Ben Franklin Says A Journal In Time Saves Lives
Posted by Mari L. McCarthy on Tue, Jan 31, 2012 @ 02:04 PM
As a self-help writer and speaker, I am a huge believer in the fact that YOU can do anything that you make up your mind to do! I believe that people are where they want to be, and if they really did not want to be there, then they would not be...they would do something, and make some changes in their life!
Benjamin Franklin taught us that when we had a decision to make, to take a sheet of paper, and make a line down the middle, and then write the "pros" and the "cons" of the situation...he knew that there was something about seeing it on paper, with your own two eyes...that would help you figure it out!
Most great inventors, just like Ben, kept a journal of their various day to day activities, experiments, and everything else. In the past two hundred years, at some point, someone took many of Benjamin Franklin's writings and compiled them into an autobiography, even though he never really sat down and wrote one as such. We have enough material about Mr. Franklin, to put this type of manuscript together, and thank goodness that someone did do it, because it is awesome reading!
Leonardo da Vinci kept journals, as did many other famous people throughout history. These people somehow knew that it would help them with their work, and even in their personal lives.
Most of us have things that we would like to correct about ourselves and our lives, and we also have things that we would like to overcome, and we all have some things that we would like to accomplish, and a journal would be so beneficial for all of these endeavors. When you join certain weight-loss programs, they urge you to write down every morsel of food you eat, so that you can go back and review what you've done.
There are therapists, psychologists, and such, who urge their patients or clients...to keep a journal about whatever it is they are discussing and working on. It is helpful to write things out, type them out, or even scribble them with a crayon in the middle of the night. There are writers, musicians, and song-writers who keep a pen and paper near the bed, so that if they wake up in the middle of the night, with an idea, they can jot a few words down to remind themselves of the idea when they awaken in the morning.
No matter your age, where you live, or what you do, it would be good for you to start keeping a journal, and it is never too late! I have a friend who is a doctor, and a professor at Harvard, and although he is fifty-something, he began keeping a journal ten years ago, and recently told me he wishes he would have started one at age 18. He writes a few things in there on a daily basis, and every December, he goes back and reads the entire volume to see what progress he has made for the year.
Here are some tips on How to Keep a Journal when you have no time at all. Ever.
About the Author
Father Time is a Self-Help writer and speaker, and also has a Daily Motivational e-mail Message Service. You can get a Free Subscription, and details are found on his website at www.FatherTimePublishing.com He and his assistant, Jennifer, are also purveyors of powerful and effective good luck charms and amulets. They also write a blog about having a better and happier life at http://fathertimespeaks.blogspot.com/ and as Greeting Card Verse writers, they give away Free Greeting Card Verses that YOU can use, without obligation at http://freegreetingcardverses.blogspot.com/