Journaling.
Simple right?
I have always struggled with journaling. That seems like an odd comment from someone who is keeping a blog, considering that a blog is a "web journal". Perhaps blogging these past couple of years has increased my capacity to be a better journaler and writer. Nevertheless most of my Christian experience has had frustration with journal keeping. And to add insult to injury, my wife is a wonderful journaler, and I look from a far and wish - why can't I do that?
So needless to say, this post from Matt's Idea Blog caught my attention.
Here is an excerpt from Matt's blog post:
Around this time last year I started keeping a log of "lessons learned," after reading Curt Rosengren's fantastic essay The genius of mistakes. I did this because I knew I'd be making a ton of mistakes in switching careers to workflow coaching from programming, and I wanted to a) acknowledge them in a positive way, and b) learn from them.
Here's the basic idea: Rosengren calls it a mistake genius journal and describes it this way:
I think that this hits the nail right on the head. People use journals like this for all kinds of reasons, food journals to track diet, sleep journals to track dreams and sleeping patterns. So it makes sense that using a mistake journal can help a person to learn and grow. That is what the Christian life is all about, growing and transforming (sanctification). I want to grow as person, a husband, a father, a son and as a pastor.
Even though this kind of journal focus on mistakes and the lessons learned, it does stoke and develop the skill and discipline of "reflection". That is the power of journaling, it allows me to slow down, reflect and process. I am going to keep a mistake genius journal for two months and see how it goes. There I said, now you can ask me how it's going. Pray for me, because my track record for journal keeping is spotty.
If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. --John Wooden
Simple right?
I have always struggled with journaling. That seems like an odd comment from someone who is keeping a blog, considering that a blog is a "web journal". Perhaps blogging these past couple of years has increased my capacity to be a better journaler and writer. Nevertheless most of my Christian experience has had frustration with journal keeping. And to add insult to injury, my wife is a wonderful journaler, and I look from a far and wish - why can't I do that?So needless to say, this post from Matt's Idea Blog caught my attention.
Here is an excerpt from Matt's blog post:
Around this time last year I started keeping a log of "lessons learned," after reading Curt Rosengren's fantastic essay The genius of mistakes. I did this because I knew I'd be making a ton of mistakes in switching careers to workflow coaching from programming, and I wanted to a) acknowledge them in a positive way, and b) learn from them.
Here's the basic idea: Rosengren calls it a mistake genius journal and describes it this way:
Next time you make a mistake, don't beat yourself up for it. Celebrate the genius of your mistakes, and be thankful for the insight you've just been given. Learn from them and ask yourself, "How can I apply what I've just learned?"(HT: Matt's Idea Blog)
You might even try keeping a mistake genius journal. Not a place for you to berate yourself for how many mistakes you make, but a place for you to actively learn from what has happened. Explore the mistake, explore what insights you've gained as a result, and summarize those insights into key points.
This will do two things. First, it will crystallize your learning so you can easily draw from it in the future, and second, it will start developing a habit of looking for the positive side of your mistakes, rather than beating yourself up about them.
I think that this hits the nail right on the head. People use journals like this for all kinds of reasons, food journals to track diet, sleep journals to track dreams and sleeping patterns. So it makes sense that using a mistake journal can help a person to learn and grow. That is what the Christian life is all about, growing and transforming (sanctification). I want to grow as person, a husband, a father, a son and as a pastor.
Even though this kind of journal focus on mistakes and the lessons learned, it does stoke and develop the skill and discipline of "reflection". That is the power of journaling, it allows me to slow down, reflect and process. I am going to keep a mistake genius journal for two months and see how it goes. There I said, now you can ask me how it's going. Pray for me, because my track record for journal keeping is spotty.
If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. --John Wooden
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4 comments:
What a great idea. I write and look back months and years later and realize how I have learned from experiences and mistakes. Writing helps so much being in black and white...and anyone can do it!
Thanks for the story, and the link! I'm still tracking these, and each time I enter one I feel a little better, knowing that I can - as you put it so well - reflect and learn from it. I'm also tracking decisions made... Overall, it helps me to be a bit more humble, but in a way more courageous - It helps me to treat my life more as an experiment than something cast in stone...
FYI: Nothing you have said has contributed to my feeling the blues. Thanks for the words of Encouragement.
Man, that is totally convicted by this post. I struggle with reading my bible everyday let alone journaling. I am challenged to do both after reading this article.
Thanks
Cornelius
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