6 Learnings From My 2022 Journal (That Might Help You)

I’ve been writing in my journal for years.

I get a lot out of it. But I have a little secret that makes journaling ten times more interesting. I reflect on what I have written regularly. (Find how in this article)

To prepare for 2023 and update my life plan , I took the time to :

• Reread my journal.
• Revisit the books that impacted me in 2022.

Here are 6 learnings from my 2022 Journal (That Might Help You). I’ve grouped them into the 3 main themes of the blog.

• Grow yourself
• Grow your career
• Grow your money

Let’s start…

🚀Grow yourself

1/These 2 points are (always) there

Postpone my dreams.

“Right now I’m working on something urgent. I’m overwhelmed, but it will settle down and I’ll be able to focus on the important things and finally make my dreams come true.”

The journal is the place where you realize that it never calms down. One project chases the other. The only way is to prioritize what you really want to do.

I’m rich in time, and it still takes effort. 😀

Let my fears run in a loop.

Consciously or unconsciously, they (the fears) are always there.

Again, we think that as soon as this fear goes away, we will enter a period of clarity that will allow us to achieve everything.

This is an illusion. One fear drives out the other.

It’s quite positive. It proves that you are growing by getting out of your comfort zone.

But how do you live through these times more serenely?

That brings me to my next point.

2/Questions

Putting them at the center of our thinking is important.

Take the example of my fears (above).

Not to think is to let them unconsciously eat into my bandwidth.

This affects my emotions, my clarity, and my productivity.

Better to face them.

• What scares me? (question) List them.
• What would be the worst-case scenario? (question) Describe it.
• If this scenario came true, what would my options be (question). Write them down.

This process of questioning allows you to deal with the problem, free yourself mentally, and start again full of energy on your projects.

Discover my Resource guide: The 11 books that have influenced my career the most. (Including my favorite of all categories)

3/Our environment creates triggers

In theory, we understand everything.

In practice, we don’t always react as we would like.

“I just lost at chess, I’m frustrated”. ( In 2022, I dedicated 6 months to learning chess. I lost a lot. You can read my story on the site of the Swiss Grandmaster Noël Studer here)

I could choose to

• be curious ( what happened?)
• be grateful ( thank you for showing me my shortcomings)
• be ambitious ( I will practice more)

Acknowledge your emotion in the journal (first step) and ask yourself a question (again?), how can I improve this behavior?

A solution I found in 2022, which works for me and dozens of clients with whom I have shared it is :

Active Questions (see excel file here and article here). Basically:

• Choose the behavior you want to improve
• Measure the effort and not the result (Did I do my best to…?)
• Rate yourself daily from 0 to 10.
• Review your weekly average from week to week.

If you do this over time, I guarantee you will change.

This brings me to the next point. 😀

4/Comparing yourself is poison

Stephen Covey names it as one of the five “Emotional Cancer” in relationships.

Comparing yourself to others is terrible. My journal is full of episodes where I do it. And each time it generates frustration.

But comparing yourself to yourself is a great thing.

Who do I want to be? (another question 😀)

The active questions allow you to measure from week to week if you are becoming the person you want to be.

👨‍💼Grow your career

5/It’s a process more than a moment

Discover what brings joy and meaning. The quest of every professional. We often think it’s an “aha” moment.

My journal reminded me that it’s more of a process than an event.

I started:

• Wondering if coaching could be an activity for me
• Start a learning process (reading, video, podcast, targeted training)
• Test with real prospects to make sure I like it and bring value.
• Discovered that writing + coaching (2 passions) formed a virtuous circle (I love writing, and the more I write the more prospects I get for coaching)
• Create my LLC business
• Launch the business
• Find my ideal day: Write in the morning, and coach in the afternoon.

This process took a year and my journal allows me to relive each step.

It’s a principle (process vs. event) that I find recurrent in different situations.

• Improve leadership (communication with others)
• Adopt a new behavior. ( Listen more before speaking)
• Stop a bad habit.

It’s rarely an event (a book, a training) but rather the practice and the daily follow-up.

This is what led me to train with Marshall Goldsmith and his team for my new executive coaching activity. I facilitate the implementation of the new behavior in the leader’s job. (It is so powerful that I offer a guarantee. The company only pays me if the leader is successful.)

💰Grow your money

6/Financial independence. Be prepared. The first phase is psychologically easier than the second

I’ve found that building financial independence (FI) is easier than living from it (Retire Early).

I believe in the FIRE method (see here). I like this strategic patience approach.

But there is a difference between the two phases. In construction, you have a salary and invest. You are in the action with a net (your salary).

When you move into the second phase (living from your investment), you become even more passive. You can only wait. And the year 2022 tested my patience with a drop of -17,08% on the main ETF I follow.

So that makes it (psychologically) more complex.

For those aspiring to financial independence, working on your level of calm (soft skill) is as important as working on your financial plan (hard skill).

But without financial independence, I would have had a much harder time finding what makes me tick (Writing + Coaching). That’s the beauty of it. It gives you time to do what you love.

Here, I’ll reveal the books that impacted me in 2022.

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