What's in your brain? Get it out. The value of journaling.

If you are in a place where you can, pause this recording and get a piece of paper and a writing utensil. Set a timer on your mobile device. 5 minutes, 3 minutes at least more than 2. And write down what is currently in your brain. No judging, no scrutinizing, no editing, just write. There is no right or wrong, you’re free flowing everything that is in your head. And let it out. 

Look at the page. What do you see? If you’re like most people you may see the following:

Things you have to do but you haven’t yet…A list of some sort…Tasks?

What about your feelings, are they there?  Things you are upset about, concerned about, worries?

What I noticed when I looked for patterns in my most recent thought download, was ultimately it was all about relationship. When I looked above the words on the page I saw a bigger picture. With my students, my family, my business, myself. And this clarity brought me a helpful perspective and more importantly some questions about what I wanted for those relationships. 

So I want to offer a perspective on these thought downloads and the value to you not just as a leader, or future leader but in the bigger scheme of our lives.  Our brains are commonly so full. This affects us emotionally, physically and psychologically. It affects our mood and productivity. It affects the quality of our relationships with others. And ourselves.

Does this impact your leadership? Your human beingness? Yes.

Maybe you’re already keep a journal and if so, yay you. If not, I’ll share some of the benefits to you, the value of regularly getting things out of your brain onto paper.

Benefits of Journaling:

1. Stretching Your IQ: language, vocabulary, writing correlated with intelligence
2. Evoking Mindfulness: focuses attention on your brain, unpack it, explore it in the present moment
3.  Achieving Goals: blueprint for your dreams, understanding what you aspire to change, improve
4. Emotional Intelligence: process emotions, self awareness the foundation
5. Boosting Memory and Comprehension: write it down, remember it, training, recall it
6. Strengthen Your Self-Disciplined: strengthen this muscle, like at the gym
7. Improve Communication Skills: writing and speaking are connected; though I would use caution around this one if you don’t believe you are a good writer
8. Healing: journaling lowers stress, anxiety and better sleep
9. Spark Your Creativity: bring ideas to the surface
10. Self-Confidence: catalogue progress, achievements, accomplishments and relive them, 

By Thai Nguyen

In addition to all of this, thought work, exploring what is in our brains helps us to decide what to keep in there and what to let go of.

It helps create clarity and focus. It allows us to make choices about our thoughts and those that are serving us and those that don’t.  Beliefs about ourselves, others, situations, challenges.

All of it. You get to decide what stays in there. And what gets cleaned out. Maybe your not ready for the commitment to journaling, so just dip your toe in the water. Do this for a couple of days, a couple minutes a day. Just a mini brain cleanse. You may be amazed at what you discover about yourself. And isn’t that worth a few minutes a day?

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