Most people don’t write, especially if you exclude Facebook posts, short emails, and text messages. Yet there is a great power associated with putting your thoughts into words. Writing is an exercise in thinking.
There are many weeks I have written about the benefit of reflection and writing a journal, but there are very few of us that have the discipline to follow through and take advantage of the opportunity.
There are many excuses not to write. You don’t have time. You don’t know what to write. You are not creative. You don’t want to put your thoughts where people can read them.
There are two very good reasons to write:
1. Learn from today. Don’t just gloss over today’s activities, but think about what you should learn from today’s actions, results, interactions, failures, and victories. Write down what you have learned.
2. Plan a better tomorrow. Take what you have learned and become responsible for your improvement. Each tomorrow can be a fraction better than yesterday. Imagine how that improvement will add up in a few years.
If you are thinking about your new year’s resolution list, don’t overlook this simple investment in yourself. We all want to be more successful. Reflection thinking and journal writing can be applied to the area of your life where you want improvement. As Christina Baldwin has said, “Journal writing is a voyage to the interior.”
If you decide you are not going to write, then consider this. You are writing your story day by day through your actions. Whether you physically write about it in a book, or not. You are writing the story of your life.