History is littered with examples of successful (and unsuccessful) people who kept daily journals. It ranges from Marcus Aurelius to Ben Franklin, and from Mark Twain to George Lucas.
perhaps you’ve seen examples of their writing and thought to yourself, “Goddamn, that reads like the Gettysburg Address!” and become demoralized.
unflappable
Note: having or showing calmness in a crisis: I prided myself on being unflappable even in the most chaotic circumstances | self-contained, unflappable common sense.
Most people you see on magazine covers have plenty of mornings when they’d rather hide under the covers all day long.
More book consumption didn’t interest me, as I often use it to procrastinate.
Note: Interesting how something productive could also be a form of procrastination!
I don’t journal to “be productive.” I don’t do it to find great ideas, or to put down prose I can later publish. The pages aren’t intended for anyone but me.
Morning pages are, as author Julia Cameron puts it, “spiritual windshield wipers.” It’s the most cost-effective therapy I’ve ever found.
To quote her further,
“Once we get those muddy, maddening, confusing thoughts [nebulous worries, jitters, and preoccupations] on the page, we face our day with clearer eyes.”
Note: A quote from author Julia Cameron.
Even if you consider yourself a terrible writer, writing can be viewed as a tool that you can and should use. There are huge benefits to writing, even if no one — yourself included — ever reads what you write. In other words, the process matters more than the product.
SUNDAY, DEC. 28, NEW YORK
It’s funny how we work and aim and strive to get to a point where people wait for us, not the other way around. Cue Get Shorty! And yet, when we arrive at this vaunted point, the masses of people (often rightly) incessantly knocking on the door, one after another, causes far more stress than when you were a mere peon (sp)! [I was unsure of spelling] Is it because of the 100x more inbound, which decreases a feeling of self-directed free will? A feeling that you’re constantly choosing from someone else’s buffet instead of cooking your own food? Or is it because you feel you must be defensive and protect what you have: time, money, relationships, space, etc.? For someone who’s “won” through a lifetime of offense, of attacking, playing the defensive game conflicts with the core of who they are. [END]
Note: A journal entry of Tim Ferris. SUNDAY, DEC. 28, NEW YORK.
Morning pages don’t need to solve your problems. They simply need to get them out of your head, where they’ll otherwise bounce around all day like a bullet ricocheting inside your skull.
Could bitching and moaning on paper for five minutes each morning change your life? As crazy as it might seem, I believe the answer is yes.