So if you had a chance to read my first instalment on this theme about a month or so ago, you will recall that I prescribed three things you could write in your daily journal that would make a definite improvement in your state of mind.
1 — Your inner conversations — what you say to yourself each day, good or bad
2 — Your Smile factor, one thing you would like to do each day that you know will make you smile
3 — Your Wins, three or more things you did today that you are happy you accomplished
Hopefully you invested in the consistency of writing in your journal this past month and you are starting to get in the habit of journaling on a daily basis.
If this is the case, I promised to bring back some more thoughts so you could maximize the affect of journaling.
As far as your internal conversations are concerned, by now you may have begun to notice that you have some common theme discussions.
I wish I……
I hate doing……
I’m fat…….
I’m not doing enough……
I’m being lazy……
I’m not enjoying work…….
I’m scarred to try that…….
Most of the conversations we have with ourselves tend to be negative and un-productive. If this is not the case, and you are having positive conversations with yourself, then keep writing those things down and keep re-enforcing the positive!
If you are writing a lot of the above, then the next thing you need to do is name your negative characters.
As an example, if a lot of what you are doing is judging yourself or others, then name that character judging Jerry as an example. If its always about being scarred, then call that character fearful Fred. The idea here is you label these characters and you begin to recognize when they are appearing in your conversations.
Over time, you’ll start to recognize that one or two of them are often in your head, messing with your state of mind. We want to recognize them so we can cut them off and re-direct our conversations. This will come in the next installment!
The next thing you are going to add to your journal, best done in the morning, or established at days end, is your daily plan. Take 10 minutes each day, either when you get up or before you hit the sack to determine your key intentions for the next day.
This is not a “To-Do” list!
These are things that link to what you are most passionate and driven to do in your life.
That doesn’t exist for you right now you say? You are working at a feverish pace, but not connected to it? You are listless and un-motivated?
Gotcha!
If that is you, then your job is not to write your daily plan, but to write the answer to this question:
“Unrestricted by my current circumstances, un-limited by money or time, absent any restriction, what would I like my life to look like? What would I love to be doing? How would I like to feel?
Ask yourself this question each day, and truly reflect un-bound by your limiting perspective. If one of your characters appears, just observe the thought and return to your focus on your truth. Who do you want to be?
With consistency you will begin to recognize 1) that you have limiting statements (characters) in your daily conversations, and 2) that they are stopping you from really being the person you wish to be. Once you have seen and recognize these two realities, you can begin to plot a course to shed yourself of those limiting characters and focus on your truth.
If you know who you want to be, then all the things you put down on your daily plan should be those things that will contribute to you achieving that intention.
Ask yourself if what you have written is helping you move towards that intention? If it is, get it done, and move one step closer to who you wish to be!
If your daily plan is empty of truthful intentions, and full of “To-Do’s” you know you are just staying busy and not moving towards your truth.
Fill your day with things that pull you and push you towards your truth, celebrate your achievements daily, plan the day ahead, and learn your inner language. The more you know, the more you can shed the negative and accentuate the positive!
Originally published at medium.com