Pull Out Those Pens and Pencils

Today is a cloudy, windy day and the clouds are rolling in. There is rain predicted and after reading this quote it seems that the sun is telling us to go take a nap! I wonder what else the sun and moon would tell us if we were able to read their diaries?

I worked for a boss who wrote everything down. They spent the last hour of their work day summarizing what they did, what they wanted to do the next day AND how they wanted to improve. This habit helped them be focused, deliberate and calm in the midst of much corporate madness. It meant they spent a little extra time at work each day which yielded a thought process and mindset that supported their success and leadership skills. In other words they kept a diary of their accomplishments and lessons learned from failures. They often looked back at a year to remind us of what went well, what we learned and how we had improved. The time invested as time well spent.

I’m not sure that people keep hand written diaries anymore? They may blog or type, not sure how many people hand write things out. I have my clients hand write things as our brains process and remember differently when we write it by hand versus when we type it out. I have yet to have someone balk at this because they too see the difference between how they act and remember when things are written down. Be it a grocery list, a note to someone, or remembering what got accomplished a diary provides a safe place for our thoughts and ideas. On those pages we can write anything, do anything, be anything and travel back in time to see our growth and progress.

A diary also provides a safe place for us to process what might otherwise be very controversial or ‘politically incorrect’ thoughts as we work through how to live our lives. I know you know this, everyone we know does not always say out loud exactly what they mean. They massage their words, bite their tongue or even sit quietly with a small grin to prevent them from blowing up the room with that they are really thinking. Do that long enough and eventually you will explode. A diary is a safe place to vent, weep and moan without anyone being the wiser…except that it makes us wiser.

So here’s to the wisdom of writing things down and giving ourselves a place and process to make our lives better. Pull out those pens or pencils and give your brain the time it needs to help you be a better you.