This morning I read in Robin Sharma’s Book “The Wealth Money Can’t Buy” about journaling. Journaling helps to lead yourself more consciously. Writing forces you to slow down and think more clearly. While writing you can also put down your frustrations and emotional lows. And writing helps you to reflect about your recent action and how you can better focus on what is important for you.
Journaling points to the threefold human being. We have thinking, feeling and emotions, and willing, action and doing. These are three fields of ourselves which need constant leadership.
Who is leading in these three fields of inner activity? It is the “I”. I am leading myself. I can become more conscious about these three fields and lead them with more care.
For example: Recently I had difficulties getting out of bed and sorting the receipts for the tax advisor to do the bookkeeping (something I do not like to do). What brought me out of bed finally? The idea that it is necessary, that my tax advisor and her team is waiting for it. That this whole process is beautiful and that it is good to see the financial results of my action.
I had the idea, I had a feeling for ist, I discovered the love for the whole process, and then these two together gave me the strength to get out of bed and do it.
How often are we making plans and then do not follow up with them? How often do we forget what actually is important? How often do we forget our priorities?
Then the typical answer I hear from my clients would be: I know…, but there was so much else I had to do…
I such case we are not leading. We are being led by the circumstances.
We can strengthen our leadership by making use more consciously of the concept of thinking, feeling and willing. In physiology we have three systems which are supporting these three fields. These are the nervous and senses system, the heart and rhythm system, and the metabolic and limbs system. When we think we use our brain. When we feel we use our heart and breathing. When we do and act we use our metabolism in the muscles and our limbs.
Who is leading in these fields? It is “I” myself. So we have four: the “I”, thinking, feeling and willing, which make use of our threefold bodily physiology.
A conscious action includes clear thinking and love for the action. When we act without our feelings attached to it, we are in danger of burning-out over time. Then we think, we develop our plans, and act upon them – mostly nowadays in fast mode. Thinking – doing – thinking – doing – meeting – action – meeting – action, and so forth, without enough time to feel, to be fully present with our hearts and feelings.
I encourage you to reflect upon these four, the “I”, and the different qualities of thinking, feeling and doing – and how you can become a better leader of yourself, considering these four.
I am curious what you think about this and will happily respond to your comments.
Warm greetings, Alexander
P.S.: You can subscribe to my regular Leadership Newsletters on Substack:
https://substack.com/@allaboutlifeandleadership
P.P.S.: My Book Fully Human is available here:
https://alexanderschwedeler.com/fully-human/
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