The benefits of journaling daily are well documented – journaling reduces stress, increases happiness, helps the journal writer connect to their emotions, etc. With that in mind, I decided to journal.
I’ve tried every journal out there – The Gratitude Journal, The 5-Second Journal, The Freedom Journal – none of them worked for me.
I’m not knocking any of these journals or methods – they all have wonderful components – they just didn’t connect with me.
But what does connect with me are my personal value – what I call my Operating Principles. I have 7 operating principles (you can check them out here), so I decided to start writing down observations each day for those principles.
For example, my first principle is “Learn Something Every Day – The only what to grow is to learn. Have insatiable curiosity. Read. Listen. Ask questions. Share what you have learned. Celebrate ‘Ah-Ha!’ moments.” So I write down something I learned or shared, or an ‘Ah-Ha!’ moment.
Another principle – “Success Isn’t Lonely – Meet interesting people. Maintain relationships. Offer to help. Ask for help. Say ‘Thank You‘.” Who did I meet? Did I help someone? Did I succeed or fail in maintaining a relationship?
Using my principles as prompts has really connected with me – my journaling s more regular and more connected to me. If you want to journal, but haven’t found the right system, try journaling your values. Let me know if it works for you!
