Though I typically write several thousand words a week, I have never been a consistent journaler. I’ve tried. I have friends who swear by it. It’s just never worked for me.<\/p>\n\n
Until recently.<\/p>\n
My wife Gail and I have been on an extended vacation for the past two weeks. We have been tucked away in the mountains of East Tennessee on the edge of a beautiful lake.<\/p>\n
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When we arrived, Gail challenged me to keep a journal. I rolled my eyes but reluctantly agreed to give it another try, evidently forgetting a previous post I had written<\/a> on the difference between trying and doing.<\/p>\n So far, I have written daily for twelve days in a row. I've surprised both of us.<\/p>\n Here's how journaling has worked for me in this setting.<\/p>\n I might write about what I read in my Bible, a dream I had last night, an experience I had yesterday, or what I hope to accomplish today. Sometimes I will write on one topic; sometimes on four or five.<\/p>\n The main thing is I am writing for myself<\/em> rather than an audience. I have found this tremendously liberating and deeply satisfying. Amazingly, I am effortlessly writing five hundred to a thousand words a day.<\/p>\n\t\t\n