When I was young, I used to think……..what’s the point of writing a diary? That’s weird. If I were to write a diary entry, it would detract from valuable playing time. Some ten, maybe fifteen years on, it doesn’t seem so strange anymore.
Now if there were ever a principle I believed in more than anything regarding fitness and health, it’s measuring, tracking and recording. You want to lose fat? You better have a decent idea of what you’re eating and in what amount. Want to get strong? You must know what numbers you’ve been hitting, and what numbers you need to hit in order to show evidence of progress. And I know many of you log all your workouts on your blog. I think that’s great.
You needn’t be overly anal about it. Just have some recordings of your ‘journey’. I myself have a plastic folder that contains all my sheets (workout records – weights used, movements etc) from a good year ago. Yes, everything I’ve done physically for a year and more. On top of that, I possess a good old fashioned note book that acts as a daily journal/diary of sorts. This is a very recent implement of mine.
The underlying beauty of having this trusty old book, is to write three things I’m grateful for each day. Well, night actually. I know many have publicized this simple exercise. I gave it a trial as something to offer a clearer perspective on my situation. None of us are immune to a bad mood or period of mild depression. We’re all partial to unwarranted self-deprecation.
A gratitude entry gives us a slap across the face. One we usually are long overdue. The contents can be anything. Whatever comes to mind. It can be as mere as being grateful for having the resources to prep a healthy meal. It can be as sheer as being grateful for your relationship being every bit as alive as it was in its youth. No specifics. Just genuine appreciation.
In addition, I write in how I’m feeling regarding whatever dieting/eating approach I’m using. I’ve experimented with numerous fasting protocols as my schedule has become a little more rigid. (Side note: I will do some writing on fasting, meal frequency etc….soon!)
By doing so, patterns can be detected. When patterns are detected, self-discovery happens. Finding out where you fared best, and on which approach.
And finally, I’m not a mindless wannabe meathead who thinks the only evolution worth experiencing is adding another half inch to his biceps. No. If you’ve read my content, you’ll see I think the brain and personality must evolve far more than the body in order to really get close to truly living to your potential.
Imagine this, you chat with relatives about a great old family event from some years ago. You reminisce, look at photos and say…….”man, that was a good time!”. If you’d been keeping journals of some kind, you’d have been able to rummage back to the relevant date and actually read your perception of that day, the world and life in general as you foresaw it then.
How cool is that?
Better yet, you’ll be able to see just how much you’ve grown as a person in the space of time. You could technically just ‘recall’ previous events, but we both know it’s not nearly as accurate or magical, or genuine.
Keeping records aid results in the gym, allow you to see where you’ve tripped up nutritionally and ultimately……..allow you to observe just how much of an improved version of yourself you’ve become.
Those kids with diaries were way beyond their years. They really were.
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