Why journal?
Can a journal help you create the life you want? You’ve probably heard about all the famous and successful people who’ve kept journals. You may have been told by others that they journal and you should too. I have gone through various phases in my journaling from just taking notes on what I’m studying, to writing down goals and ideas to learning to use the journal as a tool to help me create the life I want. Consider that if you want to get in shape, you might use weights or a stationary bike. Similarly, if you want to create the life you dream of, consider using a journal.
What to journal about
So, what should you journal about? I think I avoided journaling for so long because I thought of it as keeping a diary, something teenage girls do in movies to write about the boys they like and the mean girls they don’t like. Journaling doesn’t have to be a record of everything that happens in your life or your struggle to choose between following your heart and your head. It doesn’t have to be anything in particular, but it can be a very powerful and useful tool to help improve the quality of your life and move you closer to creating the life you dream about. So, what should you journal about?
Gratitude for the opportunity to create the life you want
It seems like everyone talks about gratitude, so what’s the big deal? Gratitude is really about about shifting your mindset to a more positive one. If you focus on what you lack, you tend to have a negative mindset. It’s hard to improve any aspect of your life if you have a negative view of things. Gratitude helps you to focus on what you do have and to recognize that you attract things into your life by the person you are being.
Being grateful for what you have helps you to focus on and attract more of what you want. It’s important to remember that you can be grateful for things you don’t have right now. The point is to prime your mind with what you want. There are things in your past, present and future that you want, you don’t have to limit your gratitude to what you have right now.
Your Vision for your life
I like to journal about the vision I have for my life and express gratitude for the the things I am working toward. Writing about the life you want to create helps you to stay focused on what you want and to move closer to creating it. Like a ship at sea, you have to stay focused on where you want to land so you can gradually move closer to it.
By writing about the life you want, you are priming your mind to create it. The idea is that if your mind has already seen the life you envision over and over again, then it’s better able to create it by attracting and recognizing the opportunities that show up in your life that will allow you to realize your vision. Be sure to connect your vision to a point in time. By giving yourself a date to realize your vision by, you make it more real in your mind.
Your plan to create your vision
I also like to include in my journaling, my plan to create my vision, I can see my vision off in the distance and before me are the stepping stones that form the path to the vision I have, I see the steps and I see myself taking one small step at a time and getting closer to it little by little. Those steps are the small daily actions you can take to create your vision, the habits you must develop.
If you want to be more fit, then you might journal about how you will look and feel, how grateful you are to be able to work toward that vision and the specific things you are doing consistently to create that vision. You become a fit person by seeing yourself as a fit person and consistently doing the things that fit people do. It’s the same for anything you want in life, creating wealth, having better relationships, etc.
Visualization
Beyond journaling, it’s important to visualize what you are trying to create. You want to see it and experience it in your imagination. Your mind doesn’t really distinguish between vivid memories and vivid daydreams. By creating a practice of visualizing what you want, you are priming your mind to create it.
See the life you want to create
Practice seeing what you want in your mind. You are pre-creating a memory of the future you want. You are priming your mind with the vision of what you want so that your mind can help to create it. I usually do this with my eyes closed and sometimes start by just describing out loud the future scenario that I want to experience, where I am, what I am doing, what I see, hear, smell, feel, etc. Describe it in detail and try to see it in your mind.
Feel what it’s like to create the life you want
Beyond just seeing the vision in your mind, you want to really experience it emotionally. What will it feel like to win the tri-city square dancing competition or whatever it is you are envisioning? Allowing yourself to feel it, helps to prime your mind and body to create it. This is something that we do naturally already. The point is to make a practice of it, be deliberate about it. Just as you won’t get in the best shape of your life by occasionally working out, you have to make it a consistent practice to see and feel the vision of what you want to create in your life to live the life you dream of.
Celebrate having the life you want
Allow yourself to feel the full range of positive emotions associated with creating the life you want to create. Get excited about it, celebrate it. Give your mind reasons to create this reality. The more powerful and positive the experience, the more resources your mind will dedicate to creating it. Remember to do it consistently. Just like going to the gym or running everyday. You have to create a practice of designing and visualizing the life you want to create.
Other Resources
If you are looking to improve the quality of your life, make more money, improve your relationships and get healthier, I suggest checking out Jeff Lerner’s Entre Nation. He has lots of resources that have really helped me. Check out his video below to learn more.
