3 Ways Journaling Can Help You Expand and Grow Your Business
Guest post written by Jordan Maney. Visit Jordan’s Website.
If you’re a small business owner you need one thing more than anything — your imagination. Your ability to conjure up new ideas and create new possibilities are why you’re here. There’s one tried and true technique that can nurture your imagination like nothing else and you can start today — journaling!
Journaling has so many benefits, and can be a tool for processing emotions and events in your personal life. It’s no surprise that journaling can be a valuable tool for exploring what you want for your business.
Here are three types of journaling to help you tap into your wildest imagination and help you focus your business in a direction that will bring you more joy.
Journaling to Decompress
A great way to decompress and process the thoughts and stresses of the day is to try an exercise like freewriting. Freewriting is basically a stream of consciousness writing. You can get relaxed, set a timer, and go. Write what comes up with no filter — you’ll be surprised how much of it makes sense after the fact!
Decompressing isn’t just for the end of your day though either. The Artist’s Way technique called “Morning Pages” is essentially freewriting that you do as close to waking as possible.
Journaling to Clarify
Another way to journal is to chronicle your day. Go back from the beginning to remember how you felt throughout the day. Then begin to unpack those emotions by asking questions. Questions like “What led me to this reaction? How could I have handled this? Did that feel good?” will help get you started.
You should focus on clarifying how you felt and what you were experiencing. Clarification leads to big “Aha!” moments and insights that you’ll want to underline, circle, and highlight. These are invaluable!
Journaling to Dream
This is such a great tool for manifestation! Journal from a place of curiosity. Ask yourself, “what could happen if...?” and allow your imagination to run wild. For example, “What could happen if I was more direct? What could happen if I tried to build daily joy habits? What could happen if my business reached a certain milestone?”
Give yourself prompts as simple or as complicated as you want. The point is to be creative in your answers. It can be improbable, it can be wild, it can seem like it’ll never happen in a million years but write it down anyways. Something happens when you write it down — your brain begins to consider a dream as a possibility. Possibility is where the fun begins! Possibility gives you a tiny permission slip to “try on” that dream. Possibility is how you build new realities.
Journaling can unlock so much for you by helping you activate your imagination through decompression, reflection, and manifestation. However you journal, it’s a necessary tool for you as a leader.
Of these three, which technique would work best for you?
