your visualization. And feel free to tweak as more detail comes into focus with continued visualization.
- Another form of writing that is influential on your psyche is to write out your goals. List them out and put dates by them so you have a target. When you get a great idea of an action step toward that goal, write that down. Soon you will have a roadmap to achieving the things you want. Also, place them somewhere where you can see them and review them often.
- If you begin to find writing cathartic and you want to write about something very deeply personal, you can always destroy it afterwards. If writing it down then destroying helps in to process a situation, then by all means I say do it!
I have come to find solace in writing. I don’t do it every day. I usually write about 5 times a week, sometimes twice in one day, which counts as a separate entry.
I think it is so important to get thoughts or images on paper so now you can re-read the entries. You will rediscover ideas written a while ago that are now ready to come to life. You will see progress in trying to create new habits of thinking. You will embed visualizations deeper in your subconscious as you stir emotions from reading the vivid language and descriptions.
Everyone has different reasons for writing. It is a very personal mode of expression. Share if you want to or don’t if you don’t want to. Keep if you want to or don’t keep certain entries if you don’t want to. But there is definite gain to be had in writing and creating entries in black and white.
As with any new habit, it may feel uncomfortable at first. Remove all the restrictive labels you might have about writing. Take a chance. Start writing. You will be surprised at how you can process things quicker and see results faster.
What has your experience been with writing? What have you found useful? Please share in the comments below!
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You’ve certainly destroyed all my excuses with this article. I believe I have used all the excuses you mentioned at one time or another. Writing a blog on a fairly regular basis has been very good for me. I’ve written over 70 blogs in about the last 2 1/2 years. That has been a big step for me. I’ve never been good about keeping a regular journal but remember things by writing things down. I’m a great note taker when I listen to seminars, etc. One of my goals for this year is to keep a journal of some type so I purchased a planner that has 2 pages for each day. That gives me a place to take notes or jot down thoughts and ideas… at least it is a start. Its about time at age 70, don’t you think? You are an inspiration.
Thank you so much Pat! And that is a great idea – I love the idea to integrate your usual note taking with journaling! It’s a perfect blend of adding a new habit alongside a well established habit. 70 blog posts is awesome by the way. 🙂
Great tips Lynn. When I do get into the groove of writing, I love it! Sometimes it takes me longer to get inspired but that`s ok. It`s a process…
It is a process! But you do great posts so it’s worth waiting for the inspiration! Keep up the awesome work!
When it comes to writing, I find that I get the juice flowing from writing about things I know personally. I started to do reviews to add to those moments when I run out of juice lol My goal is to do 5 post a week. It might seem easy for a lot of blogger, but it’s challenging to me!
I commend you on 5 posts a week – what a great goal! And that personal connection is a great way to bond with your audience.
I love writing. Thank you for your tips about it.
You are so welcome Carele! Keep on writing!! 🙂
Hi!
I’ve been journalling since I was very very young. I’ve always loved the written word and couldn’t imagine not writing some notes down everyday. I liked what you wrote about goals and writing the action steps below every goal. I’ll definitely try that one out. I usually have goals in one place and action steps randomly jotted in different places in my journal. It’ll be nice to see if I can jot down a roadmap for each goal.
Have a lovely day,
Emma
Emma, that is so awesome that writing has been such an integral part of your life. I really commend you. Keep in touch and let me know if you get those roadmaps built!
i haven’t read anything like this before and it gives me a new perspective on writing, thanks for sharing!
You are so welcome Jessica. Thank you!
I am not very good t journaling. I always forget to write. plus I don’t want anyone reading my private thoughts
I had that same fear Veronica – what if someone sees. So I would suggest that for very personal entries you can shred them or burn them. I know that sounds off, but it is an amazing release. There are also some technologies that can password protect your entries. I know OneNote has that feature. I am sure others do as well. That may be an added level of security that will spur you to write.
I’m a big fan of journaling, especially buying journals. lol But your ideas on how to start if you’re worried about actually putting your words to paper are reassuring. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and ideas for being comfortable writing.
Hehe. They do make very pretty journals nowadays, don’t they! 🙂 You are very welcome, Diana. I hope the pages in your journal(s) get the gift of your words and thoughts!
Great post. I go on and off writing in a journal. I am learning to love writing again. Committing to writing a daily blog has been a big surprise, it help me improve my writing and get over my own insecurities. I’m dyslectic so writing publically has been a huge step for me.
That is awesome Heather. Way to go despite the challenge. That is very inspiring!!
Writing is an art form the we all do it in a different way and engage with people differently. Sharing yourself with your audience while sharing valuable content is important. Your readers need to connect to you and feel that you have their best interest at heart. Writing takes times and practice. Persistency and consistency are the key to turning yourself into a better writer.
Great insight Meryl! Agreed!
Fantastic post A. Lynn! Thank you for sharing your value 🙂
Thank you Joan!
I began my journal last year. I made myself do it daily for 90 days to just get in the habit and to document the changes that were taking place in my life. I just left the corporate world to take on the world of online marketing and I wanted to capture it.
Now I journal when I need to express my fears, doubts, and excitement. It helps me look back are recognize the success I have had. Thank you for this post!
You are so welcome Katrina! And thank you for sharing your journey! Writing is a great record of happenings and can offer continuous benefit by reviewing entries at different times.
I’m sure many of us with empathise with this post. Writing a blog has definitely been a catharsis for me
It can be surprising how much you end up (even reluctantly) enjoying it as you can’t stop the processing that happens as you put thoughts onto paper. 🙂
By default, I was never a good writer. It was something I had to work at, and in time I have come a long way. I still am not where I want to be but I know with consistency and practice every single day, I’ll be able to be a better writer. Thanks for the great post!
You are welcome Nate. And I commend you for sticking with it – the consistency and practice will make a definite difference!
Great information! Thank you for sharing this!
You are very welcome! 🙂
I especially love to write free writings, where you don’t have anything in particular to write, but write what thoughts are streaming through. I love the idea of writing down goals and dates, even it if the goal seems a little impossible, until the date arrives!
The date give a little extra oomph to working toward it. If it doesn’t happen by that date – no worries, just adjust on what you know now and put another date down. Free writings are a great way to write. Fantastic ideas you didn’t even know you had can find their way to the paper.
My first 2 years into blogging was like journaling. I took you along my journey of creating a business late in life. I shared my trials and trubulations and then one day I knew I had turned a fork in the road and started blogging about topics that might be of interest to others, not about me. Oh my personality is in every blog, but the intent is different. Writing was never high on my list of a self expression format, but I’m enjoying it more and more.
That is great Roz! I think that is a great way to start blogging because chances are if you have an interest (and you would in building your biz) in a topic then there are others looking to learn from those experiences.