Journaling

"Soon you will have forgotten the world, and soon the world will have forgotten you" wrote the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius in his private journal.

Yet, centuries after his death, the journal - now called Meditations - is considered among the most influential philosophical works in modern history.

During his reign, Aurelius confronted the Parthian invasions and Germanic tribes incursions while watching his wife fall ill and die. He survived betrayals and conspiracy attempts plotted by his closest confidants, and managed several natural disasters that affected his empire. His life hadn’t been easy, yet, he persevered and withstood uprightly to his duties and responsibilities.

It was through journaling by which Aurelius chiseled and maintained this stoic character: untroubled by adversity, untempted by praise and grateful for the gifts and twists of fate.

Allegedly, Aurelius’s will is to have the journal incinerated after his death. Fortunately, it survived, not only blessing us with a spring of timeless wisdom but also attesting that: to navigate life clearly we must write.

Write, for yourself

“I should advise you to put it all down as beautifully and as carefully as you can—in some beautifully bound book. you can go to the book and turn over the pages and for you it will be your church—your cathedral—the silent places of your spirit where you will find renewal.” - CGJ

It seems absurd that ink and paper can make a huge difference in our lives, doesn't it? We often look for complex lifestyles to improve ourselves, overlooking the simple foundations underpinning these lifestyles. As much as how clichéd it got, a journal is not another nice-to-have objet d'art that decorates our desks, but a fundamental life tool. A tool that invites us to understand ourselves better, to plan more strategically and to learn from our setbacks and failures. Left unaddressed, the passive monkey-mind chatter develops into a toxic mix of thoughts and emotions: wickedness in times of despair, and corruption in times of triumph. But as we write, as we make these swirling thoughts conscious, our brains begin to find answers that were otherwise clouded by emotions.

Understand the psyche

“I will keep constant watch over myself and–most usefully–will put each day up for review. For this is what makes us evil–that none of us looks back upon our own lives. We reflect upon only that which we are about to do. And yet our plans for the future descend from the past.” — Seneca

Write

Write for yourself, journal.

It doesn’t matter when but do it habitually.

Before bed, after bed, midday, it doesn’t matter.

It doesn’t matter what, just dump all that chatter.

With a pen, with a keyboard, with a quill; it doesn’t matter.

“Watch yourself as you go about your daily business and later reflect on what you saw, trying to identify the sources of distress in your life and thinking about how to avoid that distress.” - Epictetus

Understand yourself

Write your experiences, events and the most minute gratitude.

Write your fears, feelings, and your most wicked desires.

Write your challenges, obstacles and limitations.

Write questions, answer questions.

"Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate" - CGJ

Conspire against your fate

Write small plans, write big plans.

Write plans for the next day, the next month and the next 5 years.

Write and execute, execute and get feedback, get feedback and refine.