Note: This post is about how to utilise drafts and versions in how one journals. It is the third in a series of posts on how I teach and practice reflection and journaling. The first and second posts can be found here. Many of the ideas in this post can be found in Letters to Your Spouse.
Why Journal?
Some leaders claim to reflect regularly but do not write down their reflections. There is a difference between possessing a reflective outlook and being a reflective leader. The former is an inclination which may or may not become realised in practice. The latter, being a reflective leader, is the outcome of regularly practicing a discipline.
The practice of reflection is not more reflection, but journaling. Journaling is the substantive output of one’s reflections. It is the means by which one’s reflections are tested and refined. Without journaling, one’s reflections remain nebulous thoughts and rarified contemplations which do not undergo the refinement necessary to be transformed into purposeful action.
In a typical class of 30 leaders that I engage with, only 2 or 3 hands would be raised when I ask how many of them regularly reflect and journal. Of these, when I ask what they do with their reflections, I would usually get a blank look.
Journaling for Catharsis: Good but not Good Enough
There is always a purpose for journaling. When one’s journaling is done to help express one’s feelings and thoughts with no expectation of further action, this is called “Journaling for Catharsis”.
There is value in journaling for catharsis. This occurs when perhaps one encounters a bad day (which sadly quite often involves the boss at work). To release pent up frustrations, one may perhaps write down one’s (occasional evil) thoughts about the boss and the numerous fates the said boss should suffer. After journaling for a while, one usually feels better emotionally, even if the situation at work may not have changed one iota. Journaling for catharsis is useful but there is so much more one can do with one’s reflections.
Journaling for a Harvest: The Desired Outcome of all Reflections
To fully utilise one’s reflections, one must refine them until they are ready for harvesting. Experiences in life are precious and ought to be reflected upon until one can reap a fruitful harvest from them. Without a proper harvest, one will be doomed to repeat these experiences again and again.
Put in another way, without reflection, one cannot learn from experiences. Without journaling, one cannot enact the transformation of one’s reflections into real world changes. So how does journaling help one accomplish this transformation?
In order to harvest from my experiences, I adopt a system of drafts and versions for the way I reflect and journal.
Refinement Through Drafts
I undergo many drafts for my reflections. For example, my previous post on Leading as a Servant underwent 19 drafts before it could be posted. Instead of viewing drafts as a failure of grammar and thinking, I prefer to view drafts as distillation – the more drafts I go through, the better the end product.
Drafts 0.1 to 0.2
Draft 0.1 comprise my raw, unedited thoughts. If I am in need of catharsis from a bad experience, this draft is where it occurs.
Draft 0.2 is my first refinement. I correct my grammar and spelling, and make edits so that the right words are chosen. It is important to choose the right words to express exactly what one feels. Never allow yourself to be imprecise in your words, because it means you are imprecise and unclear in your thoughts. “If you find a word, you find a door.” (Katerina Stoykova-Klemer, Птичка на перваза / Bird on a Window Sill)
So far, drafts 0.1 and 0.2 are relatively raw still, and with practice, one can often combine both steps and start to write more fluently and precisely from the onset.
Draft 0.3 onwards are where my reflections are refined. In this process of self-authorship, I usually contemplate on the validity and value of my thoughts.
Creating Validity and Value through the Drafts
As I progress in my drafts, I pay attention to the quality of my thinking. Specifically, I focus on:
- Validity. This is an important measure of logic, reasonableness, and sound critique. These days, I read many articles on the internet which are high on sensationalism and penmanship but poor on validity. I often wish these authors will hold themselves to higher standards of validity. In essence, one can improve the validity of one’s thoughts if one asks:
- Is what I am thinking logical and sound, based on the data I have accumulated?
- Have I omitted information that should be considered?
- Am I using filters to select what I want to perceive and derive as conclusions?
- Am I holding on to assumptions which are relevant?
- Is there more than one way to view the situation at hand?
- Is there anything I need to change in how I am framing the situation?
- Value. Just because I am valid in what I am thinking does not mean those thoughts have value. My personal yardstick for the value of my thinking comes from a Bible verse in Phil 4:8: “… brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.“ In other words, I choose to think about things that are:
- True – verifiable, not engaging in rumors and half-truths. Truth-seeking.
- Noble – aspirational, not petty, transcendence beyond self
- Right – ethical, doing things right and doing the right things, acceptable to God and man
- Pure – no falsehood in intentions and motives
- Lovely – aesthetics, beautiful to behold
- Admirable – honours the best of self and others
- Excellent – exceptional effort, performance and results
- Praiseworthy – worthy of encouragement
Draft 0.3 all the way to Draft 2.0
Once I am satisfied with the quality of my self-authorship, I then submit my thoughts for inspection by a trusted few. Typically, it may be my wife, or close friend, who gets a copy of draft 1 of my reflections. After hearing from them, I revise it until it becomes draft 2.0.
In case you are wondering, not every reflection merits reaching draft 2.0. In my own journals, I have many thoughts that never go beyond draft 0.3. Sometimes, it is because the experience takes longer to process. At other times, it may be because I am yet unsure for whom or for what purpose I nurture these reflections to fruitful harvest. When I start to ponder for whom my reflections should be addressed to, I then start to think about the different versions I should craft out of my reflections.
Harvesting through Versions
Not all experiences reap a bountiful harvest. Some harvests are for one’s own consumption only. Other harvests can benefit others. By default, the first harvest is for my own consumption. Hence, the final draft of my reflections is often for myself.
Nonetheless, there are times which I feel my reflections ought to be shared with others. For these, I create multiple versions of my reflections, each tailored to the party concerned. As an illustration, yesterday was my 20th wedding anniversary. After reflecting on our 20 years of marriage, one of the versions of those reflections became a blog post on the importance of writing letters to your wife, which you can find in the link at the top of this post.
Greatness captured through Journals
These days, one can find many autobiographies of significant people in the bookstores. Many of them are written by ghost writers. I respect the value ghost writers provide to help bring a piece of work to fruition. However, the process of struggling with words and thoughts is an intimate one which I find hard to outsource to a ghost writer. Hence, I still prefer autobiographies not written by ghost writers.
An autobiographic journal is not only a record of a person, it is the means by which a person becomes who he/she is. Anyone who claims to be great can become greater simply by distilling one’s one experiences into a journal. Anyone who has suffered much can benefit much more when those experiences are reflected on and journalled.
Whether greatness or tragedy, the furnace of self-reflection is the best forge by which to extract the essence of goodness and burn away the dross of vanity and self-edification. Surely this is a process worthy of a chronicle?
