Journaling authenticity

194 words (45-second read)

I’ve mentioned that I freewrite for 30 minutes in a journal every morning. Handwritten. In cursive.

SET UP: The handwriting and cursive parts have neurological and psychological effects. But let’s focus on the outward value. Likability.

  • We have a pretty good BS sniffer and can tell when someone is being who they are. We like authentic people. Don’t we?

WHY IT MATTERS: Even if we disagree with a person, if we believe they’re authentic, we can still like them. And they can still like us.

WHY JOURNALS WORK: In my humble but accurate opinion – something I would say in my journal:

  • A journal lets you use the words in your head instead of a dictionary, thesaurus, or Grammarly suggestion.
  • A journal lets you write like you.
  • A journal lets you express your authenticity.

I KNOW: We can’t let everyone see our freak flag. All the time. But try getting as close to writing the way you journal the next time you send an email, post on LinkedIn, or respond on the discussion board.

You’ll see, people will like you because you’re authentic.

FUN FACT: The first draft of this post was 451 words.