Journals and Goals and stuff?

[Ghost]

I've got a couple of spare notepads.

I decided to use them for journals and stuff.

One such example is workout logs, pen to paper.

Another is a dream journal (trying to get lucid dreaming).

I know the power of writing, but not how to use it myself.

Goals are strong, I've heard. But how do I utilise the power of writing?

So NF, tell me what sort of Journals/Logs/Diaries you keep.

How you write your goals, benefits you have observed or felt?

Thanks, Ghost.

[Tocho]

Don't really have any advice on writing journals/listing goals, sorry. I hope someone else can help you with that.

But if you need help with anything regarding lucid dreaming, let me know!

[Raincloak]

A lot of people rattle on about the "power of writing," but there isn't really any magic to it. You just write. The magic, such as it is, will happen by itself if you write consistently.

As far as writing to boost goals goes, what I suggest is:

writing down concrete goals (that is, quantifiable stuff like "do (x) pullups by (y) date") and reviewing them often. Some people recommend every day review, some people even say two or three times a day. Even read it aloud or meditate on it if need be. The point is to keep it in the forefront of your thoughts, because thoughts dictate actions. If, for example, you're constantly thinking about getting rich, that cues your brain to look for ways to make money. If you constantly think about getting STRONG, that cues the brain to seek out strengthening foods and do strengthening exercises. You want to get both your conscious and subconscious minds on board here. (for more on this, read "The Greatest Salesman in the World.")

You should also write down as many reasons as possible for why you want that goal. This will help motivate you and also keep you going when you start to change your mind about the goal. (Or, if you can't think of any good reasons for that goal, that might be a sign it wasn't a good goal to begin with.) Go ahead, take 20 or 30 minutes, and just write and write and write. The more reasons you have, the better.

Then you're done with startup. Next part is to get on with life and frequently review and write down what you've done that day (or that week, but every day is better) to move toward your goal. Again, this keeps the goal in the front of your mind, and also helps keep you honest. If you want to get strong, writing down things like "I ate my spinach today!" and "Completed 20 pushups, woohoo!" will help. Even things like "ate a big bag of chips, and here is what led me to do it" will help, because it will make you more aware of your habits and motives.

If you journal stuff, it helps you see patterns and triggers, and knowing yourself is the first step to changing yourself. For instance, if you had a good day and ate your spinach and did your pushups, noting how good you felt after doing all that will keep you doing it more. Or, if a friend taunted and motivated you to knock out those pushups, write it down! Now you know that the way to get yourself working is to have a friend taunt you. This works for both good and bad behaviors. If you tend to gorge on pizza after a tough day at work, identify that pattern and the next time you have a tough day at work, you will say to yourself, "I see that pizza binge coming, and I have thought of an alternative which I will now use." Then you are aware and can change the pattern.

Everybody has patterns and habits, which are unique like fingerprints. One man's "go out and kill something" motivation is another man's "sit down and cry" motivation. Women have biological cycles that make them act different at different times (and the wise man knows this, and steers his plans accordingly ). So you gotta find what works for you, and journaling is a great way to do that.

plus, if applied over time, it helps give you a sense of perspective. When you had a REALLY shitty day and you feel like the world's about to end, you can flip back through your book and see "Aha, I felt like this a couple months ago, and then I got better. I will get better again. This too shall pass." It helps.

[Ghost]

Don't really have any advice on writing journals/listing goals, sorry. I hope someone else can help you with that.

But if you need help with anything regarding lucid dreaming, let me know!

I think I just might take you up on that offer friend!

[Bekah]

I've got a couple of spare notepads.

I decided to use them for journals and stuff.

One such example is workout logs, pen to paper.

Another is a dream journal (trying to get lucid dreaming).

I know the power of writing, but not how to use it myself.

Goals are strong, I've heard. But how do I utilise the power of writing?

So NF, tell me what sort of Journals/Logs/Diaries you keep.

How you write your goals, benefits you have observed or felt?

Thanks, Ghost.

I do a workout log in a spiral notebook: dates, times, activity, max speeds/reps/sets whatever fits. I also write down my mood and anything that was particularly easy or difficult (for example I have asthma, and some days my breathing is worse than others, so I look for patterns in that kind of things over time)

One of my goals for the current challenge is journaling 4x a week. I have realized that I suck at putting down my emotions on paper ( I thought it was just verbal expressions that were hard before, hence I tried journaling thinking it would be easier) sooo I decided I'm going to do an art journal, and draw and get it out that way.

I have no idea about lucid dreaming, but it sounds amazing...I am looking forward to seeing how that turns out for you

I'm Bekah btw. Nice to meet you

[Ghost]

Nice to meet you too, Bekah.

Good luck with your journaling challenge.

I had forgotten about journalling, my friends got hold of one in it's early stages.

The weren't nice.

Lucid dreaming is fun to learn. Just gotta watch out for all the nightmares!

[BigCurly]

I found the biggest key to my successes in life (career, relational, fitness etc) have happened when I have been actively journaling. I had to start during grad school as an assignment with one of my supervisors and it stuck with me. It is an awesome way to check in on yourself, set daily goals and reflect on what is working and what isn't. Some of the coolest people in history kept journals, if it worked for them it can work for you. Here is an interesting article on an awesome website

 

http://www.artofmanliness.com/2009/06/07/30-days-to-a-better-man-day-8-start-a-journal/

 

Happy journaling!

[porchcricket13]

Lucid dreaming is fun to learn. Just gotta watch out for all the nightmares!

 

I naturally do this sometimes, I wish I could learn how to affect the dreams myself. My nightmares border on night terrors. There is a reason there is a huge dream catcher tattooed on my back. Just represents how vivid my dreams are. I also dream more often than anyone I personally know, and all it takes is a half hour of sleep. I hate it sometimes.

[fengor]

I mainly write to do lists. The trick with them is to note down concrete actionable items. "Get fit" is a lousy todo item, "run 2km today" is a good todo item

 

As for journals, the only journals i write are travel journals when i go backpacking. Havent been in ages. god i miss it :/