Begin With This Habit.
Meet Charlie.
Charlie is a teenager whose life is normal without any alarming problems. Charlie gets good grades at school. Charlie is active in a team sport. Charlie plays an instrument. Charlie has a group of close friends who support each other. Charlie’s parents love their child. Charlie’s family lives in a suburban neighborhood.
But recently, Charlie had an epiphany. It could have been a talk Charlie had with one of the mentors. It could have been a dream Charlie had one night. It could have been anything, really. What gave Charlie this epiphany was not as important as the fact that Charlie had one. Now Charlie wants change.
Instead of talking about what led Charlie to the moment of truth, I think it’s more valuable to discuss what Charlie could and should do after that epiphany.
Throughout life, we experience a series of epiphanies. These moments of truth where we realize clearly that something has to be done in our lives. But soon, these moments pass and we never bother to revisit them. And life remains the same until we encounter the next epiphany.
What do you do when you realize that your life needs change? How do you go about making those necessary changes?
Do you want to change your life in a healthy way? You have to start with building a healthy emotional life.
Emotional health gets neglected in self-development discussion. We often emphasize building physical health or intellectual prowess or professional competence. But the foundation of self-development is self-control. Without self-control, no sustainable change can take place in your life. And self-control can only be nurtured in a self whose emotional life is healthy.
The Foundation of Self-Development is Self-Control. And Self-Control Comes From A Healthy Emotional Life.
The first step toward becoming emotionally healthy is to pay attention to your emotional state. Self-awareness is the first building block in emotional intelligence. Cultivating your self-awareness is the key to strengthening your emotional health.
A great way to begin this journey of self-awareness is journaling.
One habit that has been most consistent in my life is keeping a journal. Throughout my school years, I’d always carried a journal. I took my journal notebook to all my oversea trips. I journaled when I got rejected by the girl I had a crush on. I journaled when I got my first job. I journaled when I met the woman whom would eventually become my wife and the mother of my children. I kept journaling in good times and bad. It’s been my keystone habit that sustained my life so far. Journaling helped me see things that I would’ve never noticed had it not for the habit.
Grab a blank notebook and a pen or a pencil. Then, start filling in the pages as words and thoughts come in and out of your mind. There is no wrong way of doing a journal as long as you’re doing it. Relax. Let your mind run wild.
