A Simple Journaling Practice

When I was around eight to ten (elementary school, surely) my mother introduced my sister and me to a gratitude journal. I have no recollection of the exact day, but at some point, my mom must have told us that she kept a gratitude journal to document what makes her happy and what she is thankful for. My very first gratitude journal was red (or blue?) and signed with an orange foam basketball sticker. Over the course of my elementary to middle school years I would sporadically write entries, occasionally ripping pages out and certainly not fully embracing the emotions that journaling often reveals. Eventually, one sporadic entry became my last and I lost the journal to entropy or spring cleaning.

It wasn't until years later, 2019, that I picked up journaling again, albeit, not to document my gratitude, exactly. That year, I vowed to give journaling a try by simply writing a sentence a day for two weeks. I initially sought journaling so that future me could appreciate the triviality of past me's life and to recall forgotten events. Now, I continue to journal for two reasons. One, it acts as a self-administered therapy where I can write down my thoughts when I get into mental spirals that I like to call "on brain". And two, it allows me to take snapshots of my current self which remind me that I am always changing. Although I can write a whole blog post about why I profess journaling, I particularly want to discuss one specific (and recent) journaling activity that I use to remind myself that we are mutable and have full control of who we choose to be.

The activity is simple. It starts with the current date at the top of your entry, a sentence close to the lines of "For my future self, here is what you currently value:", and a numbered list of the things you value. That's it. There aren't any rules or criteria that defines a "value". You simply think about what things you value or prioritize or even just have a high interest in and you rank them in numerical order.

I enjoy this activity because it's short yet, with reflection, it provides deliberate thought on who we choose to be. The activity takes 5 minutes max and as of January 2021, I've done it three times. Each time I'm compelled to compare my current response to the previous entry and ponder why they so different.

For example, in January 2021, the top five things I valued were:

1. Climate change
2. Gender equality
3. Social equality
4. Ambition and drive
5. Kindness

While in July 2021, the top five things I valued were:

1. New/novel ideas
2. Relationships
3. The future
4. Financial Literacy
5. Coffee

If you were to read these two lists without knowing who wrote them, you would likely assume they were from drastically different individuals. You would infer that Individual A is progressive and caring while Individual B is curious and self-motivated (and likes coffee?). But both lists are mine, just from different times. For me, I've noticed that the lists are heavily influenced by life events and my current reading interests. Towards the end of 2020, distressed by American politics, I read Winners Take All by Anand Giridharadas, The Story of More by Hope Jahren and Educated by Tara Westover. However, more recently, as I prepare for my new life in San Antonio, I've read The Simple Path to Wealth by J.L Colins, Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng and The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green. The former three books are an obvious influence to my interests in social reform while the latter three are more reflective of the inevitable change in circumstances I soon face. Although one could argue that patterns of literature consumption stem from values and interest rather than the other way around, I'll defer to the simple answer by saying it's likely a bit of both.

Reflecting on the lists and their differences allow me to acknowledge my own mutability. For example, six months ago I was interested in reform and equality but now seemed to step back from that way of thinking. Is this something I accept, or do I wish to reignite my former interests? Similarly, financial literacy is an apparent outlier in the new list. Is this motivated by a deliberate goal or simply a fleeting thought? I'm not arguing that we should not act out of spontaneity or pursue new avenues, I'm arguing for a reflection of our current and past selves to inform what we do in the future.

Upon my own reflection, I welcome my recent change in values. As I start my new, post-graduated life in a new city, I'm forced to acknowledge my current and future relationships (2), what the future holds for me (3), how to manage my financials (4), how frequently I'll pursue creative work (1), and of course, how much coffee I'll consume before caffeine dependence (5). Admittedly, this will be at the cost of former interests, but what this journaling practice has allowed me to do is to make that decision knowingly and confidently. I acknowledge that my life circumstances and my desires make me slightly different than I was half a year ago, and I'm okay with that. Revisiting this practice on occasion infuses a measurable assessment of our personalities and individual growth.

This practice is also an excellent personal redirecting tool. If I'm concerned with my progress towards a goal this list will help address that. If practiced unbiasedly, there is no denying if my current values are misaligned with who I want to be. And if that's the case, I would be closer to my desired future self since the first step of change is certainly admittance. If I were concerned that I cared about coffee more than kindness I could evaluate what has changed within six months and consider deliberate steps towards who I want to be. Fortunately, I don't think that is the case, I've just been highly tempted to enter the espresso game.

This entire practice is predicated on the belief that we can shape who we wish to be. However, I recognize that much of who we are is impacted by external factors such as geography and financial stability. This practice will not change your life or ensure your desired outcomes. But to me, it's both an enjoyable and helpful tool to promote viewing personal growth as an unavoidable yet, controllable phenomenon. Undoubtedly, there are countless barriers to our goals of our future selves. So, why should we be one of them?

I know this blog post is different from the rest and potentially a little bit too self-helpy.If you liked it, share it! If you didn't, I'm sorry :(. I really enjoy this journaling practice and I think it provides value to my life, but take everything with a couple coarse grains of kosher salt. Because why is a guy, who values coffee over kindness qualified to tell you what to do, right?

Thanks for reading! I know this blog post is different from the rest and potentially a little bit too self-helpy. If you liked it, share it! If you didn't, I'm sorry :(. I really enjoy this journaling practice and I think it provides value to my life, but take everything with a couple coarse grains of kosher salt. Because why is a guy, who values coffee over kindness qualified to tell you what to do, right? :)

Email me (openthoughtblog@gmail.com) and let me know how I did or if you have any critiques, comments or recommendations. If you liked this or any other post, please consider subscribing. :)