The 90 Day Challenge
I was recently challenged to journal for 90 days on my core beliefs. Before you quit reading this because you think this sounds loosy-goosy, too spiritual or overwhelming, I was told to write just one sentence or a short paragraph every day. Journaling, at least periodically, has been a part of my routine for many years, so I wasn’t sure how this would benefit my life or business with anything different or new, including my core beliefs. The request came with this phrase: declare a 90-day moratorium on further increases in knowledge of any kind. This seemed like a bit much to ask for a person with a quest for lifelong learning, discovery and developing projects. But I embarked on the challenge. (as we just celebrated Mother’s Day, enjoy the short video below about a mother’s life journey)
Core Beliefs and Getting Unstuck
I was to focus on three areas: my personal core beliefs, situations on being stuck and my clients. All of those areas directly apply to my business of getting unstuck. Yours will be a bit different, focusing on finances, fitness, etc…. However, focusing on your personal core beliefs about yourself, life and business is a similar focus for all. So far, this simple process of writing a sentence or short paragraph every day is uncovering some noteworthy thoughts.
One is that most people don’t reflect often about personal core beliefs, including myself. Maybe you can recite many of your core beliefs, and are reminded of them in an inspirational service or meeting, but do you take time to reflect on them? Who has time to reflect? There are work projects to create, meetings to attend, social media contacts to develop and a myriad of other tasks. I am extremely guilty of this as the queen of projects. In fact, my mind is so full of projects that there are not enough years in a lifetime to accomplish them all!
Thinking Time
What I’m finding with this simple daily journaling exercise is that it’s giving me short bursts of thinking time (or non-thinking time) to reflect, write and just be. The entries are not fancy. They are simple, short and state one main thought, which doesn’t take a lot of time. But the single thought sticks, gaining ground to ponder and propagate throughout the day in my subconscious awareness.
A second benefit is the daily writing has become a good habit and is revealing some surprising thoughts. With no pre-plan as to what you’re going to write, your mind will tend to relax and let some of the random insights come to the forefront. Random thoughts that include fears and uncertainties I knew my clients were facing, as I’ve faced them myself. I wrote how I’ve faced those anxious moments and events in a few sentences and was reminded of how those insights will help others.
Good, Strong Habits
One of my core beliefs is that good, strong habits are an integral part of success. The plasticity of the brain makes you able to change your thoughts and learn new skills. The change is gradual, but solid as the exact repetition develops the myelin sheath coating your nerve endings. The strong habits you develop will help you mentally stand up under pressure with a great attitude when in stressful situations. Developing those habits with exact training and repetition is how I was trained as a concert pianist to perform under intense pressure in completion. It is how world-class athletes are trained to compete in world and Olympic games. It is how you can improve in your expertise, whether in sales, leadership, decision-making, training or a number of other areas.
If you decide to take up the 90-day writing challenge, it may feel like nothing you write is connected from day to day. But the big surprising moment will come when you stand back and look at some of the dots that are connected with your daily writing. Remember, this is an exercise and is getting you to express not just knowledge, but your core beliefs and feelings. As you journal every day, you are also developing a new, strong habit that will help you cultivate other strong, successful routines to meet life’s twists and turns. And I want you to be successful! So start writing today!
Develop a Successful Routine
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Excellent information. The instructor is knowledgeable and fantastic! Recent 5-star review!
DEBORAH JOHNSON: Helping others Get Unstuck with Healthy Mental Code. Speaking, Concerts, In-Depth Workshops. Most recent book Bad Code: Overcoming Bad Mental Code That Sabotages Your Life
