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Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Journal power


Recently I picked up a nice notebook for small money: quality paper, black leather cover, and a good size for carrying around. I've yet to write in the thing.

It's a little intimidating. Journals are powerful tools. At the end of the summer I'd discovered one of my old journals written years before. There were a lot of “pie in the sky” ideas written down in there. Most of those crazy ideas manifested themselves in my life.

Writing ideas down gives them power. It's not like some sort of magical wish granter. There are real practical reasons journals work. Once written down ideas and plans becomes a bit more real to me. It frees the mind to think of the next thing, or to expand on what was already written. The new ideas are also written down, and so on and so on.

Some call it thinking on paper. I like that. For me, the act of physically writing something down seems to have more power than typing on a computer. It's more real somehow. Journals are like blue prints for building one's life. It concentrates the mind. The Sufi mystics claim a focused mind is the most powerful force in the universe.

Do you know what weakens and disperses a person's energy? Continually talking about what they plan on doing. Ever notice that people who constantly talk about the great things they are going to do never get around to doing them? Scientific studies of the brain shows that talking about something satisfies the brain about as much as doing something. All talk, no action is real.

Journals, on the other hand, do the opposite. The start of a new year is as good a time as any for starting a new journal. It's a good way to reboot one's life. Now I like my life, but nothing dulls the mind like doing the same old thing all the time.

New year. New adventures.

-Sixbears

10 comments:

  1. You always give us such good advice. Have a Happy New Year, you hear?

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  2. I keep an on-going list of projects and if it involves building something, I will draw out plans. It keeps me focused on what I plan to do. I would more easily forget it or move to something else if I didn't write it down.

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  3. I'm not keeping a journal currently. I guess my blogging has sort of taken over that part of my life. When I was journaling, though, I was surprised how often That I used it to find out when this or that had occurred. NOT surprising, is how often it was longer ago than I first thought. I hope you and your wife have a wonderful new year ahead of you!

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    1. Thanks Gorges, same to you. Surprising how quickly the years slip by.

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  4. The New Year seems to be the right time to start a journal. Maybe I should do that!

    Happy New Year, buddy!

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    1. Try it, you might like it! Happy New year to you too!

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  5. Surprising what you can learn about yourself when you write it down! You and your family have a Very Happy New Year, Sixbears!

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