Sunday Story...Journaling

Sunday Story…Journaling
About 6 months ago a friend came to me and said “you should write the Sunday story yourself. “ Thus began the genesis of what you are reading today. Before that I would scour the web for some inspirational story or something to comment on and share it with all of you. Now after a little push, I write, every week, a story designed to inspire each and every one of you. Sometimes I try to touch you emotionally, or get you to thinking a little out of the box, or even motivate you to action on some level. This is my mission…to inspire transformation. These stories are my journal of that effort.
In almost every personal growth book or program I have read or undertaken there is invariably a request to “journal”. Many people find this requirement to be the most difficult part of any process. Why is that? After all, just write a few words on paper and you are done. When I was participating in The Ultimate Black Belt Test 3 a few years ago we were required to journal every week. It was difficult for me and many of my team mates. There is always an excuse, a reason it did not get done. Everything from…I forgot, I don’t have anything to say, I can’t type, I don’t write well, to No one cares what I have to say, my words don’t matter, and It’s too hard. Yep, got it. All those things are great reasons not to do it.
AND there is one over-riding reason to do it and do it faithfully. Yes, it will provide a record, a chronicle of your journey. Yes, it will help you keep the project at the front of your mind. BUT the single most reason for you to journal at least weekly is…YOU WILL TRANSFORM YOUR THINKING. And, you may ask, why is that important? It so simple really…THE WAY YOU THINK INFORMS, MOVES, AND SHAPES YOUR ENTIRE LIFE!!!!!
Right now we are doing the first ever Relentless Fitness Challenge. Each participant is required to keep a food journal. Everything you eat and drink every day for a week. This changes how you think about your food. It forces more intentionality around your food choices. A very good practice and the first step to growing into the optimum health we all desire. I have found this part of the project very difficult. Yet it is very revealing about my eating habits. Thus my mind is shifting.
As part of another process I am participating in, I write down 10 things that I did every day. Yes, there is a record of how I spent my time and what I accomplished, but even more important it forces me to look and ask if what I am doing is serving my mission and vision. Do my activities feed my larger mission? All too often at the end of the day we ask “what exactly did I do? What did I accomplish today?”
I sincerely believe we were put here, now, to evolve our soul. As part of that evolution, I need to discover my purpose. I want to live a life OF purpose ON purpose. If I live my purpose I will be doing the work I was put here to do. Journaling is part of discovering your purpose. When I change my mind I change my life!
Namaste
John
“Teaching Focus, Inspiring Transformation”
PS. If you remember last week’s story about being green…here is a video of some “urban homesteaders” in Pasadena California. I wonder if there isn’t some of this we can’t do now in our own lives? The link is here:
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2008/04/18/magazine/1194817108584/life-mostly-off-the-grid.html