Your passion pursuit (that is to say, your career) is a never-ending
stream of choices and decisions. Which way do I go? What's the right thing
to do? How could I make that happen? It can feel pretty overwhelming at
times.
One excellent tool for taming that sea of questions is journaling.
Don George, formerly Global Travel Editor at Lonely Planet, knows
that better than most. Over the years, his choices have led him to a career
that many only dream of, but those choices haven't always been the "logical"
ones. He attributes much of the credit for his ability to make the right
decisions to journaling. An avid journaler since high school, he describes
it as a way to listen to that "core inner voice."
Years ago, while living in Japan, Don was the host of a national TV talk
show with ten million viewers. He was well- known and making good money, but
he opted to leave that behind, returning to the US as a complete unknown to
launch a writing career. Leaving fame and fortune for uncertainty didn't
seem the most logical step, but it felt right - and in the end it *was*
right.
Faced with a transition, Don says, "I just sit with myself and listen. The
voice is almost like a compass, and as long as the compass needle is
pointing in the right direction I feel, OK, I'm fine."
Journaling is a way to let him think externally. "When I see it in words,"
he says, "when I shape it in words, it really does give it more focus and
clarity. I can let the different parts of me speak, and by the end of that
somehow I figure out, well, this is it. This is the way I want to go."
For some people (like Don), journaling is as natural as breathing. Others
(like me) know the value of journaling but just can't bring themselves to do
it. Often, it's a case of not knowing what to write.
I've learned a simple trick that gets me past that roadblock. Rather than
looking at my journal as some amorphous exploration of all things, I
approach it with specific questions. If there is something I'm trying to
work through, I ask it in my journal, and proceed to think through the
answer in writing.
You have the answers to a lot more of your questions than you might realize.
The key is stopping to listen. Why not give it a try? Make a list of
questions that you have, pick one, and answer it on paper. You may be
surprised how useful and easy it can be.
