Personal
Development Journal
Does It Make a Difference How You Use One?
A
personal development journal is an essential
tool for your growth and personal development. The
interesting thing is that there is more than one way to use...
Your
journal to tap into a deeper portion of yourself.
And
there are a couple of ways to use a
journal for your personal development.
One
way is to document
your growth. That journal might be a part of your personal
development plan and be like a doctor's progress report.
If
that's what you're looking for, download
my free PDF workbook which has
that kind of record as a part of my personal development plan template
I've included in the workbook.
Just click
here to download (or right-click for PCs) and the
PDF will download instantly.
Another
way
to use
your journal is to “write freely” and let your
inner thoughts express themselves, which is what I'll be discussing in
this personal development article.
Personal
Development Journal Introduction
If
you journal a lot, you know how wonderful it feels to tap into another
“source” within yourself...
A
source that gives you just the right answers.
And if
you're like me, you look forward to just sitting down and journaling
out your thoughts for awhile. I've done this
“cathartic” work for years.
But,
one of the newest ways I've learned to used a personal development
journal is through a positive thinking course I recently took which
posed questions to me to think about and answer.
The
program's questions caused me to ponder different aspects of my life
from new perspectives...
Perspectives from a more
objective viewpoint. And I've discovered that this is a very
important aspect to journaling, and that this aspect is left out many
times.
What
the personal development training course I took did for me was actually
surprising.
Why?
Because
here I am, a “veteran” at journaling, yet I found
a much deeper sense of myself through the program's promptings...
Most
people just journal out their thoughts, which is what I've done for
years.
The difference is that when you're prompted
to journal about a certain subject, you're really asked to tap into
your true inner guidance...
And it makes you dig a
little deeper to find answers.
So,
any time you can find something or someone to prompt you with questions
that are outside your comfort zone, you'll benefit greatly.
Personal
Development Journal Sample
Here's
a sample journal from one of the best days of journaling that I had in
the beginning of the online personal development training I experienced
where they
asked me a question that was outside my usual sphere of thoughts:
JOURNAL
As
I sat listening to the music and pondering what was posed to me, at
first I didn't know how to approach such an "elusive"
question. Yet, in just a few minutes as I let go of the
"routine
thoughts" of my mind, new and expanded thoughts came to me at
great speed.
Ideas were "popping" left and
right.
It was like a magical machine was turned on and I was "observing" it
work. I let go and let my mind play. No
expectations and I didn't hold it back.
My
mind was simply
manifesting new ideas in such a magnificent way that I could only
experience the
joy of a mind that was functioning at such a high capacity.
It was a very interesting experience....
And an
experience that
came to me because I let go and let my mind "percolate" and expand on a
subject outside of my normal realm of thoughts.
Personal
Development Journal Summary
If
you're really wanting to gain the most benefit from using a personal
development journal, you'll want to also have questions “put
to you” that are outside of your normal sphere of thinking to
allow your mind to ponder your life from different aspects.
So,
does it make a difference how you use a journal? Yes, you can
use
one at least three different ways:
As
a personal
development record of growth and improvement in your personal
development plan.
In a
“free
form” way
that allows you to access your inner being without any guidance from
outside.
In
a more structured, “here is the subject, now what do you
think about it” way. Which moves you out of your
comfort zone and into a very creative place.
Using
a combination of these three methods of journaling allows you to expand
your horizons and find deeper insights inside yourself that are just a
"new thought" away!
Check
out this article, too:
Positive
Thinking Course: Is One Worthwhile?
A
positive thinking course is a great avenue to explore if you can find a
good one. I found one that was supposed to have been the premiere
product in the industry. But as I started, I wondered...