The following contains excerpts from the audio-book How to Use a Journal (Jim Rohn).
In our music school in Odessa, Texas we teach students the value of tracking their progress effectively. In this audio-book synopsis, there are many successful principles that can be applied to do so, in a way that can bring tangible results.
Jim Rohn describes the effect that keeping a journal has had upon his own life and business success, positing that it becomes a highly useful tool in gaining objectivity and self-awareness for the purpose of making life-altering (and business-altering) decisions. Without the objectivity that can be obtained from such a practice of discipline, people have a tendency to make decisions emotionally, or may lack the confidence to make a dramatic change intelligently. They cannot successfully move forward due to the fact that they cannot see the ‘big picture’. Journaling offers a way to step ‘out of ourselves’, as we go back to see where we have been, where we are, and where we a going with a great degree of objectivity.
In our music school in Odessa, Texas we encourage our students to strive to make decisions that are not affected by high emotionally-charged triggers, but rather by thoughtful, objectivity.
Rohn begins by outlining some simple points about beginning the process of journaling, such as simply picking out the right size and style of notebook for the individual, noting that whatever it is, it must be something that you feel comfortable with and is easily transported with you wherever you go, readily available to use and capture a thought. He personally bought a very expensive leather-bound journal, noting that it was enjoyable to simply hold in his hands. “Somebody once asked me why I pay as much as I do for an empty book. My answer was simple. I intend to put something valuable in it. Why put a million-dollar idea in a ten-cent book?”
“A journal offers you an effective way to ‘figure it all out’: to figure out life, to figure out people, to figure out business dilemmas, and most important of all, to figure out yourself. There is something magical about writing down a problem. It is almost as though, in the very act of writing what is wrong you start to discover ways of making it right. The fact that you are writing about it, as opposed to mentally pondering it, creates a space between you and the problem. It is within this space that solutions have room to grow. Writing about events that occur helps you to clarify exactly what is happening.”
There is a similarity between journaling and writing music notation. In our music school in Odessa, Texas we teach students the value of capturing their ideas by sketching them down on manuscript paper.
“When we describe life to ourselves only in our minds, our imaginations tend to feed false or distorted information about how things are, positive or negative. When we describe a situation in writing, however, we become more factual, more accurate, and certainly more realistic. Then as we re-read what we have written, we create a new picture in our minds to replace the distorted picture we have been working with. And once we finally see things as they are, rather than as we think they are, we can then see our way clear to make them better.”
Here are things to look for in studying your own journaling:
- Exaggerations or distortions of the truth: Are you really telling of things the way they are, whether positively, or negatively?
- A tendency to blame circumstances or someone else for your problem instead of seeing yourself as the cause. “Most of our difficulties lie in not doing what we could have done, or in doing in haste what we should never have done.”
- A tendency to expect circumstances, or worse, other people to change in order for your problems to be solved. “Let me remind you one more time that things get better when you get better. Passive hope never has, and never will improve human circumstances.”
- Look closely for ‘weak-points’ in the obstacle where you might attack to bring that obstacle to its knees. “Remember, David slew Goliath but with one small stone. It usually doesn’t take much more than a few minor adjustments in either our attitude or our action plan to solve a major problem.”
In our music school in Odessa, Texas we give students objectivity and keys to unlock their own musical and artistic potential. Sometimes, just one idea can have an enormous impact on the student’s progress and growth.
“Essentially, you must learn to view your problems like a scientist who puts tiny organisms on a slide. Examine your circumstances through the lens of the microscope of truth to see their real nature, their real perimeters, and their real composition. And as you examine your problem, do as any scientist would do: record your observation. You see, as you continue to refine your statement of the problem, or the way it really is, you will begin to move closer to the solution.”
“Be sure to include the ultimate conclusion to your dilemma. If it worked well, then it is worth remembering. And if it didn’t work well, as you had hoped it would, then it is even more essential to record the outcome, lest you should find yourself repeating mistakes, instead of learning from them. Mistakes in judgment are nothing to be ashamed of. Surely, most of our personal growth comes as a result of our errors. But what is truly unforgiveable is to make the same mistake twice. Every mistake has its own price-tag, but the most costly error anyone can make is an error unlearned and often repeated.
“If something didn’t work, it may be too late to undo the mistake, but it’s never too late to make adjustments and revisions in your thinking. You see, better decision-making comes from the better thinking habits. And better thinking habits come from practical experience, learning both what to do and what not to do.
“Becoming a more effective thinker on paper is a sure way of becoming a more effective person in practice.”
At our music school in Odessa, Texas we value the art of reading music notation. The mental discipline (which is centuries-old) of translating notation on paper to musical imagination, causes the student to gain artistic objectivity and develops the mind in a way that few other disciplines can.
“Every ide has its time and place. As Victor Hugo once wrote, “There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come.” Perhaps the ideas you capture today will not have any specific meaning or purpose in your life at this moment, but ultimately, at some future point in time when you march into battle, the armory of ideas you have carefully and conscientiously assembled over the years will serve you well.”
“As we collect a series of ideas around a central theme, there is a tendency for these individual ideas to come together and form themselves into a whole new idea, much as the single flakes of snow when gathered together can be formed into snowballs, and snowballs into snowmen. Igloos are constructed of blocks of ice that were originally tiny snowflakes.”
“The successful human-being is one that has learned to diversify his knowledge, gathering it from a variety of sources. Gather enough good ideas in one area of life, and you will form a solid block. Gather enough solid blocks together, and you can construct a whole new life.”
Again, this is very similar to the process to musical composition, using the discipline of music-notation. When a composer puts down ideas that are sketched out, he can easily refer to them and construct larger cluster of ideas similar to edifices an architect creates by using a blueprint for a building. At our music school in Odessa, Texas we teach creators the value of capturing their ideas with musical notation for greater creativity and larger creative structures.