An Excerpt from My Upcoming Book…………

I know many of you are wondering what I am doing since you have not seen any new posts from me.  I am still working on my book and have set a deadline of July 1st for a completed first draft.  But at this time, I want to give you, my loyal reader,  a sneak peek at what is to come.  Here is an excerpt from upcoming book on personal development.  Enjoy! (and feel free to leave a comment!)

A JOURNAL A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY

 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.”

Exodus 17:14 (NJKV)

God knows our nature.  He knows that as human beings, we are easily distracted and forgetful.  Throughout the Bible, God instructed people to write things down (Exodus 34:27-28, Deuteronomy 6:6-9, Deuteronomy 11:1-21, Deuteronomy 31:19).  He did so because He wanted to make sure consistent information was remembered and passed to later generations.

The act of writing information is a profound action with a profound effect on you.  When you write something, you engage your mind and body, your whole self.  Let me explain.

In order to write information, you must convert the information into something you understand (mind). You use you mind to understand, to make sense of something.  When you write the information, you use your hands and eyes (body).  And when you read it, you use your eyes (body).  Reading information stores it in your mental databank (mind).  Journaling, or writing, is an integral part of your personal development process.  The journal is where you record what you learn about yourself and life.  It is through journaling that your new insights and revelations will become part of you.  So, you get a journal!

If you don’t like writing or think you can’t write, get over it. What you write in your journal is for you.  The grammar doesn’t have to be perfect; in fact, you don’t have to write sentences.  If you want to write in bullet form, that’s okay.  Your journal is private.  You do not have to share it with anyone.  Your journal does not have to be a fancy blank book from the stationery store.  A black and white composition book or a spiral notebook will suffice.  If you want to put your journal on your computer, go for it.  The bottom line is to journal, to write.  Yes, even if you are writing notes in this book, you still need a journal.

Journaling will help you in five big areas.  One, it helps you slow down.  Personal development is a life-long process; it is not supposed to be done quickly.  Journaling forces you to focus on your process, on the new concepts you learn.

Two, it helps you reflect on and digest what you are learning about yourself and life.  When you reflect on the thoughts and ideas, you understand them better and see ways to incorporate them into your everyday life.

Third, it helps you to remember. We get busy with life and we forget things.  If you are like me, my list is my lodestar when I go grocery shopping.   Oftentimes, I forget something I really need between the time I leave my house and reach the store, if it is not on my list.  Likewise, to help keep me on track with my life tasks, I write a daily To-Do list.   Like a To-Do list or a grocery list, writing thoughts and ideas in a journal helps you to remember them.

Fourth, it helps you track your personal development process.  Each entry is a snapshot of where you are in your process at a given point in time.  Reading your journal from time to time will encourage you when you think you are wasting your time and not growing as a person.

Fifth, it is a guide or map for you.  When you get distracted or lost, writing in your journal or simply reading it will help you get back on track.  Your journal is a visual of your personal development process.

I have been journaling for over 10 years.  My journal is the place where I reflect on things I learn and on the events in my life.  My journal is my personal sounding board where I can shift through options when I need to solve a problem or do some self-examination.   Writing in my journal helps me to better understand alot that of what goes on in my life.  I don’t use my journal for only deep thinking.  I also use it to record fun stuff like my helicopter ride over Las Vegas at night and the day I saw the shuttle Discovery fly over my house on its way to a museum in Virginia!  Some of my journals are bound books but most are spiral notebooks.  It’s normal for me to raid the school supply department in August, buying notebooks when the prices are very low.   I like spiral notebooks best because I can fold the book back on itself and write on the entire page.  I don’t write everyday.  Some of my entries are long and some are short.  Sometimes I cut out an article that moves me and paste it in my journal, writing notes beside it.  From time to time, I reread my journals.  Sometimes I see my growth.  Sometimes I see I still have work to do in an area.  Either way, it’s okay because my personal development is MY process.

Personal Development Thought:

Writing things down helps me remember and grow.

Personal Development Action:

1. Get a journal.
2. On the first page, write “Today, I decide to start and charge up my personal development process which is a life long process.”  Then sign and date the page.
3. On the second page, write why personal development is important to you and what you want to get out of it.

Question for Comment:  Do you keep a journal?  Do you think journaling will help you?