Barkha Dutt

The Power of Journalizing – Wording Your Aspirations

The world moves on three pillars – thoughts, words and actions. If these three elements are in alignment to your goals/commitments/dreams/aspirations – rest assured, you will make progress in life. Mediation is the sure fire way to still your mind, the other important and indispensable tool in your ‘Self-growth’ journey is maintaining a ‘JOURNAL’. Words are the medium of communication and when spoken with intention, they carry enormous power. Get yourself a nice journal, grab a pen and use the power of words to create a life you’d love to live, every day!

If you are a beginner to Journalizing, here are a few tips to help you get started!

  1. Check your ‘intention’ – Journaling is different from maintaining a diary. Journaling is to crystallise your ‘future actions’ – your dreams and goals, while maintaining a daily dairy is about noting down your everyday actions, just as a story.
  2. Set a fixed time – Journaling, much like any other habit will be effective when you set aside dedicated time for it. The intention behind journaling is to align your subconscious mind to your goals, using the power of words. Find a time when you are your most calm – early mornings or late nights work for most people. Set aside 15 minutes of uninterrupted ‘journaling’ every day, and be consistent.
  3. Theme your journal – Many first time journal writers make this mistake of writing a multi-theme journal. I had this one big red journal, in which I did write my affirmations, my goals, and my fears – basically everything. The problem is – writing a multi-theme note doesn’t work. What if you wanted to give yourself a pep-talk and then accidentally end-up reading a couple of pages of what you dislike? Your pep-talk will become a ‘poor me’ talk. Keep separate journals for writing goals, prayers and affirmations and challenges. The Thumb Rule: NOT MORE THAN 2 JOURNALS AT THE SAME TIME. Else, you will be busy journaling, while life will pass by.
  4. Go with the ‘flow’–Let your thoughts come and jot them down. Structured journaling takes practice, so don’t stress yourself with following a set format. Start simple – imagine your life goals in five simple sentences. As you get consistent with your journal writing, you will notice word patterns which will help you get a fair idea of your dreams, aspirations and challenges. Example: If ‘adventure’ is a recurring word in your journal, you may want to reflect as to what it means to you – say a job change? Travel? New assignments?
  5. Look for words you LOVE – We all have particular words that strongly speak out to us. A few personal favourites of mine are ‘authenticity’, ‘luxury’, ‘elegance’, ‘excellence’ and ‘focus’. Look for words that make your soul light up, and note them down. You will soon be able to connect a pattern as to what your ‘aspirational’ life goals are.
  6. Look for words that you HATE- Much like the words you gravitate towards, words that you dislike can help reveal about change and challenges. I personally avoided the word ‘competition’ for a long time, until I realised that I was subconsciously afraid of failure. Accepting that competition isn’t the enemy, my approach towards ‘competition’ in the real area of my self-development, has helped me immensely in taking up new assignments with more ease and comfort.
  7. Simplify as you go – If you are journaling for the first time, you will have a tendency to be wordy. If you enjoy writing, it’s a given thing. As you maintain a consistent journal practice, start simplifying your words. Use your journal to harness the power of words, rather than merely making it an emotional dump yard.
  8. Be neutral towards yourself–We all have our critical mind that will negate our each and every move. Don’t be judgemental of your thoughts or writing while you journal. Accept them for what they are. From this space of acceptance, make changes – slowly and consistently. It is easy to judge and self-criticise, so even when you feel like you have let yourself slip, be easy on yourself.
  9. Let go – Journal writing is addictive and if you let go, you will end up having piles of journals without making headway in life. Periodically, let go of journals that no longer serve you, emotionally. Burn them away or make a small ceremony around it. Say thanks, give your journal a hug and take an environmental friendly route to set it free.

Start small, dream big and dare consistently! You will reach your goals and create your dream life, faster than you think. Happy writing and stay tuned to Women Planet to live a rich life.

Image Courtesy: wikimedia.org

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