Your life is not set in stone. It is something that you can change. One of the tools that you can use is a pen (or pencil). You can use writing to help you create the life you want.

Processing Emotions

A simple way to understand and come to terms with your emotions is to write down whatever is bothering you. It allows you to internalize and then solve the problem. You will increase your self-knowledge and help yourself move forward.

Clearing Your Mind

To achieve higher levels of thinking and problem solving, you need to clear your mind of unimportant or irrelevant thoughts. A simple way to accomplish this is to “Core dump.”

Core dumping is a technique devised by David Allen (Getting Things Done). You list everything you need to do that day. This helps to clear your mind to allow you to focus on the most important things.

Another method of mind-clearing is to write a stream of consciousness first thing in the morning every day. The critical point with this process is that you write continuously without thinking or editing what you are setting onto the page.

Julia Cameron (The Artist’s Way) calls this method “Morning Pages.” She advocates writing three pages or approximately 750 words of your stream of consciousness first thing in the morning as a way to clear your mind. It leaves only those essential thoughts you need to focus on for the day.

Create a Record

Diary keeping has been undertaken for centuries. It’s a powerful tool for keeping a record of activities and actions. By re-reading these, you get to remember the past, including your thoughts and feelings. This allows you to gain understanding and insight. An additional benefit is the realization of your strengths and achievements.

Achievements

Keeping a record of your achievements can be beneficial to your self-confidence as well as self-knowledge. There are different types of writing you can complete, including:

Journals

Diaries

Goal lists

To-do lists

Recording your achievements allows you to recognize and celebrate your achievements, big or small.

Big Thinking

Dreams and goals are vital as they help us to learn, grow and achieve success. Writing down your hopes and objectives allows you to dream about the future you would like and visualize it. By visualizing your dreams, you are making them more real. Your big thoughts’ written record will help you track them, giving you a greater opportunity to achieve them.

If you want your life to change, then writing is a powerful tool. Using one or more of the methods above, you will be creating a commitment to change and self-improvement. You can set goals, hold yourself accountable for making the changes, and monitor your progress.

Take some time to put pencil to paper or fingers to keyboard and start recording! Until next time, stay safe, and keep the faith.