“I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking.” — Joan Didion
I once told a stressed-out client — John — to spend ten minutes each morning just writing down whatever was in his head, no structure, no goal. He rolled his eyes. Three weeks later he told me it was the calmest he’d felt at the start of a workday in years. Nothing about his market had changed. His relationship with his own thoughts had.
What’s actually going on in your head that you’ve never once written down?
Why This Works
Tim Ferriss describes his own journaling bluntly: “I’m just caging my monkey mind on paper so I can get on with my day.” Julia Cameron, who created the Morning Pages method — three pages of longhand, stream-of-consciousness writing first thing in the morning — calls the practice “spiritual windshield wipers” for muddy, maddening, confusing thoughts. Richard Branson has said some of Virgin’s most successful companies “have been born from random moments” he captured on paper. Neurologist Judy Willis has found that writing can enhance the brain’s ability to intake, process and retain information, and a Stanford study found students who journaled about their values over a holiday break reported being healthier, with higher energy and more positive attitudes than those who only logged daily events.
Feeling this one? You don’t have to figure it out alone — book a free High Performance Call and let’s talk through where you’re at.
Three Ways to Start
- Morning Pages. Three pages, longhand, whatever comes out. No editing, no audience.
- Gratitude journaling. Oprah’s approach: what made your heart sing, what made you laugh, what tasted wonderful, what was beautiful, what you loved — today, specifically.
- Values-based journaling. Write about what actually matters to you, not just what happened.
Take action: Tomorrow morning, before your phone, write one page of whatever’s in your head. Don’t reread it. Just notice how you feel afterward.
Stephen Covey called keeping a personal journal a daily in-depth analysis and evaluation of yourself — and that’s exactly what Radical Ownership looks like on paper. You can’t take ownership of a mind you’ve never actually looked at.
If you’re ready to build that habit, book a free High Performance Call.
About Jet Xavier
Jet Xavier is a High Performance mindset and accountability coach who works with real estate agents, principals and team leaders to build sustainable, high-performing careers. Learn more about Jet.
This piece began as a column for Elite Agent — you can read the original here.
