No matter what you do for business, or how large or how small you are, as a business owner you want to keep a success journal. This is a place where you take the time to make note of everything you view that day that is worth celebrating. While you may think this is small compared to your everyday demands, this therapeutic process can have a big impact on your bottom line.
The truth is running your own business is hard work. It is easy to get beaten down, especially if you’re self-employed with few people around to bounce ideas off of or just vent on occasion when you need to. There will be times when work, life, and a combination of the two, become overwhelming. This is when your success journal will be particularly useful as it will ensure access to all of the good stuff that’s been happening, even in the midst of chaos.
To build your success journal, here are four great steps:
Step 1: Know where you’re going | Start your day off strong by identifying exactly what you want to achieve. Writing it down is best. Whether today’s to-do list requires complex work, such as launching a website or more routine work such as catching up on your bookkeeping, the objective is to begin the day by visualizing yourself successfully achieving your goals. Brain science is proving that we actually create our own reality. Therefore, when you start the day seeing yourself as a winner, you will improve the likeliness that you are a winner.
Step 2: Record as you go | As humans, we are engineered to remember negative experiences more than positive ones. This can make it difficult at the end of a challenging day to think of all that you achieved versus didn’t. By noting in your success journal each of the little successes throughout the day, you won’t get to the end of the day and forget them.
Step 3: Be mindful | You may love your business, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be days when you dread going to work. It’s important to keep in mind that whatever your state of mind, it is always a choice. If things don’t seem to be going your way lately, step back and proactively choose to do something that makes you smile. It might be taking a walk, calling a friend, or watching an inspiring YouTube video. Whatever it is, choose to invite joy into your day, every day.
Step 4: Review and reflect | At the of the day, take a moment to review your success journal entries. Add any other things you recall that made you smile. Also, take time to reflect on each entry. Doing so will help you to routinely end and begin each day on a positive note.
There is enough information in the daily news that can bring any one of us down. When also taking on the day-to-day challenges of growing and succeeding in business, it is important to have a steady stream of feel good moments. This is precisely what a success journal offers. It’s about you and your positive take on why you do what you do each and every day.