Maintaining a Journal – Not Your Regular One

No. We aren’t going back to, ‘Dear Diary, today was a normal day. I got up, brushed, pooped, ate, loafed around…’. No! Nor is this going to be something artistic. You don’t have to be a writer to make this. Think of this as a book to account your life. Something where your dreams and thoughts take a form and you make a record of them as the first step to fulfilling them.

 

Image Courtesy: Rossifox.com

 

We are going to make a Handbook of life. Nothing too complex. It is basically the things you want to do and the things you feel about strongly. Just a few lines will suffice. But in 10 years’ time, it must remind you of important things in your life. If you are really into it, work on it in such a way that you have enough points to write your autobiography someday. J

Here are 7 pointers to help you –

1. Invest in a Journal

Invest your time or money. This is a journal meant to store a significant part of your life. It should be majestic and inviting, shouldn’t it? I have always wanted one of those moleskin journals or the huge heavy leather ones. Their size, smell and classy looks give a sense of pride and you’ll feel like doing justice to the journal. Or convert an old Diary into a tempting one by redoing the covers. You will find enough and more DIYs on the same.

 

Source – Here

 

2. Places You Want to Visit

Travel bug bites most of us at some point of time or the other. Make a list of places you want to visit and write down the reasons too. If you are on the artistic side, you could fill it up with pictures and doodles. If not, plain words would do.

Another way to utilize this section is challenge yourself – 5 historical places, 5 hill stations and so on. The places I want to visit are related to phenomenon and activities – Beaches with Bioluminescence, Aurora Borealis, Star gazing areas etc. This is another category you could go for.

You see it now? Get innovative, get quirky, get it exciting.

3. Your Wishlist

I have e-commerce store wishlists boasting of so many things I want. Yet in a few days time, I lose interest in some of them. But there are those things I have always wanted to own. The more time it takes, the surer I am of what I want. All of us have such wishes right? Don’t let it evaporate. Write it down. Seeing it again and again will make you work for it. One day, gradually, you will check things off the list.

Do you know what the first thing in my list will be? Harry Potter Books – Hardbound ❤

4. Your Bucketlist

Sugar, Spice and Everything Nice. Those things you have wanted to do apart from purchasing and traveling. Food related? How about this? Learn something you have always wanted to learn. Start something you were scared to begin – making Videos, starting a blog, an art form, something that involves getting out of your comfort zone.

Mine will have; getting a tattoo, starting a youtube channel and moving to a self-hosted platform.

5. Things You have done

What about all those things you have done until now? Record them. Attach a picture, write a few words and the date if you aren’t much into writing. Else, elaborate. Either way, you have a record of a remarkable thing you did in your life.

 

Courtesy: Here

 

6. Your Ideas

I think one common thing we humans have is, the generation of ideas while we take a shower. All of us get ideas. Some of us process it and ruminate over it and later on forget it. Some of us shrug it off the same moment. Only a few act on it.

Act on it. Write it down. Don’t let doubts hold you back! It is too ambitious. I am not that talented or rich to do it. I can’t do it. Not an excuse. Write it down. People don’t get an idea and be rich overnight. We will have to work.

Dhinchak Pooja got an idea, she decided to work on it. No matter what we think of her talents, she is out there minting money. What if she thought she isn’t good at singing and slumped back?

7. Random Thoughts

An explicable feeling. You helped someone cross the street. You gave your seat to an old woman in the bus. You saw a sad sight and it weighed you down. You saw a rainbow. Your friend said something nice. Your mother wore a lovely saree today. Your father said something touching. You had a thought. Something about office. You had a nice moment of eye contact with a stranger.

No. Don’t elaborate if you aren’t so fond of elaborating. Just write a line or two. Maybe like couplets or paragraphs. You never know what you will have there in 10 years.

Remember. Your thoughts, ideas, dreams, and ambitions are abstract things as long as they are in your head. They could vanish at any moment and never come back. 80% of our thoughts don’t take shape because we do not act on them. Give them a shape and you are halfway there. You read it another three times and you will know if that is what you really want. If it is so, you will work for it and succeed. Do not let your success die in your head.

 

Did You Make Those Lists?

Have you ever wondered why people do what they do?
Why do we study?
Why do we work?
Why do we eat or breath or drink?

With each answer, if we ask the question why, we reach the destination.

We do all that we do because we exist and we have to continue to exist until we cease to be.

But is mere existence sufficient? Imagine your existence without happiness in it. I can’t imagine that. Literally. My imagination can’t tell me what would happen if there was no happiness. Happiness is the center of everything. It is everywhere. It is within us. All we have to do is bring it out.

If you ask 10 people what is necessary for a happy life, you will get 10 answers or even more. If you ask me, you will get an answer you weren’t expecting: Make lists! Those tiny slips of paper help you a lot. From reminding you things, to clearing your head, a list could do miracles. Take a few for instance:

A List of your closest people – So that you really know who are the important ones in your life. When you write down each person’s name, you deliberate on why that person is important. You are reminded of the times you spent with them. You might even feel like calling them right then and talking to them. To let them know how much they mean to you.

Keep this list safe and when you feel alone, try calling up one of them. Sometimes, unexpected people come to your rescue in unexpected ways. 🙂

Image courtesy: lastlemon

List of Things to do – Do you want to make a trip to Canada? How about Kulu Manali? Want to try bungee jumping or sky diving? Skinny dipping? You don’t have the time or money or company? Never mind! Write them all down. Whether it is star gazing or taking a midnight walk, whether it is a big dream or small, write them all down and make the list.

Now imagine! You really did go bungee jumping. You get back home, take this list and slowly strike off ‘Bungee jumping’. Can you fathom that feeling? It is just an act of striking off. But that is a dream come true. That is happiness! 😀

List of your Friends – Not your besties. They would be included in the above list. By this list I mean those friends who come close to your besties’ list. All of us have such friends. We like them, but not enough to call them besties. Some of us, don’t realise or remember such friends. That is why we need this list. Once in a while, when you take up this list and remember them, just give them a call and you never know. You might have just regained a beautiful friendship. Also, when you prepare this list, you might know why you haven’t included a certain person. Remember? It acts as a reminder and also clears your head.

List of Things to buy – People talk about ceiling on desire. I more or less agree with the concept. But you know what is more agreeable? The happiness of owning what you desire. Saw that expensive shoes and can’t forget about it? Write it down. Oh well! They need not be inexpensive. Make list for those tiny things too. For instance, I have a blue kajal on my list. I am a bit skeptical whether the color would suit me. So it has been there for almost 2 years. Once I own it, my joy will know no bounds. Because I get to strike off one thing from my list.

My list of things to buy 🙂

It is better if you have small things in your list. You will find yourself striking them off more often. which means more happiness.

List of things that make you happy – Yes! 😀 Rain, music, friends, watching sitcoms, talking to someone, a color, food, chocolates, puppies, babies. Be it anything, just make a list. When you are down, go through them. You might have something in your list that you could do right then. You will be shooing your blues away using that list of yours. It is also a self help.

Lists never end. The types of lists changes from person to person. I can only give my ideas. Your needs are different and so is your source of happiness. For instance, I write and so I have a list of things to blog about. When I am in short of topics, I open my list and voila! I have loads to write on. I have a list of books to read, movies and sitcoms to watch. You could actually peep into another list of mine.

This might be a bit too much. But these are my ambitions and I am not ashamed of them. Whether I pursue them all or not, I will definitely try. And when I do, that would be my happiness.

If you noticed, we just made a list of things that are important to us (like chocolates :D) and also, some unimportant things (like friends 😛 I am dead).  Whenever you go through these lists, you will remember some important goals, lovely people and life changing accomplishments in your life.

After a number of years, when you take your book of lists and go through them, it will say a lot about you. A lot! It will remind of some of your desires and experiences. Some of your friends and loved ones. Sometimes, you would read it with awe, wondering how you did all those things. Or maybe, it would bring so much of happiness because you know you celebrated every moment of your life. 🙂

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