Editor’s Note:Thought leader Grace Ueng is CEO of Savvy Growth, a noted leadership coaching and management consultancy. Grace writes a regular column on Happiness & Leadership for WRAL TechWire. Companies hire her firm to facilitate HappinessWorks™ , infusing the happiness advantage into corporate culture, leading to higher productivity and results.

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RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – I often recommend that my coaching clients journal as a way to process thoughts, reflect and know oneself better. Teddy Roosevelt kept a leadership journal.  Harry Truman did too.  In each entry, I encourage them to also include three things they are grateful for that day. This can be gratitude for a person, an opportunity, a place, or things. Research proves that journaling and expressing gratitude can help one become happier and therefore better leaders.

Grace Ueng (Photo by Christer Berg)

Science shows Journaling Works

Tal Ben Shahar, my Happiness teacher, assigned social psychologist James W. Pennebaker’s research paper, “Writing about Emotional Experiences as a Therapeutic Process,” which I read with great interest last week. Pennebaker synthesizes dozens of studies that demonstrate when individuals write about emotional experiences, significant physical and mental health improvements follow.  Changes in basic cognitive and linguistic processes during writing predict better health.

The studies involve having the test group write for 3 to 5 consecutive days for 15-30 minutes each day. They are asked to let go and explore their deepest emotions and thoughts without worry about grammar, and their sharing is kept in complete confidence.  The benefits arise even without feedback or interaction on the written content. The mental and physical benefits of this freeflow writing are remarkable and include fewer doctor’s visits, increased immunity, increased GPA for students in the study, reduced absenteeism and less distress and depression.

Psychotherapy and behavioral and cognitive therapy involve disclosure which has been shown to reduce distress and promote physical and mental well being. The mere act of disclosure is a powerful therapeutic agent that may account for a substantial improvement in the healing process. Journaling is a form of disclosure which can be done at one’s leisure and with minimal cost.

Gratitude Journaling

Last year, in the depths of my depressive episode, my sister mailed me a Gratitude Journal. In that dark place, I didn’t have the energy to write even the 5 minutes a day it suggests.  I look back now and see my first entry was 4 days before I went into remission. I have made progress in the journal this year. It gives me micro spurts of joy when I write in it.  Prompts include offering kindness to others, both anonymously and openly, as well as being kind to yourself, exploring the concepts of acceptance and the power of forgiveness, establishing a practice of deliberately expressing gratitude, appreciating others, and regularly acknowledging yourself.

My routine

My ideal day ends with journaling followed by ten minutes of meditation. I started meditating years ago for just a couple of  minutes at a time and while I have done an entire weekend silence retreat, having ten minutes of meditation each night is what seems doable now for me.

My journaling routine includes:

  • Lighting a nice smelling candle – right now my scent is Sicilian Tangerine.
  • Reflecting on good things about the day – people, places, projects and what joy each sparked for me.
  • Thinking through challenges and how to make progress.
  • Anticipating what I’m looking forward to doing soon. Research shows that anticipation of a vacation is just as important as the benefits of the vacation itself.
  • End with 3 things for which I’m grateful.

Photo courtesy of Grace Ueng

Going Deeper is best – though short is still good

Through Tal Ben Shahar’s assignment last week,  I see that deeper, reflective writing creates lasting mental well being benefits. I am going to challenge myself to reflect more deeply in my journaling and write for a few minutes longer at each sitting. Though in this week’s assignment, we learn that health benefits can be derived from very brief writing of as short as 2 minutes a day for 2 days can have fewer health complaints than those who did not personally express positive or traumatic experiences in writing.

Journaling is an act of mindfulness.  Tal Ben Shahar speaks often of social psychologist Ellen Langer, the first female professor to gain tenure in the psychology department at Harvard University.  She is an expert on living life fully with mindfulness and open-mindedness.

While many say to that living life to its fullest is by imagining each day as one’s last, I was struck by her quote which speaks to curiosity of a open mind:

“Live each day as if it’s your first.”

– Ellen Langer

What can you add to your day to live as if it’s your first?

If you don’t have a practice of journaling, will you establish the props and place to start this week?

About Grace Ueng

Grace is CEO of Savvy Growth, a leadership coaching and management consultancy founded in 2003.  Her great passion to help leaders and the companies they run achieve their fullest potential combined with her empathy and ability to help leaders figure out their “why” are what clients value most.
Grace’s core offerings are one on one coaching for CEOs and their leadership teams, facilitating workshops on Personal Branding and Speaking Success and conducting strategic reviews for companies at a critical juncture. A TED speaker, she is hired to give motivational keynotes and lead Happiness Works™programs for companies and campuses.

A marketing strategist, Grace held leadership roles at five high growth technology ventures that successfully exited through acquisition or IPO. She started her career at Bain & Company and then worked in brand management at Clorox and General Mills. She is a graduate of MIT and Harvard Business School and holds a positive coaching certification from the Whole Being Institute.

Grace and her partner, Rich Chleboski, a cleantech veteran, develop and implement strategies to support the growth of impact focused companies and then coach their leaders in carrying out their strategic plans. Their expertise spans all phases of the business from evaluation through growth and liquidity.