The Power of Journaling
How to Journal to Reach Your Goals
Journaling is the practice of keeping a diary or journal that explores thoughts and feelings surrounding your life. This is a great tool to use for goal setting. The concept of journaling has been around for centuries but its popularity began to rise in the 1960s. Even famous people like Frida Kahlo, Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison were known to journal. Journaling helps to organize your thoughts while creating an actionable plan to achieve your goals. It offers you a space for you to document your journey of getting to your goals and the lessons learned along the way.
Follow these steps to get the most out of your journaling experience.
Step 1: Make the commitment. Sign and date your journal.
Step 2: Visualize the future. Write down the date of three years from the end of this year. Describe what you want your future to look like and include images and words that describe your goals and dreams.
Step 3: Define the year. Encapsulate the highlights of your annual plan. Include your objective, goals, and strategies that you will use to achieve your outcomes for this year.
Step 4: Know your reasons. Your reasons will drive your results. What are the things you want to experience this year for your health, wealth, mindset, adventure and relationships? Read this list every evening before bed.
Step 5: Plan the quarter. Set your priorities for the next 3 months. Describe where you want to be in 90 days and list what needs to happen to reach those goals.
Step 6: Align your actions. Outline what you are committed to taking action on every day during this quarter because these behaviors align with your goals.
Step 7: Design the week. Take 30 minutes every Sunday to measure your progress and adjust your behaviors if needed. Pick your top three priorities for the next seven days that will move the needle towards your goals. Read this list every single morning.
Step 8: Conquer the days. Start your day with affirmations and gratitude to set the tone for the day. Stay focused on three outcomes each day. Debrief in the evening by recording your wins, losses, and how to improve and this will help to clear your mind before you go to sleep.
Step 9: Review the quarter. Review your results. What are you proud of? How did you push yourself? Where did you fall short? What did you learn that you will apply to the next quarter? Where are you at with the five areas of your life?
Step 10: Decide what’s next. Use this space as an epilogue to your last 90 days. Add your final thoughts on this quarter and share a glimpse into what’s next for you.
Step 11: Remember your dreams. Reserve the last five to ten pages to imagine and write down the dreams and ideas that pop into your head about future plans for your business and your life. They can be words or sketches. Imagine what if. Always be thinking, what if.
It’s time to put your dreams down on paper and for you to begin achieving your goals, no matter what!