For what?
"Journaling is a process that allows us to gain deeper insights into ourselves by writing down our thoughts in a similar way to keeping a diary. The guided version goes through clearly defined questions in advance. Located in the first quadrant, journaling helps us to learn more about our own thoughts, feelings and attitudes. This knowledge in turn helps us to recognize potential and plan our leadership and communication from a new, stronger basis.
Journaling often reveals very specific steps that can then be easily put into practice. When journaling, it is essential that you simply start writing and not first reflect and then start writing. This tool also helps you to strengthen access to your intuitive intelligence.
Example
- You are in the process of planning your next career move, but don't yet know what it might look like.
- You want to reflect on your own leadership and communication and exploit existing potential.
What matters
- Write straight away - without inhibitions. Your writing does not have to be grammatically or orthographically correct - it does not have to meet any standards. It should be absolutely spontaneous.
- Find a time during the day for your journaling that allows you to concentrate on yourself. For many, this works best in the morning, before the hustle and bustle of everyday life begins. Others find it much easier to get into the right mood in the evening after work.
- Look for an environment that inspires you - but also offers you enough peace and space to let your thoughts flow freely.
Step by step
Guided journaling supports you with clearly formulated questions. There are a variety of questions that are helpful for the given purpose of self-reflection. Here you will find a set of questions that we consider particularly suitable (Scharmer 2020):
- What do you particularly appreciate about the current situation in life and work?
- How did you contribute to this situation?
- What is holding you back from moving forward?
- What are your personal sources of energy?
- What opportunities do you already see for the future?
- What are the first steps you could take today?
Step 1
Prepare questions: Read our suggestions for possible
questions. Do these apply to you? Do you see any other questions that would enable you to reflect on yourself particularly well? If you want to develop your own questions, avoid asking why questions. These lead you into a mindset of causality - you would be looking for reasons. These always lie in the past. Focus entirely on the future, on the solution and on your strong resources.
Step 2
Prepare the process: Set a date in your calendar to
where nobody will disturb you, and go to a place that inspires you but also offers you enough peace and quiet to get the most out of your reflection. Have the questions and your favorite writing utensils ready.
Step 3
Journaling: Look at the questions again and lay out the answers.
Just go ahead - write! And do so without reflecting further. This will be difficult at first, but over time you will gain confidence in yourself and find it easier and easier to get into the flow of writing. Whatever comes to mind: start with it and see where the process takes you. Whenever you realize that you have paid enough attention to one question, move on to the next.
Step 4
Read and reflect: Read and reflect on what you have written. Celebrate yourself and be proud of what has been created. What do you discover? Can you already see new options for shaping your future or, more specifically, your own leadership and communication?
Framework
Duration: 30 minutes
Format: do it yourself - on paper
Participants: individual Further information on this and other tools for overcoming business challenges with communicative means can be found in the book "Rethinking communication".
