Thursday, July 7, 2011

CREATING AND RECORDING MAGICAL DAYS

"Remember where you have been and know where you are going. Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way"
~Nikita Koloff

 Jack & the beanstalk 2.0 by Kristian C

On Tuesday, I shared with you a video by Matt Cutts about taking on a 30-day challenge. You can watch the video here.

Yesterday, I offered my challenge to you of looking for those “magic moments” that occur every day.You can read about that here.

Today, I am taking this concept one step further. In 2006, I decided that I wanted to record my life so that it would not simply pass by in a blur.

“A life worth living is worth recording.”

So, I decided to create a single-page Word document to record a brief review of the day’s events. I copied 30 per month on colored paper, whole-punched them and placed them in a 3-ring binder.

The worksheet is broken into four sections.

Section 1 – IS MY LIFE IN BALANCE
In this section, I listed 8 areas of focus that are important in my life (based on Zig Ziglar’s “Wheel of Life”). My 8 areas were:
  • Physical 
  • Mental 
  • Spiritual 
  • Recreational 
  • Family 
  • Career 
  • Social 
  • Financial
Beside each category, I placed a small blank to write in either a “plus” sign or a “minus” sign. Then, I had a blank to record why it was a “plus” or, if it was a “minus,” what I could do tomorrow to be able to record a “plus.”

I knew that I would not achieve a “plus” in every category each day – I was not even shooting for that. Instead, I just wanted to be intentional in my actions and tracking my efforts in each category.

Section 2 – ACCOMPLISHMENTS
In this section, I had one simple statement: “List my top 3 accomplishments from today.” Then, I had three blanks to record the answer.

Knowing that I would answer this question each night caused me to focus on creating accomplishments each day. Some days I would list three; other days, one or two.

Section 3 – MAGICAL MOMENTS
In this section, I would record any “magic moments” from the day. As I mentioned yesterday, I still have my sheets from 2006 and occasionally I will pull them out and flip through them. When I do this I can almost always remember exactly when the “magic moment” occurred.

Section 4 – EVENING POWER QUESTIONS
I discovered the idea of asking evening power questions from reading Anthony Robbins. In this section, I had the three questions below listed. I did not have a blank to record answers; rather, I thought about each question.
  • What have I given today? 
  • What did I learn today? 
  • How has today added to the quality of my life or how can I use today as an investment in my future?
At the bottom of the sheet is printed one of my beliefs about life:
Daily victories add up to a victorious life! 

If you would like to take a look at the “Creating Magical Days” worksheet, you may do so by clicking here. This version is in pdf format. Feel free to download it and use it to record your life.

You could easily take this idea and modify it to fit your life or needs. I actually modified this form six times before settling on the one that I used.

If you would like this worksheet in Microsoft Word format for easy editing, send me an email at jasfountain@gmail.com and I will be glad to email you a copy.

QUESTION: How do you record your life? Please leave comments below.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I record a lot of my life in a journal which I've recently started a couple of months ago. I also record some of my life in my blog. Here I explore out loud different things that are stretching me.
(www.jonstolpe.wordpress.com)

Randy Cantrell said...

Nice. And good of you to share the documents you're using, too. I take "recording" quite literally. :D

To make a positive difference in the life of others - every single day - is as rewarding as it gets. It takes commitment, dedication and determination, but I think it's worthwhile. I'd like to say I do it every day, but too often I fail. If today wasn't quite magical, my goal is to make tomorrow be even more so.

Jason said...

@Jon - Your blog will be a great item to review in the years to come.

@Randy - I agree; life is about making a positive difference for others. Thanks for the comment and your time today!

Hugh Fountain III said...

I record alot of my life in journal form also. I have a "book" that I record in at least weekly & occasionally daily. I use this book for speeches and situations that arise in my coaching career. It is a source of spirtual and personal growth.

Jason said...

Hugh, you've always been a great recorder! Thanks for the comment.