Inside Look: How + What to Journal in the Morning

Journaling.

It’s so awesome and something that totally helps me slow down my brain as I get words down on paper.

Plus, it’s a fantastic way to remind me of who I am and what I’m seeking in life.

 

Here’s a quick video on my journal practice I shot in Atlanta:

 

Your Highest Goal for the Day

This can be the same day-to-day, or it might change.

Who do YOU want to BE today? :)

 

Your Path

What are your core values?

What are you all about?

What kind of journey are you on?

 

Your Ideal Partner

Here’s the short answer – whatever kind of person you are looking to attract (whether it’s a romantic, business, or platonic relationship), YOU need to embody the same qualities!

Want someone who is loving, playful and confident? Work on those qualities in yourself first, and you’ll naturally draw in someone with similar qualities. Like attracts like.

(By the way, I’ve totally seen the opposite happen, as my insecurity has often attracted other insecure people. For me now, it’s all about cultivating powerful, supportive relationships!!)

• Exercise:
• Write down the 50 qualities you would want in an ideal partner
• Narrow those down to the top 25
• Narrow that list down to the top 10
• Now get to work on embodying those 10 qualities each and every day!! :)

(I did the above exercise with my buddy Jacob back in February 2011 while I was staying at his pad in New York! I’ve used that same list since!)

 

Your HELL YEAH’s

We all have SO MUCH coming at us. SO many choices of what we could do and what we could focus on. How do we choose?

Ask yourself: “Do I want to do this?”

If the answer is a resounding “HELL YEAH!” then keep going!

What fires and lights you up? What are you so totally excited to work on? Choose those projects. :)

For more on this awesome concept (and where I learned about it), check out Derek Sivers’ article + short video – he’s totally one of my heroes!

 

Signature Strength Test

From Martin Seligman at Authentic Happiness, take a free test called “VIA Survey of Character Strengths” that measures 24 character strengths (or virtues) such as:

• Wisdom
• Creativity
• Enthusiasm
• Courage
• Humanity

Once you have your top 5, find ways to incorporate these qualities into your everyday life. So for example, it might be looking for how you can bring more creativity into your day, or utilizing your courage and humanity.

When you use these strengths, you feel stronger. These traits are what you are naturally do well, so let’s use them as often as we can!

I’ve taken the test twice (probably due for a third round), and after averaging the scores, came up with my current top 5. (Enthusiasm was #1 both times! :)

 

Zones of Genius

Perhaps you don’t know what you want to do with your life.

I’ve been there.

Take a look at this video below on one of the MOST POWERFUL EXERCISES I ever did – The Zone of Genius, from the book “The Big Leap” by Gay Hendricks.

The video is only 5 minutes and this is an activity you can do RIGHT NOW to discover how you can create consistently strong days!

Similarly to the Signature Strengths, the more ways you can find to rock your Zones of Genius on a daily basis, the more ON FIRE you will feel!! :)

 

Gratitude

From positive psychologists to ancient gurus, everyone shares how important gratitude is.

I completely agree.

There are times in my life when it almost makes me fall to my knees with how ridiculously lucky and awesome this life is.

I mean, seriously, being able to live like I am and to do what I can – it just blows my mind sometimes. And of course, there are so many amazing people that are in my life, it’s great to remind myself of this as often as I can.

In fact, gratitude is so important, it’s #1 on Marci Shimoff’s list of 12 Happiness Activities in her book The How of Happiness:

“People who are consistently grateful have been found to be relatively happier, more energetic, and more hopeful and to report experiencing more frequent positive emotions. They also tend to be more helpful and empathic, more spiritual and religious, more forgiving, and less materialistic than others who are less predisposed to gratefulness. Furthermore, the more a person is inclined to gratitude, the less likely he or she is to be depressed, anxious, lonely, envious, or neurotic.”

 

Your Fundamentals

What are you COMMITTED to rocking every day?

What maintains, sustains, energizes, and inspires you?

What is ONE activity that you know if you started doing on a daily basis would have a powerful positive impact on your life?

 

Other Ideas

What Big Ideas have you thought about recently?

What questions do you want to answer?

What are your goals?

Anything else you’ve been thinking about?

Time to jot it down!

 

More Mojo

If you’d like to get someone else’s take on journaling, here is a great video from my buddy Brian Johnson on his journal practice (he’s the one that really inspired me to get into it!):

And while we’re at it, check out Brian’s videos on how he sets his Intentions + Goals for 2010 and 2011 – really good stuff in there!! Totally inspires me to get clear on what I want to create!! :)

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Anything else you’d like to add about journaling? Is there another exercise YOU love to do?

 

I’d love to hear your response + any other thoughts you have below.

Looking forward to learning more!

 

PS – I’m on the train to El Paso, TX! Had a great time in New Orleans – LOVED exploring the East Coast and the South: now it’s time to head West!! :)

 

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