“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
This question has been thrown once when we were young probably by our Mom, Dad or a close relative. Do you still remember the answer that you gave?! When I was still young I actually have no idea what I want in to be in the future.
All I knew is that I am fond of writing and I always have this desire to get what I want in life. taking up Journalism was something that I didn’t plan but it was the only course I felt suited for my intellectual capacity back then. I was the Editor in Chief of our High School Newspaper and was really into writing also I knew there will be less Mathematics subject since BS Journalism in Polytechnic University of the Philippines is under the Mass Communication category.
Even after graduation I still have no idea what I want in life like whether to pursue becoming a journalist or stick with my new found talent, hosting special events. I guess its also safe to say that as of this time that I am writing this blog post I knew I am still far from the state that I want to be though I hardly have any idea what I want in life.
You know what helped me to resolve this hole in my heart?!
WRITING.
I keep a journal where I just write my thoughts of the day. Sometimes the entries are long and there are also moments when they are shorter. I also learned to use a template in my journal such as answering questions like “What am I thankful for today?” or “What did I learn today?” I am actually not just narrating what happened in my day but I was reflecting in my actions willingly. Slowly I am knowing my real self better.
I had this big fight with myself one day and I was crying really hard because I don’t know what’s happening in my life. I feel in pain when no one had hurt me. I was just so full of baggage…. and mind you, most of those baggage are things I should be the one to blame for.
Then I list down everything that I am dealing at the moment. From problems to ideas to in progress projects and so on and so forth. As I write them down the heavy feeling becomes lighter. Then I sort everything by categories and further filter on things that I can resolve now to those that I need to stop doing for they just add to my worries.
I still can’t write a solid “This is what I want in my life” but I was able to come up with a long life book. Just like what I read once in Sir Bo Sanchez book that a 15-page back to back note he always read at night.
My life book answers what I want to accomplish in 1 year, 3 years, 5 years and 10 years. It also has the steps that I need to take in order to achieve them. It was a big deal for me because I finally realized that though I cannot fully say the “ending” of my story… I have the story’s outline with me.
Now What?!
Write a Journal. Never mind whether your handwriting is terrible or your grammar is not that good. Journaling is more than just a narration of what happened in your day… it is the very reflection of your life. It will make you closer to yourself. Nowadays, there are less and less people who value writing and it is the best time to undo this current situation. Journaling is life changing. It will disclose things that you never understand about yourself, your thoughts and your life before.
How Certain am I that journaling will let you “Find Out What You Want In Life”
99.9%. There is no doubt that having a personal recollection of how you are feeling today and listing the things that affected this “feelings” can help you. I know a lot of successful person whom take pride in the benefits of keeping a journal.
How to start a Journal?!
1. Choose whether you’ll use a notebook or an app for your Journal. Evernote is one of the famous app for journals as well as Microsoft Note. You can also use a normal composition notebook or add journaling as part of your Bible Binder. The important thing is you need to choose a method on how you will do your journal.
2. Write for yourself. It is easy to talk with yourself and I bet we’d all done that once in our lifetime. This time you won’t talk but rather write down everything. Focus on yourself and yourself alone.
3. Have a Template. I am very particular of templates because they just make every writing that I do easier. I have a template for the blog posts that I create, template for the system manual at work that I generate and so on. My daily journal is also the same and I’ll talk more about my journal template on the later part of this post.
How a Journal works in finding out what you want in life?
- It connects your past, present and future. When you journal you are basically going through a process of recollecting about your past, attaching it to the present and making you look forward for the future.
- It gives you the focus that you need. When you journal it feels like time stops temporarily. Now that everything happens faster than it supposed to be then you will be able to really have that focus on the real moment.
- It lets you understand your feelings and why you are feeling that way. When was the last time you paid attention on what you are feeling today?! Have you dealt with your sadness? happiness? or guilt?! Do you have the proper knowledge on how your heart currently feels?! Journaling helps processing this. It gives you a way to connect inside.
A Template that I use for my Journal (You can use this too):
I follow two journal templates one for the morning and one for the evening.
EVENING JOURNAL TEMPLATE:
I write the DATE when I am writing the entry. I also include the LOCATION as to where I am writing the entry. Then I answer the question HOW DO I FEEL AT THE MOMENT? I give a paragraph of explanation why I am feeling that way for today. Then I have a bullet points of 7 THINGS I AM THANKFUL FOR TODAY just to set as a daily gratitude and lastly I answer the question WHAT HAVE I ACCOMPLISHED FOR TODAY?
MORNING JOURNAL TEMPLATE:
Same Date and Location sometimes the location will be different. Then I track what time I woke up. Then I answer HOW DO I FEEL AT THE MOMENT. Next I write 7 THINGS THAT I NEED TO DO (which will be written too on my planner’s To-Do tab). And lastly I answer the question WHAT AM I LOOKING FORWARD TO FOR TODAY?
As an ending to this lengthy post I’d like to tell you that the ultimate reason why I believe journaling can be the answer in finding out what you want is that YOU are the only one who can answer this difficult question. And a journal is all about YOU.
Try journaling for 7 days and let me know the effect that it had given you in the comment section below. You can use my template or your own. Pinterest has the different pins for journal templates.
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