Ambition needs a sounding board, positive reinforcement, and reminders (constant, gentle, or painful).

Many famous, successful people–business, political, or military leaders; creatives who are among the best in their craft; scientists, architects, engineers, etc.—kept journals.

Such giants as John D. Rockefeller (business); George Patton (military); Ben Franklin and Thomas Edison (inventions); John Adams, Ronald Reagan, Winston Churchill (politics); and Mark Twain and Ernest Hemingway (literature) all left behind journals that chronicle their thoughts, important/meaningful events during their lifetime, and critical decisions and actions. In additional, their journals document their legacy.

Journaling is good for your ambition

Light on weight and volume but jam-packed with enabling, critical information, a journal is a perfect companion to take with you on the usually long journey to the top.

Granted, there are varying levels of being ambitious, as well as different ideas of what and where the top is, but all the same, some of us need to get there.

But as sharp and focused as most ambitious people are, the climb to the top can get pretty chaotic, lonely, and disorienting.

Journaling helps you stay organized.

  • Writing about the vaguest ideas that catch your attention concretizes them, and therefore easier to revisit and explore.
  • Regularly writing down the things going through your head makes it easier to spot organizing patterns, pinpoint issues, and identify your priorities.
  • Being able to write down notes makes it far easier to determine tasks and fine-tune your to-do list.
  • A journal gives you a framework to start your day or a task/project with

Journaling improves your attitude and judgment.

  • Journaling increases your self-awareness by clarifying your sentiments, beliefs, aspirations, etc., which in turn influences your behavior.
  • Journaling allows you to vent in private and feel the better for having done so without any resulting public embarrassment.
  • Journaling gives you a private space to unpack feelings, unpopular opinions, and relevant facts surrounding specific circumstances—things you may not want to discuss with other people.
  • Journaling helps you find clarity so you can distinguish between symptoms and causes, personal issues and professional ones, as well as examine your motivations.
  • Journaling allows you to accumulate positive thoughts that you can tap into for motivation.
  • Journaling also allows you to record your mistakes, particularly the most painful ones, so you will learn and do better next time.

Journaling helps you make intelligent decisions.

Journaling allows you to explore and fine-tune your ideas and gain new perspectives.

Journaling helps you to clearly define problems and identify the best way to address them.

A journal is a great rehearsal space for presentations, meetings, speeches, etc.

Journaling helps you clarify your intentions.

If your intentions are laid down on the page, they become more real, and what’s real has power. Leading with intention and purpose is possible only with focus and mental clarity regarding what you want to happen.

  • Journaling allows you to calibrate your focus.
  • Journaling is a great visualization method, allowing for both the abstract and the specific.

Journaling is a source of positive reinforcement.

  • Journaling allows you to inventory the positive things, which you can revisit as often as you need to, and which can instill a sense of gratitude.
  • Regularly journaling about your projects, professional or personal, helps you track your progress, and helps boost your spirits with a sense of accomplishment.

Make journaling work for you

Regularity is implied in journaling, if you must get the optimum benefits. Simply put, you have to write. Or, depending on your field, sketch, doodle, etc. Norman Foster, head honcho of one of the world’s biggest architectural practices, is always carrying around a pencil and a sketchpad to record anything interesting he sees wherever he goes, because inspiration and solutions can come from anywhere.

So get inspired, keep brainstorming, and always take notes.

Explore how Journalz can get you started with journaling your way to the top.