"Keeping a journal will absolutely change your life in ways
you've never imagined." - Oprah Winfrey 
 
Why is it so important to keep a journal? 

Here are just a few of the benefits a personal journal will
provide you: 
 
* A journal will remind you of your goals and the actions you
are taking towards them every day. You are writing down your
goals? 
 
* It allows you to factually track your progress as you head
closer towards your goals. Here is an example. Suppose you had
set a new goal to lose 20 lbs in the next 3 months. Record your
weight in your journal each day, you will now be able to see
trends in your weight loss that you would not have seen without
the journal. 
 
* It provides detailed information such as dietary changes,
calorie reductions, fat reduction, and so on. 
 
* It helps build your self-esteem because you are reaffirming
the positive benefits you are achieving as you get closer to
your goals. 
 
* It helps to paint the picture every day of who you are
becoming. 
 
* When you see positive results as they happen, you will become
energized with optimism. 
 
Here are a couple of simple journal tips: 
 
Keep a simple, short log, it's easy, and it usually only takes
1 minute of your time. Each day, make short entries into your
journal, list such things as your attitude, emotions, diet,
weight, responses to situations and conditions in your life. 
 
For example, if having a healthy heart is one of your goals,
you will want to keep track of your cholesterol levels, your
blood pressure, your weight. (Obviously, all of this data would
not be recorded daily, but some entry would be recorded each
day) 
 
Try this simple little exercise. Get out a note pad or a sheet
of paper and a pencil. Look at your watch. When the second hand
hits 12, start timing yourself as you write down the following
information: 
 
Fri.- Felt great all day. Weight 135 pounds. Walked briskly for
20 minutes. Had healthy almonds and 
nuts for snacks. 
 
More then likely, you completed writing down the information in
approximately 1 minute. Yet, in that 1 minute, you created an
important snapshot of important data in your life. You now have
historical data you can refer to as time goes by, to help you
track your progress as you move towards your life goals. 
 
I know how well this works. For the past 6 years, I have kept a
simple, yet informative log of every day of my life. I can tell
you exactly how I felt on Wed., July 25,2000, or any day since.
I can look back and see how I reacted to issues in my life and
what helped me overcome an illness, injury or stressful period
in my life. 
 
It generally takes me less then two minutes to record the log
forany day. It is a habit that has become a part of my life; it
is now second nature for me. If you have a computer, I recommend
typing just three to four lines of descriptive text into a word
processing program each day.


About The Author: Dan Robey is the author of the Best-Selling
book "The Power of Positive Habits" now published in 22
countries worldwide. To learn more and subscribe to a
complementary e-course on Positive Habits go to:
http://www.thepowerofpositivehabits.com