Michael's Ideas Have Lead to My "Ah Hah"

Hello everyone. I am reading a great book right now. I have included some of the material below about ideas for keeping a personal journal. Thought I would share. Not saying we all have to start writing journals. Simple thought it was powerful, and thought I would share. 

1. If you are not sure why you still do some things that you know are harmful or self-defeating, analyze it, process it, write it down. 

2. If your parents did something that drove you nuts, and you said yourself, "when I am a parent, I'm not going to do that." - and then find yourself doing it, write it down. 

3. If you gain an insight or learn a principle or observe a situation where a principle produced certain results, write about it. 

4. If you make a commitment to yourself or to someone else, write about the way you use your independent will to carry it out. If you commit to exercise four times a week, evaluate the factors that empowered you to do it-or explore the reasons why you didn't. Was your commitment half hearted, hasty, or unrealistic? Was there mind over mattress? 

5. Envision possibilities and write them down. 

6. Stand apart from your dreams. Look at them. Write about them. Wrestle with them until you're convinced they're based on principles that will bring results. 

Keep a journal empowers you to see and improve. 

This way you're developing and using your endowments. 

Writing truly imprints yours brain. 

It helps you remember and apply the things you're trying to do. 

It gives you a powerful contextual tool .

As you take occasion - perhaps on a mission statement renewal retreat - to read over your experiences of past weeks, months, years, you gain invaluable insight into repeating patterns and themes in your life.   Love, Michael

This came from our youngest son just this week and I was ever so surprised to read it.  Surprised because he has grown into such a nice (Birthday this week makes him 29 years old) man, son, friend, husband and father.  He has made me commit to writing this "Blog" a bit more often.

I was watching the "Golden Globes" this week and realized I cannot claim R as my "Best Friend."  nor would I want to.  I and R are opposites.  He is very regimented,  much more disciplined, much more knowledgeable and basically unable to multitask. He operates in the 110% mode.  I am none of these to the same degree.  I can laugh at myself, where I realize he cannot as easily. He needs someone to watch his back.

I read on Facebook, "I am married to my best friend." I am not being critical of those writers as it is their opinion of what is their relationships. This just wouldn't work for me.  I am married to my polar opposite.  The two are not the same.

Looking back on Michael's suggestions of the earlier part of this post, R and I have spent every night for a couple of weeks now turning off the TV and adding the radio and just talking to each other.  It has been very different.  I have come away realizing the change is that we aren't listening to each other we are seeing each other!