How Journalling Everyday Maximizes Your Creative Potential

don’t be nice be kind tell the truth, lose the gaslighting…shame hates the sunshine. when we tell the truth of stories, all the unacknowledged rage, shame, denial and self contempt becomes someone else’s problem. All the folks who never supported your story, your emotions or made you the problem, run and hide from the new light you create by owning your truths. There’s a self-forgiveness that happens when you tell the truth. And frankly that’s all that matters. You tell the truth, not to help others, but to free up your soul for living. You lift the weight of all the narratives others impose on you. you become your person: different, healthier, more bouyant than the people who made you. their limitations can no longer clip your wings and the life sitting in front of you becomes a new tale of driving into the sunlight with the ragtop down, joy and laughter on blast. ReWriting your story is some heady shit… Photo by Awuku Darko Samuel

Journal Every Day
“Keeping a personal journal a daily in-depth analysis and evaluation of your experiences is a high-leverage activity that increases self-awareness and enhances all the endowments and the synergy among them.” — Stephen R.Covey

Journaling daily is the most potent and powerful keystone habit you can acquire. If done correctly, you will show up better in every area of your life — every area! Without question, journaling has by far been the number one factor to everything I’ve done well in my life.

The problem is, most people have tried and failed at journaling several times. It’s something you know you should do, but can never seem to pin down.
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After you read this post, you’ll never want to miss another day of journaling again.

Here’s why:

1. Journaling Optimizes Your Creative Potential
Most people live their lives on other people’s terms. Their days are spent achieving other people’s goals and submitting to other people’s agendas.

Their lives have not been consciously organized in such a way that they command every waking, and sleeping, moment of their life. Instead, they relentlessly react at every chance they get.

For example, most people wake up and immediately check their phone or email. In spare seconds, we hop on Facebook and check the newsfeed. We’ve become addicted to input. Or in other words, we’ve become addicted to reactively being guided by other people’s agendas.

On the other hand, Josh Waitzkin, author of The Art of Learning, wakes up and immediately writes in his journal for 30 minutes.

He does this because while he’s been sleeping, his subconscious mind has been brewing, scheming, problem-solving, and learning. So when Josh wakes up, he rushes to a quiet place and engages in a bust of intellectual and creative flow.

I recently wrote about the importance of morning routines. If I were to re-write that post now, I’d include my journal. I’ve been doing this the past few weeks and its reframed my entire approach to life. Additionally, I’ve never before had so many creative ideas crystallize.
Creators focus on outputs rather than the general populace who focus on inputs. In their free moments, creators utilize their subconscious breakthroughs. Their days are filled with creative bursts, making them incredible at their craft.

If you want to have more creative flow in your life, stop checking your social media and email so much. Check them once or twice per day. Detach from the addiction to numb your mind and escape reality. Instead, get lost in the creative projects you’ve always wanted to do.

 --Benjamin P. Harvey


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