Life is wild.
It’s infinitely complex, so you never know what happens next. Don’t you hate repeating the same mistakes all over again? Don’t you have enough of purposeless wandering?
Don’t you feel something is wrong when you see all those people succeed while you can’t get out of bed?
How about that anxiety from running out of paper towels?
I know the tool that can simplify reality. A medium to find solutions to your problems. A haven for you to stop and relax. A way to know yourself.
Journaling.
And here is how to keep your fire burning so you keep reflecting on your life with pleasure.
You need to support your habit.
Consistency breeds progress over time. And journaling is most beneficial when you practice often. The more you write, question, and think, the more you become aware. As a side effect, you build discipline. Discipline gives you the life you want.
Channeling the power of rituals is about decreasing friction.
Writing allows you to learn about yourself, but it may not suffice. To keep journaling frictionless, make it yours. Connect practice with something you like.
My ritual consists of three points:
This way, when I imagine morning coffee, I see myself journaling. And when I see myself journaling, I know I’ll clear my head before work. Coffee in the morning is my primary journaling cue.
Rituals can be as simple as that or even more straightforward.
Connect journaling to other things. The more cues you create, the easier it’ll be to write. You want to make it automatic to limit the use of willpower.
Journaling without purpose will make you hate it.
We feel a sense of purpose while going towards a goal. Doing something without a goal in mind makes it feel empty. Connecting journaling to your goals makes it feel meaningful.