Journaling is a way of casting a longer shadow on your own life.
At the beginning of his journey into adulthood, Buckminster Fuller decided to document his life as one of an ordinary man. At the time, he had no way of knowing that he was on his way to becoming one of the most influential futurists of his generation, setting down utopian ideas about a global village, sustainability, and the concept of “Spaceship Earth” that are now very much part of our culture.
Fuller’s archives contain his work and everything he amassed over his 88 years, from receipts and dry cleaning bills to every single letter he wrote. I’ve often wondered if one of the reasons Buckminster Fuller became an icon of the times was because of his dedication to taking his life seriously.
There are several primary reasons journaling enhances our lives.
Documenting our lives is one reason for journaling. Fuller may have taken it to extreme when he documented his life every 15 minutes for 63 years. However, there is a form of magic to being able to dip back into our lives and understand the patterns or progress we’ve made.
Insights. When Fuller was considering suicide at a low point in his life at age 32, he reviewed his journal and concluded that he had been most effective when his efforts were on the behalf of others and resolved to focus his future work toward "all humanity.” Your journal is about you and your life. Any insights that come from the journaling process are deeply personal and can be shocking and, sometimes, transformative.
Better communication. Journaling your thoughts and experiences makes you a better and more authentic communicator, not only with yourself, but also with others.
Appreciation of self. Spending a few minutes a day recording your thoughts and feelings is a way of honoring yourself and your own journey. It’s a form of deep listening to your inner voice, a bonding kindness to yourself.
Anxiety, altruism, and sleep. Neuroscience studies have validated journaling as a form of positive personal therapy.
Gratitude Mojo is a guided journal organized into weeks and inspired by questions, quotes and activities.
Effectively journaling for self-exploration and discovery has no “rules”; however, it does have a few simple principles:
Tell the Truth: The purpose is to reveal your deeper truths, so be as honest as you can, both good and bad. Remember, this writing is only for yourself. You may decide to reveal some of this; however, it is your material to share or not share.
Be Brief: This is not a memoir for someone else. Capture the high points of an event or memory but push into what it revealed about yourself, why it happened, and what you can take forward.
Ask Questions: Questions open up space, and if you give yourself some time with your journal, sometimes you will get amazing answers.
Trust First Responses: Sometimes you’ll write something that makes no sense. Stay with it; write around it; let your mind flit about and see where it lands. Often it will surprise you with new wisdom.
Gratitude Mojo, the journal and the newsletter guide: Gratitude Mojo the Path will launch October 23 and the next six days will explain the details of the process and more about the amazing practice of gratitude.
The 10 Day Countdown is designed to help you decide if this is a practice that would be useful for you. So far, the feedback has been remarkable. Lynne Snead, co-creator of Gratitude Mojo, recently experienced the terror of Hurricane Ian and commented, “Honestly, without advanced black-belt gratitude training, I don’t think I would have made it through this.” Her home was significantly damaged but is livable unlike so many others in western coastal Florida.
We’d love to hear your thoughts and questions as we proceed on this countdown to the official launch date: October 23, 2022.