I'm begging you to start journaling

0:00I am begging you to start journaling.

0:02And I know how that sounds, because

0:04journaling feels like one of those

0:05things everybody tells you that you

0:07should do. You write down your thoughts,

0:09you keep a gratitude journal, you write

0:10down your goals. And I think because

0:12we've heard all of that so many times,

0:15we've completely underestimated what

0:16journaling actually is. I actually

0:18believe there's no tool or process more

0:21powerful for your personal growth than

0:22journaling. So, in this episode, I want

0:25to explain why journaling is so

0:26powerful, what's actually [music]

0:27happening when you write, and then I'm

0:29going to teach you the specific 10- to

0:3115-minute journaling process that I use

0:33myself. This [music] practice is so

0:35potent that if you told me you were

0:37going to burn all my tools and processes

0:39and frameworks and let me keep only one,

0:41it would be this one. So, let's get into

0:43it.

0:46All right, guys. Here's what I really

0:48want you to understand before we get

0:49into this. Most personal growth

0:51practices, they work on one, maybe two

0:53dimensions transformation. Meditation,

0:55for example, changes your relationship

0:57with your thoughts, right? Therapy can

0:59help you understand and process your

1:00emotions. Visualization helps you

1:02develop a relationship with a future

1:04that hasn't happened yet. Prayer

1:05connects you to something greater than

1:07yourself. But journaling is unique

1:10because it can do almost all of these

1:11things at the same time. Journaling

1:13recruits nearly the entire

1:15transformational system at once, and all

1:18you need is a pen and a piece of paper.

1:20That's why I think this practice is so

1:22ridiculously underestimated. So, I'm

1:25going to give you five different unlocks

1:27that journaling facilitates, which is

1:30why I think journaling may be one of the

1:31most powerful personal growth practices

1:33ever, and then I'm going to show you

1:34exactly how to do it. So, unlock number

1:36one, journaling unlocks access to the

1:39subconscious mind. So, the first reason

1:41journaling is so powerful is that by

1:44writing with your hand, you're slowing

1:46down your thought process so that you

1:49can gain access to the real information

1:51that sits behind the speed of your mind.

1:54Think about what happens when you're

1:55journaling in an intentional way. You're

1:57writing the first word of a sentence and

1:59you don't always know what the last word

2:01of that sentence is going to be until

2:03you get there.

2:04And there've been plenty of times where

2:05I start writing a sentence with

2:06something like

2:07I don't feel like and my mind will say

2:10something like doing any work today. But

2:13by the time I get to the second half of

2:15the sentence, my hand writes

2:17anybody cares about me.

2:19Wow, that's an insight. In fact, what I

2:22found is that oftentimes the false

2:24problem is what the mind articulates. In

2:26this case, I don't feel like doing any

2:28work today, but the real problem, the

2:30reason I feel like procrastinating is

2:32because

2:33I don't feel like anybody cares about me

2:35or cares about the work that I would do

2:37today. Now, when you write, you open up

2:40the channel for that quiet subconscious

2:43whisper to express itself within the

2:45space that you've created by slowing

2:47down. That's very different than when

2:49you speak.

2:50If you ever notice when you're speaking

2:52with a friend, before you start

2:53speaking, you generally know where

2:55you're finishing. You may not know every

2:57single word that you're going to use,

2:59but you know the thought. You know what

3:00you're trying to say because you're

3:02functioning inside of the processing

3:04speed of your inner computer, which is

3:06your mind.

3:07But when you're writing, your hand can't

3:09keep up with the speed of your mind. And

3:11so there's this space that opens up.

3:14There's almost a communicating or a

3:16connection between you and the space.

3:19And in the space, there's new insights.

3:22There's new information. It's where the

3:24part of you that's been dominated by the

3:25mind has a little room to breathe, to

3:28express itself. You know, a lot of times

3:30when I journal, I'll have revelations

3:32and breakthroughs within things that I

3:35wrote, almost as if someone else was

3:37writing them. I'll literally read

3:39something I just wrote and think, where

3:40did that come from? I didn't know that I

3:42knew that or I felt that, which is

3:44interesting because you could argue that

3:46someone else was writing it through me.

3:49And maybe you call that your

3:50subconscious, maybe you call it

3:51intuition or an inner child or a higher

3:53power.

3:54But by slowing down the mind,

3:57I made myself available to information

3:59that I wasn't available to access

4:00before. And I wouldn't say that writing

4:02bypasses the mind. I think it sort of

4:05sits next to it. It sidesteps the mind.

4:07And there's a big difference. You're

4:09still conscious. You're still there.

4:11You're still writing. But you've slowed

4:13down the machinery enough that something

4:15else has the possibility of coming

4:17through. And I think that's one of the

4:19reasons people will journal about a

4:21problem that they've been thinking about

4:22for weeks

4:24and suddenly write down the answer. The

4:26answer may have been there the whole

4:27time. They just weren't able to hear it

4:29because they were thinking too quickly

4:31to be able to.

4:32Unlock number two. Journaling programs

4:35your brain and the field. So, the second

4:38reason writing is really powerful is

4:41because of the movement of your hands.

4:43In fact, at a recent event that we had,

4:45we encouraged everybody at one point to

4:47get off all their computers, pull out a

4:49pen and pad and start writing. And

4:51there's a reason for that.

4:53There's actually neuroscience that shows

4:55that when you write something by hand,

4:57you're engaging much more of your brain

4:59than when you're typing it or simply

5:00thinking about it. You're involving the

5:02movement of the body in the creation of

5:05the thought and you're building

5:06connections in your brain associated

5:08with what you're writing. In other

5:09words, you're not just thinking the

5:11idea. You're impressing the idea onto

5:14your actual neurology. You're building

5:17the memory in a really, really concrete

5:19way. And I think there's something much

5:21deeper going on here as well because

5:23writing is intimately connected to

5:25spelling. And I know this is going to

5:27sound a little strange to some people,

5:28but the ancients understood the power of

5:30symbols, of spelling, and spell casting.

5:34The ancients used very specific geometry

5:37and symbology in the form of runes. The

5:39word rune comes from an Old English root

5:41meaning secret or mystery. And

5:43historically in occult practices, they

5:45were associated with magic. So, across

5:48ancient spiritual and magical

5:50traditions, from Egyptian esotericism to

5:52the Vikings, even early Christianity,

5:54people treated the act of inscription as

5:57something powerful. Writing wasn't

5:59always understood as simply recording

6:01something. It could be a part of a

6:03prayer, a ritual, an intention, some

6:05form of creation. And I think there's

6:07something really interesting about that

6:09because when you write something, you're

6:11taking something that was previously a

6:13thought form or just an idea, and you're

6:16beginning to give it physical form,

6:18right? Think about that. You have a

6:19thought, nobody can see it, and then

6:22your hand moves, the pen touches the

6:24paper, and now it's here in the physical

6:27world, right? It's material. And that's

6:29why teachers of the law of attraction,

6:31particularly in the early 2000s when

6:33everybody was talking about this stuff,

6:34would always say, "Write down your

6:36goals." Why? Because you're impressing

6:39yourself through movement into the

6:41field. You're taking something that

6:43exists as thought and you're beginning

6:45to crystallize it into physical form. I

6:47think about it like dropping a stone

6:49into a lake. Like the moment the pen

6:52touches the paper, there's the first

6:53impression, and then the ripple goes

6:55out, and eventually it can materialize

6:58into reality. Now, I can't

6:59scientifically prove to you that writing

7:01something on a piece of paper changes

7:02some external energetic field. I'm sure

7:05somebody could run that experiment, but

7:07here's what I can tell you. It changes

7:09you.

7:10And you're the one who's going to make

7:11the decisions, notice the opportunities,

7:14have the conversations, and take the

7:15actions that create your life. So,

7:17whether you want to understand this

7:18neurologically, psychologically,

7:20spiritually, or all three, the act of

7:23writing matters. You're not just

7:25recording the thought, you're making an

7:26impression with it. Unlock number three.

7:29Journaling gives your emotions

7:31permission to flow. So, the third reason

7:34journaling is so powerful is that

7:37journaling is a path to emotional

7:38freedom.

7:39Because there are things that we hold

7:41inside of ourselves that create blocks,

7:43and the information is held in the body.

7:45You're angry, you're jealous, you don't

7:47feel like you're good enough, you're

7:49scared, maybe you're resentful towards

7:51somebody and you don't want to admit it.

7:52And sometimes it's really hard to just

7:54allow those feelings, and so we we hold

7:57them up. We keep them inside. So, what

7:59ends up happening is we resist them, we

8:01judge them, we try to think our way out

8:02of them, but expressing through writing

8:05how you truly feel gives those feelings

8:08permission to move. Because it's almost

8:10impossible to write without feeling.

8:13Like if I sit down and I actually write,

8:16I'm angry. And then I write why I'm

8:18angry. And then I write what I wish I

8:20could say. And then I write what I'm

8:22afraid is going to happen. I'm starting

8:25to feel something. The writing becomes a

8:27mechanism that gives permission to the

8:29feelings to flow, and as the feelings

8:32flow, you begin to flow.

8:34That's the important part. Because so

8:36much of what we call being stuck is

8:39really just energy that we're unwilling

8:41to allow to move. And journaling gives

8:43it movement. So, you don't have to show

8:45it to anybody, you don't have to make it

8:47sound enlightened, you don't have to

8:49write what you think you're supposed to

8:50feel. You can write the truth, and the

8:53truth has movement in it. That's why

8:55sometimes you can journal for 5, 10, 15,

8:5820 minutes about something that's been

9:00bothering you for 3 months, and when

9:02you're finished, the situation hasn't

9:04changed at all, but you have. And now

9:07you're relating to the situation

9:08differently. That's freedom.

9:11Unlock number four. Journaling amplifies

9:14positive emotions. So, the fourth unlock

9:17is almost the opposite of the third.

9:20Writing doesn't just give you a

9:21mechanism to release the feelings that

9:22you don't want to continue carrying, it

9:24also gives you a way to reinforce the

9:26feelings that you want more of. So,

9:28gratitude is a great example. You can

9:30think, I'm grateful for my wife. That's

9:33beautiful. But the thought takes 2

9:34seconds.

9:36Now sit down and write, "God, thank you

9:39for my wife.

9:40Thank you for this thing that she did

9:41yesterday. Thank you for the way she

9:43loves me. Thank you for the life that

9:45we've created." See, when you do that,

9:47you're spending more time in the idea

9:50that's motivating the appreciation.

9:52You're sustaining the neurological

9:54experience of appreciation, and I think

9:56that's the key. You're not just thinking

9:58about gratitude, you're giving yourself

10:00the time to actually experience

10:03grateful. You're expressing it through

10:05your body, you're moving your hand,

10:06you're staying in the experience, and

10:08you're reinforcing that gratitude more

10:10deeply into yourself. And if you want to

10:13use the language that I use, you're

10:14imprinting it also into the field. So,

10:17journaling does this really interesting

10:20thing. It gives what needs to leave a

10:22pathway out, and it gives what you want

10:25to cultivate a pathway in. And that's

10:27super powerful. Unlock number five.

10:30Journaling deepens your relationship

10:32with God. Now, this may sound like an

10:34over promise, but

10:35this is what I found to be true, right?

10:37The fifth reason is probably the most

10:38personal for me. Journaling can become a

10:40form of relationship building with your

10:42higher power. Could be God, Jesus,

10:45Allah, nature, the universe, whatever it

10:47is for you. If in fact, you want to have

10:49a deeper relationship with it. I'm not

10:50saying you should or

10:52you need to, but if you want to,

10:54journaling is one of the best ways to

10:56commune with your higher power. Why?

10:59Well, think about it. If you want to

11:01have a deep relationship with someone,

11:03if you want to feel connected to

11:05someone, if you want to be able to

11:06understand and hear someone, then that

11:09requires regular communication with

11:11them. Parents, and in particular

11:12mothers, will talk about how they can

11:14sense when their child is in danger,

11:15even if they're separated by great

11:16distances.

11:18If you talk to people in intimate

11:19relationships, where a couple has spent

11:20years together, they know each other so

11:22well that they can finish each other's

11:24sentences. There's a kind of sinking of

11:26nervous systems that takes place in

11:28deep, intimate relationships, and that's

11:31based on regular ongoing safe authentic

11:33communication.

11:35And this is actually what led me to

11:36develop my own journaling process. I've

11:37talked about this in other episodes, but

11:40people have had such extraordinary

11:41results with it that I wanted to share

11:42it again here. I call it communion

11:44journaling, and it came out of a desire

11:45that I had a little over a year ago to

11:48have a deeper personal relationship with

11:50my higher power. I wanted a deeper

11:52relationship with God. I felt like I had

11:54a relationship with the universe, but it

11:56didn't feel very personal.

11:58I believed in God, but I wanted to feel

12:00a very personal relationship with the

12:02God of my own understanding. And I had

12:04this burning desire, and then an idea

12:06came to me, and I dismissed it at first.

12:08The idea was to wake up early and go

12:12down into my podcast studio and to to

12:14write. To write to God. And I was like,

12:17"Nah, that feels kind of inconvenient.

12:20I'm not a big fan of waking up early."

12:22And then my wife said one day a few

12:23weeks later, "Hey, you know, you haven't

12:25been sleeping very well, but rather than

12:27just continuing to try to squeeze an

12:29extra sleep and then sleeping until 7:30

12:31or 8:00, why don't you go down in your

12:32podcast room and journal or something

12:34like that." And I was like,

12:36"No, I don't I don't think that's going

12:37to happen, either." And then a few weeks

12:39later, I did this really deep

12:41transformational breathwork session,

12:43during which my body literally sat up,

12:45and I started writing in the air.

12:47And I was like, "Okay, I get the

12:48message. I don't need to be struck by

12:49lightning. I will get up and I will

12:51write." So, the next day, I wake up

12:53around 6:00 in the morning, I come down

12:55to the podcast room. I had no idea what

12:57I was going to do. There was no

13:00journaling prompt. There was uh not some

13:03process somebody had taught me. I

13:04literally I just sat down, I put my pen

13:06in my hand, and I touched the pad of my

13:08journal with the pen, and I started

13:10writing.

13:11And the words just started flowing.

13:14And at first, I just started thanking

13:16God

13:17for pretty much everything. It was

13:18really beautiful.

13:20It was almost like this long way overdue

13:22pen pal letter. I was like, "God, you

13:24gave me all these amazing things in my

13:26life, right? I don't know that I've ever

13:27really sat down and properly said thank

13:29you. So, thank you. And so, I started

13:30thanking God

13:32for my wife, for my son,

13:34for my business, for my mission, for my

13:36house, for my friends, for my sobriety,

13:38for my awareness, for my consciousness,

13:40for my life, for the opportunities that

13:42I had.

13:43And I just kept writing. Just poured out

13:45of me. And what happened was I got so

13:47deeply into the frequency of

13:48appreciation,

13:49not because I was trying to practice

13:51gratitude or do a gratitude list, but

13:54because I was actually having a

13:55conversation. And then I had this kind

13:57of feeling take over me,

13:59very much like my son, who was 3 years

14:02old at the time, who just asked for

14:03this, "Daddy, I want this. Daddy, I want

14:05that." And he's relentless about it. He

14:06knows that like, if I ask, I'm going to

14:08get this thing, and I deserve this

14:10thing, and I'm entitled to this thing,

14:11cuz he's a, you know, a narcissistic

14:13toddler

14:14>> [laughter]

14:14>> who asked for a lot of things.

14:16And so, once I finished thanking God, I

14:18just started asking for things. I was

14:19like, "Hey, I want this. I want that.

14:21Here's what I want, right? Give me this.

14:23Let my work be heard by millions of

14:24people. Let the building of my business

14:26be easy. Let my sleep improve. Let me

14:28have an even more amazing relationship

14:30with my wife. Just give it to me. I want

14:32this. I want that." I was like a spoiled

14:34child of God. And what was cool was that

14:37while I was asking, I had this

14:39knowingness that, according to God's

14:42will, I would receive everything I asked

14:44for because I knew who I was in

14:47relationship with. I was asking the

14:48creator of all things. And I felt that

14:51relationship. It was almost like I was

14:53sitting with God down in my man cave.

14:56And that changes the energy of asking

14:59because you're not sitting there

15:00thinking, "Okay, maybe this will happen.

15:01Maybe it won't. How do I figure out how

15:03to make this happen?" I had this

15:04experience that the moment I asked, it

15:06was going to be done for me. And then

15:08after I felt this conviction that I

15:10would have the things that I was asking

15:12God for, I had another thought. It was

15:14like, "Wow, I should probably ask for

15:17other people, too."

15:18And so, I started praying for other

15:20people. I know I should pray for other

15:22people, but it's not something that I

15:23was doing on the regular. And man, I saw

15:26what I was writing and it was powerful.

15:28It was beautiful. Like you ever hear

15:30people like do these powerful prayers

15:31like a really amazing preacher? Like

15:33that's what was coming out of my

15:35fingertips. I was praying for people in

15:37my family. I was

15:38praying for people who I knew were

15:40struggling. I was praying for people who

15:42needed help.

15:43And then that became my process.

15:45It wasn't something I sat down and

15:46engineered. It emerged naturally out of

15:48the experience and it's incredibly

15:49simple. Number one, I thank God. Number

15:52two, I ask God.

15:54And number three, I ask God on behalf of

15:56others. I pray for other people. That's

15:58what I call communion journaling. It

15:59takes me 5 to 15 minutes depending on

16:02what shows up. I don't do it every

16:04morning, but when I do, man, I come out

16:06of this podcast room like lit up for the

16:09day. I feel connected. I feel grateful.

16:11I feel like I'm in a real relationship

16:13with the creator of the universe. And

16:14honestly, as I'm talking about it right

16:15now, I'm wondering

16:16why I don't do it every day. I guess

16:18because there are some days where I just

16:20have more to learn by suffering, but but

16:23that's how powerful this process is. And

16:25so I'm begging you to start journaling.

16:27Not because it's another personal

16:28development habit that you're supposed

16:29to check off the list, but because

16:31there's information inside of you that

16:32you may not be able to hear at the speed

16:34that you're currently moving. There are

16:36feelings inside of you that need

16:38somewhere to go. There are thoughts and

16:39intentions that become more powerful

16:42when you physically impress them onto a

16:43page and there may even be a

16:45relationship available to you with your

16:47higher power, with God, with something

16:49greater than yourself that you simply

16:51haven't created enough space to

16:52experience.

16:53So my invitation is

16:55get a pen, get a pad,

16:58give yourself about 15 minutes, and if

17:00you don't know what to write, start the

17:01way that I started. Say thank you.

17:03Ask for what you want and then ask for

17:05somebody else. And just see what comes

17:07through. And by the way, before I let

17:09you go, this is one great tool that I'm

17:10suggesting you try out, communion

17:12journaling. And I have another one for

17:14you. I know that about 10,000 of you

17:16have gone through it over the last 30

17:18days and the reviews are just amazing.

17:20There's a link in the description of

17:21today's episode. It's absolutely free.

17:23You're going to find a David AI-powered

17:25assessment. It takes 3 minutes. It will

17:27give you a full assessment of your

17:28current mindset, help you identify your

17:30top three limiting beliefs, and walk you

17:32step-by-step through a really powerful

17:33tool that we have for transforming your

17:35limiting beliefs. It's absolutely free.

17:37It's my gift to you to help you take

17:39your personal growth and mindset one

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