Journaling-A Powerful Tool in the Goal Pursuit Process

I received my life coaching certification from an organization that teaches that coaching is the process of facilitating personal growth and develop for your clients.  For me as a person as well as a coach personal growth & development is key.  A tool that has been a tremendous help on my journey has been journaling.  Journal is a powerful tool with many benefits.  Now that I am in possession of that knowledge, I share the richness of journaling with the clients I coach.  I do so as a seasoned professional and an experienced coach by supporting my practice and exercises with information from credible sources to add a layer of validity to my claims.

     According to a July 2017 post on the online resource Inc.com entitled, Keeping A Daily Journal Could Change Your Life journaling is the best way to bring a future state of being into the now(Inc.com, 2017).  Inc.com goes on to say…

Review and hone your life vision and big picture goals. As you read and re-write your goals daily, they’ll become forged into your subconscious mind. Eventually, your dreams and vision will consume your inner world and quickly become your physical reality(inc.com, 2017).

     The healthcare provider Kaiser Permanente offers a list of the benefits of journaling  from a February 2019 post of their site.  Kaiser outlines 7 specific benefits as…

A means to track your intentions about your goals; a tool to track progress & growth; to boost self-confidence; to improve writing & communication skills; reduce stress and anxiety; find inspiration; and to strengthen memory(kaiserpermanente.org, 2019)

      The New York Times Online’s October 2018 post tells us that some of the benefits of journaling are obvious and others can only be revealed by scientific studies.  They explain…

Scientific studies have shown it to be essentially a panacea for modern life. There are the obvious benefits, like a boost in mindfulness, memory, and communication skills. But studies have also found that writing in a journal can lead to better sleep, a stronger immune system, more self-confidence, and a higher I.Q.(New York Times Online, 2018)

    A blog post entitled, 18 Incredible Journaling Benefits, provides a veritable smorgasbord of benefits including but not limited to:

Journaling about trauma helps your body heal 4.4 times faster, a study says. Stress leads to slower healing, so when you lower cortisol levels you’re tapping into the physical benefits of calmness(Vanilla Papers (Vanilla Papers.net, 2020).

And, learning from experience is more effective when it’s combined with reflection, says a study from the Harvard Business School. “Reflecting on what has been learned makes experience more productive,” the study says (Vanilla Papers.net, 2020).

A google search will uncover many other worthwhile benefits of journaling that boost physical, emotional as well as mental health.

Hopefully by now, you get the point and ask yourself why haven’t I been journaling?  Exactly.  I dared broach the topic because whether your coach gets it,  or you as a coach care to approach your practice purely from a goal attainment  perspective or from a personal growth & development perspective, I’m hoping we can all see how much of a value-add journaling can be.  I believe in it so deeply, that I require my clients to keep a journal as a means of additional support during the period they spend with me.  No matter if the sessions are finite or infinite in number, journaling is a requirement.  If clients want to stop journaling when the sessions are over, they are free to do so.  But it is always my hope that they truly understand how helpful journaling is and they continue long after my time with them ends. One of my overarching goals as a coach as to encourage clients to hunger for as many tools to support their personal growth & development as possible.  Having ongoing support may open the door for the consideration new, bigger goals.  In which case I may be of continued service or perhaps I rub off on them enough to keep them stoked about their development.  Whoever you are reading this post, do more than consider journaling, start journaling today!