How to Journal for Self Growth | Jim Kwik

Summary

In this session, brain coach Jim Kwik shares a powerful tool for enhancing creativity, problem-solving, and achieving goals: journaling. He recounts a personal story about how writing down his goals helped transform his perspective and life direction. Jim emphasizes the importance of physically writing notes, rather than typing, to improve learning and critical thinking. He explains how geniuses like Da Vinci and Einstein used journals to capture their thoughts and challenges viewers to start or enhance their journaling habits. The key takeaway is that journaling fosters self-awareness and improves thinking.

Takeaways

• 💡 The power of perspective can help in achieving clearer thinking and creativity.
• 📚 Writing down thoughts and goals helps turn ideas into reality by making them tangible.
• 📝 Journaling and note-taking are essential habits for high-level thinkers and geniuses.
• 🎯 The 'capture and create' method improves understanding and critical thinking.
• ✍️ Handwriting notes forces you to prioritize important information and enhances retention.
• 🧠 Journaling builds self-awareness and metacognition, key to personal growth.
• 🔄 Regularly revisiting old journal entries provides valuable perspective.
• ⏰ Consistency in journaling and note-taking habits is key for long-term success.
• ❓ Asking the right questions, like 'How can I use this?' 'Why must I use this?' and 'When will I use this?' is crucial for learning.
• 📖 Journaling should be personalized, reflecting your own thoughts and experiences.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the session led by Jim Quick?

The purpose of the session is to introduce a powerful tool to help improve thinking, creativity, problem-solving, and achieving personal goals.

What personal story does Jim Quick share from his past?

Jim Quick shares a story from when he was 18 and struggling in college, feeling overwhelmed and ready to quit. A conversation with a family friend helped him gain a new perspective and changed his approach to learning and achieving his goals.

What advice did the family friend give Jim when he was struggling?

The family friend encouraged Jim to think about what he wanted to be, do, have, and share in life. He had Jim write these thoughts down in a journal to gain clarity and focus.

Why does Jim emphasize the importance of writing things down?

Jim explains that writing things down transforms abstract ideas into reality. It helps organize thoughts and brings clarity by making invisible goals tangible and actionable.

What are the three important questions Jim suggests asking when taking notes?

The three questions are: How can I use this? Why must I use this? When will I use this? These questions help focus the learning process and make the information more practical.

How does Jim Quick recommend setting up notes in a journal?

Jim suggests dividing a notebook page into two columns. On the left, write down the lessons or important information. On the right, answer the three questions about how to use the information and any other creative thoughts.

Why does Jim recommend handwriting notes instead of typing them?

Jim argues that handwriting notes forces the writer to filter and focus on important information, which improves retention and understanding, unlike typing, where one can transcribe without processing the content deeply.

What historical figures does Jim mention to emphasize the value of journaling?

Jim mentions historical geniuses like Leonardo da Vinci, Marie Curie, and Einstein, who were known for keeping journals. He suggests that journaling helped them develop their thinking and creativity.

What benefits does journaling provide according to Jim Quick?

Journaling helps build perspective, improves metacognition (thinking about one’s own thinking), and fosters self-awareness, which Jim describes as a 'superpower.'

What is Jim Quick’s assignment for viewers at the end of the session?

Jim’s assignment is for viewers to get a dedicated notebook for the program, journal daily, even if it’s just one sentence, and reflect on their thoughts to enhance learning and personal growth.

Outlines

00:00

🧠 How a Shift in Perspective Transformed My Life

In this section, Jim Quick shares a personal story from his early life. He was struggling in college and on the verge of quitting due to his inability to focus and learn effectively. A friend suggested gaining new perspective, leading him to visit a wealthy family. During this visit, the father asked thought-provoking questions about Jim's goals and purpose, encouraging him to write down what he wanted to achieve in life. This act of journaling, Jim explains, was the beginning of his transformation, as it allowed him to clarify his vision and motivated him to pursue learning with a stronger purpose.

05:02

✍️ The Power of Writing Down Your Goals

Jim emphasizes the importance of writing things down to make abstract thoughts tangible. He explains that journaling and writing goals help transform ideas into reality, which is why many historical geniuses, like Leonardo da Vinci and Marie Curie, kept journals. He suggests that consistent journaling is a key factor in their genius, rather than the other way around. Jim introduces the idea that writing helps filter and organize thoughts, encouraging deeper thinking and learning. He promotes handwritten notes over digital ones for this reason, citing studies that show better retention and understanding with handwritten notes.

📒 How to Take Effective Notes by Hand

In this part, Jim provides specific advice on how to take notes effectively. He recommends dividing the page in half, using one side for lessons and the other side for creative questions such as 'How can I use this?' and 'Why must I use it?' This method helps capture important information and encourages critical thinking. Jim points out that taking notes by hand not only improves retention but also forces you to prioritize information, as you can't write as fast as people speak. This process helps you filter out the most valuable insights.

📚 The Importance of Journaling and Note-Taking

Jim stresses the value of keeping both a notebook for learning and a personal journal for reflecting on life. He describes how journaling provides perspective, allowing you to track progress, revisit thoughts, and reflect on your experiences over time. He encourages journaling about gratitude, dreams, and struggles, as these practices enhance self-awareness, which he calls a 'superpower.' By consistently journaling, individuals can develop metacognition, focusing on their own thinking processes, which ultimately boosts their personal growth and learning abilities.

⏱️ Building Consistent Journaling Habits

In this final part, Jim urges the audience to commit to consistent journaling habits. He advises setting aside a specific time each day, whether morning or night, to write even a single sentence if needed. Jim believes that the routine of journaling helps develop discipline, self-awareness, and better mental clarity. He encourages people to personalize the journaling process, making it enjoyable and meaningful. He also invites the audience to share their journaling practices and thoughts in the comments, making it an interactive session.

Keywords

💡Perspective

Perspective refers to the way one views a situation or problem. In the video, Jim Quick emphasizes the power of changing perspective to think more clearly and creatively. By shifting your viewpoint, you can approach challenges in new ways and discover previously unseen options. This idea is introduced when Quick's friend advises him to gain perspective before quitting school.

💡Journaling

Journaling is the practice of writing down thoughts, goals, and reflections. Quick stresses that journaling helps bring ideas from the mind into reality, as writing makes abstract thoughts tangible. He mentions that geniuses like Leonardo da Vinci and Einstein kept journals, suggesting that this habit could foster clearer thinking and creativity.

💡Capture and Create

The 'Capture and Create' method is a technique that involves capturing information or thoughts and creating new ideas from them. In the video, Quick advises using a notebook to capture key lessons and then creatively engage with those lessons by asking questions like 'How can I use this?' and 'Why must I use this?' This method helps transform learning into actionable steps.

💡Metacognition

Metacognition refers to the awareness and understanding of one’s own thought processes. Jim Quick suggests that journaling and note-taking help build metacognition by making one more conscious of their thinking patterns. This increased self-awareness leads to better focus, problem-solving, and decision-making.

💡Why

'Why' is a central concept in the video, referring to the purpose behind actions or goals. Quick talks about how identifying your 'why' is essential for motivation and success. He shares how writing down what he wanted to 'be, do, have, and share' helped him find his why, which in turn became the driving force behind his desire to learn and succeed.

💡New Questions

New questions are essential for changing one’s perspective and finding new solutions. In the video, Quick shares that asking new questions can yield new answers, which is critical for breaking through mental blocks. The mentor in the story asks Quick thought-provoking questions like 'What do you want to be?' to shift his mindset from failure to possibility.

💡Geniuses

Quick mentions historical figures like Leonardo da Vinci, Marie Curie, and Einstein as examples of geniuses who regularly journaled. He questions whether they were geniuses because they journaled or journaled because they were geniuses. Journaling is presented as a powerful tool that can help individuals capture their thoughts, refine their ideas, and ultimately become more intelligent and creative.

💡Handwriting vs. Typing

Handwriting is preferred over typing in the video because it forces deeper processing of information. Quick explains that while typing allows you to capture everything, handwriting forces you to be selective and focus on the most important points. Studies show that people who handwrite their notes tend to retain and understand information better, likely due to this filtration process.

💡Consistency

Consistency refers to the regular practice of habits, such as journaling or note-taking. Quick advises his audience to be consistent with their journaling by setting specific times, like morning or evening, and sticking to that routine. He emphasizes that consistency is key to developing deeper self-awareness and improving cognitive abilities over time.

💡Critical Thinking

Critical thinking involves analyzing and evaluating ideas or problems to make reasoned decisions. Quick ties this concept to the practice of journaling and note-taking, suggesting that writing things down allows you to organize your thoughts and critically assess them. By creating a feedback loop of writing and reflecting, individuals can enhance their ability to think critically and solve complex problems.

Highlights

The power of perspective: Changing your point of view allows for new approaches and problem-solving.

Writing things down makes abstract thoughts and goals tangible, which helps in transforming thinking into reality.

Journaling can help clarify your 'why' – why you want to achieve certain goals and how to pursue them.

Ask new questions to get new answers: this approach helps in achieving better outcomes.

Leonardo da Vinci, Marie Curie, and Einstein all kept journals, showing the value of capturing thoughts.

It is more likely that their genius resulted from journaling rather than the other way around.

Handwriting notes enhances understanding by forcing you to filter and process information before writing it down.

Studies show that people who handwrite notes perform better on tests compared to those who type notes.

By dividing your note page, write lessons on the left and ask yourself three questions on the right: 'How can I use this?', 'Why must I use this?', and 'When will I use this?'

Create a dedicated notebook for note-taking and learning to capture and organize your thoughts.

Journaling can provide perspective over time, as it allows for reflection on past thoughts and progress.

Consistency in journaling is key: make it a daily habit, either in the morning or at night.

Even writing one sentence a day can build self-awareness and metacognition.

Journaling builds self-awareness, which is considered a superpower.

Find ways to make journaling more enjoyable and meaningful to maintain consistency.

Transcripts

I'm your brain coach Jim quick and in

this session I'm going to share with you

a power tool to help you to think

clearer and be more creative to be able

to solve problems and really reach your

goals now when I was 18 years old and I

was really struggling I was a freshman

in college I couldn't keep up I didn't

know how to learn I didn't know how to

focus I didn't know how to study I

didn't know how to to think so a friend

of mine said hey before you quit school

because that's the point I was at I was

ready to tell my family I was going to

quit college said why don't you get some

perspective and we talk about the power

of perspective with our thinking that

when you could change your point of view

you could look at something with a new

Fresh eyes and take a new approach and

not be stuck to a limited amount of

options so I go to visit the family and

the family is pretty pretty well off and

the father walks me around his property

before dinner and asked me a very

innocent question which is the worst

question you could ask me at that time

says Jim Howe school

right and I just break down in front of

this complete stranger and tell him my

whole story The Boy with a broken brain

learning challenges I'm ready to quit

school and he says stop

why are you in school what do you want

to be what do you want to do what do you

want to have what do you want to share

and notice that his process for

achievement is asking me new questions

because ask a new question get a new

answer changing perspective place people

allows me a new point of view so you see

these principles always showing up with

quality thinkers and when I go to answer

them what I want to do and be and have

and share with the world he says stop

and he pulls out of his pocket a journal

like a notebook and he tears out a

couple of sheets and makes me write it

down and this is the principle I want to

talk to you about in this lesson so if

you want to transform your thinking you

need to be able to transform your

ability to write things down and make

something physical because the act of

taking the invisible your imagination

your goals your vision and making it a

reality one of the best things you could

do is to write it down and make a

physical motion so you actually create

created something from your thought from

your thinking into reality so that's the

first step so I wrote down my my bucket

list of all the things I wanted to be do

have and share and this became my drive

this became my why why to learn why to

read why to do well in school and that's

why we always talk about those three

questions asking yourself how can I use

this why must I use this when will I use

this so you'll notice in history some of

the most incredible Geniuses men and

women throughout history kept journals

right the journals of Leonardo da Vinci

Marie Curie Einstein they're invaluable

there are they are Priceless and the

question I've always wondered is is it

because they're Geniuses that they're

journaling all the time and they're

making notes all the time or is it

because they're journaling all the time

that they become Geniuses I would argue

for the latter so in this session I'm

going to share with you exactly how I

capture and create notes and how I

Journal each day to capture my thoughts

if you want expert high level thinking

you need to be able to capture this in a

journal so the first thing you need to

do is you need to get a journal or get a

notebook and I'm very big into

physically writing your notes and

writing in your Journal as opposed to

typing it out now living in a digital

age I see the convenience of being able

to share and store information digitally

I'm going to ask you through this

process to actually hand write it and

there are certain advantages to

handwriting your notes and handwriting

your journals first of all as you're

taking notes as we're having this

conversation you can maybe type as fast

as somebody can speak but you certainly

can't write that fast so by writing it

down it forces you to think about what

you're listening to and you start to

filter and qualify the information

before you write it down because you you

can't possibly write as fast as someone

can speak so in studies that have tested

people from handwriting notes and typing

out notes the people that hand write

notes did better on test scores maybe

for this very reason that they're

capturing only the important parts

because the worst way of taking notes

actually was full transcripts or full

dictation now the question is how do you

handwrite notes what I would suggest is

this you have a piece of paper take your

pen and put a line right down the middle

of the page so on the left side you're

writing down the lessons on the right

side you can be creative and ask the

three questions how can I use this and

then write it down why must I use it and

then write it down when will I use it

and write it down these are wonderful

ways to not only take notes but also to

make notes and by making notes you

create a feedback loop and this is very

good for advanced thinkers to train your

thinking ability you're taking your

thoughts you're putting it on paper

you're organizing them and it allows you

to use critical thinking skills and some

of the skills you're going to learn in

this program right in front of you so

you have your notebook you're capturing

and you're creating and I would have a

dedicated notebook for this program and

on top of having a notebook a dedicated

notebook for your learning in this

process you could also have a journal

some people have a life journal some

people people have a dream journal in

this journal you could capture your your

day-to-days your Visions the things that

you're struggling with the things that

you're reflecting upon so one of the

benefits of having a journal is you go

back and re-read and review some of

those entries I have journals that date

back years and years and years and it's

wonderful to be able to revisit it gives

you this thing called perspective

perspective is a very powerful tool when

it comes to your learning when it comes

to your thinking so your assignment in

this lesson is have a dedicated notebook

and use the capture create method the

second thing is have a journal a

dedicated life journal where you're

journaling the things you're grateful

for where you're building out your

vision and you're taking your thoughts

and you're sharing it in an intimate way

with yourself to see your thoughts on

paper much like I was doing when I first

got started with my early Mentor you'll

find that Geniuses take journaling and

note-taking very seriously it allows

them to see their thoughts and be able

to lay out their problems see everything

in front of them so if you are not

journaling this is your call to action

to start journaling and taking notes if

you're already doing that think about

ways that you could enhance your process

how can you make this process more

enjoyable how can you make this process

more meaningful how can you make this

process more consistent because

consistency is key if you're going to do

it every morning you do it every morning

if you're going to do it at the night

time set the schedule or set your alarm

set these habits and these triggers of

when you're actually going to do those

activities and write it down in your own

words you don't have to use my words use

your own words so they become personal

and customize for you so what's your

assignment get a notebook dedicated

notebook for our journey together and

have a journal and write in it every

single day even if it's one sentence

just check check in with yourself

because it builds your metacognition it

focuses you on your own thinking it

builds that self-awareness and

self-awareness is a superpower and I'm

personally curious do you Journal each

day

what do you Journal about is it your

dreams do you have a gratitude Journal

are you taking notes right now I'm

personally curious put those answers in

the comments I'm your brain coach Jim

quick and I'll see you in our next

lesson