Firstly, it helps you set your direction...
How often do you find a quiet space, and take time to think? Our minds are often kept busy. We have jobs, life admin, social events, some of us raise children. And in those brief moments of potential quiet, we have music, programs, and podcasts. Notice that you can’t hear yourself think in most shops, cafes, and gyms.
It’s quite profitable to have us chasing the next shiny object that is advertised to us. But is that what you really want? So take the time and space to think about what you really want in life. The writing prompts in this journal will help you evaluate where you are, and where you want to go.
You might have noticed that some people who sound smart just repeat the opinions of approved thinkers. It's time for you to have your own ideas, your own opinions, and your own dreams.
Secondly, it puts you on the winning path...
Imagine a path to your long term goals that is so systematic, that you can’t not follow it. A large part of the intention behind this journal is to guide you to build systems to reach your goals. It’s a structured way of reaching your goals. You will build up your systems and get a massive payoff in the future. In the worst case scenario, you will make meaningful progress toward your goals. In the best case scenario, you will achieve beyond your wildest dreams.
Think about some of the big things that you have achieved in your life. Did you work towards those achievements systematically? Or did you just project a deep desire for something and it magically fell in your lap? The system could have been created by someone else. But you still followed “a” system.
When you went to school, the system was set up by the government, your teachers, and your parents. They couldn’t control everything. But most people were pushed through the schooling system and graduated. It wasn’t “your” system, but it was “a” system.
Think about how your employer extracts work out of you. You don’t always bring your A-game. But you turn up most days and get the job done - well enough. You sometimes even forego a good night’s sleep to keep the lights on for your employer. It’s not “your” system, but it’s “a” system to extract productivity from you.
If you have ever binge watched every episode of a TV show, then you have applied a systematic approach to mass consuming tell-a-vision programming content.
Imagine how much you could achieve with a system that aligns with your long term goals. Rather than working for a stranger’s system.
But most people allow themselves to be pushed around by other people’s systems. So take control of your time by setting up your own system.
We were never taught how to reach our own goals. We are conditioned from birth to fulfill other peoples’ goals. Like good workers, soldiers, and customers. Perhaps like sheep.
The truth is that nobody cares if you live the kind of fulfilling life that you want to live. When other people want something from us, they push us to give it to them. Vendors want us to buy their products. The government wants us to pay their taxes. Universities want us to buy their degrees. Employers want us to do our jobs. The media wants us to think that this hamster wheel is the only way to live.
If we don’t set our own direction, then we will always be like a boat without a rudder. Being blown around by the wind, and pushed around by the waves.
You have to make a very important choice. Either put yourself first and focus on your goals. Or spend the rest of your life being pushed around by the agendas of people who want something from you.
