3 Questions Every Morning

I’ve learned a lot about myself through journaling. Not only where my thoughts are but also how I’m emotionally attached to them and experiences I’ve had in my life. I have ambitions, heartaches, feel-goods, worries, loves, and much more.

I continue to keep a journal because of the way it makes me feel afterwards. It’s as if I’m having a conversation with myself and reasoning out what’s going on in my life. I used to think I was able to do this just by thinking, by mulling over the thoughts in my head. But I didn’t really understand the power of a pen, a piece of paper, and my mind.

When I take pen to paper, it’s the first step in making something real. It comes from out of my head and into the world. This helps me process what makes me feel good and what makes me feel bad. It allows me to be truthful with myself and to admit things I may be uncomfortable to say, like “I feel really bad right now” or “I don’t like how I acted towards my mom or dad.”

An important aspect in life is learning. To have a tool to be able to reflect on an experience and how one feels about it is vital to a life long learning process. The people I look up to are constantly growing, constantly changing to better themselves, the people around them, and their communities.

You can do the same. And you can start from an early age. Here’s the practice:

  • Buy a journal. Make it one that you’d like to write in. Don’t overthink this as any journal will do.

  • Grab a pen from your backpack and make it your journaling pen.

  • Leave the journal and the pen on a desk in your room or a place next to your bed. When you wake up in the morning, answer these three questions:

  1. What were my experiences from yesterday? You can write down what you did and how it made you feel. If you find yourself writing more than that, great. Keep writing.

  2. How do you feel in this moment? Right now, how are you feeling? This can be a one word answer or it may be longer.

  3. What are your goals for today? Goals are actionable items you’d like to accomplish. The key word is “action”. Think of some general topics to pick from. School, hobbies, sports (soccer!), family, friends, other relationships, personal goals, etc. These will help you sort out what you want your day to look like. You can refer to this list anytime throughout the day. Feel free to cross these out once you are finished with a goal. Also, goals may take longer than a day to accomplish. Many do. Continue to write down these long term goals with your daily goals. An example of a goal is “I will juggle 100 times in a row.” Another is “I will get an A on my History test this week.” Goals help you choose a direction throughout your day.

Journaling had a big hand in creating our soccer club. It’s helped me work through challenges and create new ideas. I’m grateful for it and continue to want to share helpful exercises so you can benefit as I have and beyond.

Skill Drills for Practice at Home

1. Stop, Pullback - 5 minutes

2. Stop and Go - 5 minutes

3. Wall Pass Turn - 5 minutes

See you tonight.

Michael

Michael Dardanes