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Success Tip: Daily Journaling | How to journal and create success for yourself.

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Daily Journaling: How to journal, reduce stress, and create massive success for yourself

I doubt she knew it at the time, but this little thing, a gift from my wife Kara, is quite possibly the most impactful gift I have ever received in my life. At the time, I was in a job that paid good money but sucked the soul right out of me. My wife and kids barely saw me due to the excessive work hours and travel over the weekends. When they did see me, I was stressed. I just kinda sucked.

On April 28, 2017, I chose to change my life while sitting on a beach in Treasure Island, FL. I chose my family. I committed to goal setting, journaling, and reading daily. I chose to create small habits that would eventually lead to giant things.

Fast forward 1400+ days later and my commitment remains the same, yet life has completely changed. My relationship with my wife and kids is stronger than ever. I have read over 100 books, picked up meditation, journaled approximately 2000 pages, practice living in gratitude, and started a company that puts food on the table for 20+ families.

Here’s my point: if I can do it, you can definitely do it. Trust me. I’m terribly flawed.

You can invest 3 minutes a day in yourself. Start with a piece of paper and a pen. That’s all you need.

How Daily Journaling Helps

We are all unique and journaling helps everyone in different ways. Here are some areas I have found to be beneficial along my personal journey. 

  1. Reduce Stress and Anxiety
  2. Achieve Success
  3. Weight Loss
  4. Clear Focus
  5. Lead Effectively
  6. Effective Daily Planning
  7. Better Spouse and Parent
  8. Better Sleep

1. Daily Journaling to Reduce Stress

Before journaling, I was a disgusting ball of stress. Here I was with my teen daughters. –>

I was in a stressful job with no outlet. I slept like shit. I ate poorly. I drank too much. And I was 25 pounds heavier than I am now.

What was scariest for me was my hypertension blood pressure levels at the time. Yikes! I was way too young to have blood pressure issues. 

I was a stress ball before journaling.

According to the Mayo Clinic, your body produces a surge of hormones when you’re in a stressful situation. These hormones temporarily increase your blood pressure by causing your heart to beat faster and your blood vessels to narrow. (Stress and high blood pressure: What’s the connection?)

Journaling helps me decompress. It gives me an opportunity to “say” whatever I want and as I write, I feel weight lifting off my shoulders. 

2. Daily Journaling to Achieve Success

it's time to think big by starting to journal every day

Daily journaling keeps me on track to achieve success. 

Success is in the eye of the beholder. What you think is successful is what should matter most. 

I write out goals every three months. This helps keep me motivated to thoroughly LIVE LIFE!

Daily journaling keeps these goals in perspective and keeps my eye on doing awesome things. 

  1. How can I help others? 
  2. How can I leave a legacy of success, health, prosperity, and good-will in perpetuity?
  3. How can I be the best father, husband, son, brother, and friend?
  4. How can I stretch myself out of my comfort zone?
  5. How can I improve my health?
Our first scholarship winners!

3. Daily Journaling for Weight Loss

I do several things to focus on keeping my weight at ideal levels. Journaling helps me stay in line.

My wife and I took pictures five years apart. Can you see the difference?

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How does journaling help keep my weight down?

  1. It helps me recognize patterns. When I’m stressed out, I eat more. Like, a lot more. 
  2. When I fall off track, I hold myself accountable and call myself out. 
  3. When I plan my days, I plan my food. This keeps my caloric intake down. 
  4. Because journaling decreases stress, it reduces my desire to “stress-eat.” Stress-induced weight gain is likely more related to making poor choices (How do I control stress-induced weight gain?). Understanding this helps me gain perspective on why I’m making poor choices. Sometimes it helps me make better decisions. 

4. Daily Journaling for Clarity and Focus

Years ago, when I first started journaling, I created a goal of being able to live anywhere in the world at any time. This was a profound statement because, at the time, I felt stuck having to work for “the man.” 

Daily journaling kept this top of mind and I started creating a path to building my own business. I left the corporate game and started something meaningful to me. 

I’m proud to say our business is thriving because we help businesses grow. But this is a lot of pressure!

Fortunately, we have a team of gifted people who make this company great. As you might imagine, running a business can have an infinite amount of shiny objects and things to do. 

So how do I keep my head clear? How do I stay focused? Duh! I journal.

  • I’m prioritized daily.
  • I sort out the distracting crap.
  • I have a plan and stick to it (usually).

5. Daily Journaling for Better Leadership

I’m a better leader when I think clearly, react slowly, and keep the end goal in mind. Daily writing helps me be a better leader. 

Our company goals are to help others. Helping others is woven into the fabric of our business. 

We don’t have financial goals, we have goals based on how we can help others. It’s probably odd, but it works for us because we like making a difference. 

This focus helps our leadership team channel energies in leading and nurturing a culture of care. 

6. Daily Journaling for Effective Daily Planning

Here’s my trick for effective daily planning:

  1. Must: Anything urgent and critical to clients.
  2. Should: What will make a positive impact on tomorrow?
  3. Could: New ideas, testing theories, future goals.

 

how to prioritize my day

7. Daily Journaling for Better Relationships

Relationships can be tricky. Any relationship. 

Journaling gives me a better perspective. It helps me slow down when I’m feeling uptight about something going on as a parent, a husband, a son, a friend, or a co-worker.

I’ve learned to write when I’m feeling, well, anything. Usually, with some reflection, I find solutions to problems. 

Journaling allows me to create a better dialogue on what is most important. 

8. Daily Journaling for Better Sleep

I sleep better when I’m on my daily journaling routine. And I sleep like shit when I’m off it. 

I believe thoughts need to get out of your head. This can be done in many ways. I think journaling is one of the ways to do this. Meditation, exercise, seeing a therapist, speaking with friends, vlogging, and blogging all can create paths to get junk out of your head. 

Sometimes I struggle with falling asleep. This is especially true when I’m feeling overwhelmed. Thoughts just spin all night. It totally sucks. 

What doesn’t suck? Investing 5 minutes in a day to keep my head clear. I typically sleep like a baby thanks to my daily habit. 

writing in marketing

How to Journal

Many people ask how to journal or how I do my daily journaling.

There is no wrong way of journaling. You can journal in a nice notebook, online, voice recordings, videos, or on a napkin! 

The concept is to create an opportunity for your brain to unload junk, create your future self, achieve your goals, be a better human, reduce anxiety-creating issues, and improve your sleep. 

One of my biggest worries, when I started journaling, was “what if someone reads what I write?”

I used to hide my book so no one could read it. But the reality is, there isn’t anything I write that is bad. It’s just a bunch of random thoughts.

How To Get Started

The easiest way to start journaling is to set a timer for 3 minutes and write anything on your mind. 

  • What am I grateful for today?
  • What happened yesterday?
  • How am I feeling today?
  • What can I accomplish today?

 

It’s easy to create a habit if you only need to do something for a couple of minutes. Anyone can take 3 minutes to accomplish a task.

As time progresses, you will want to write longer. And if you feel that urge, do it!

What Do I Write?

Step 1: Gratitude

I like to start by writing 3 things I’m grateful for: 

  1.  
  2.   
  3.   

 

Step Two: Vision

I then write my personal vision. This is a daily reminder of my purpose: 

“Create a legacy of success, health, prosperity, and goodwill in perpetuity.”

 

Step Three: What Happened?

I typically write in a stream of consciousness. This style of writing leads you to write literally whatever is on your mind. Here are a few starters that help get the pen moving: 

  • “What happened yesterday” 
  • “What I’m going to do today”
  • “Today I feel like”

What about you?

Want to get started with journaling? I love helping others. 

Reach out to me on LinkedIn and let’s have a chat! (click here)

DISCLAIMER: THIS WEBSITE OR AUTHOR DOES NOT PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE
The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained on this website are for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.

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