Write and Repeat: Reinforce What Matters Through Focused Repetition

The day to day pace of our lives, with its distractions, obligations, and problems, can occupy a lot of our time. What’s worse? It also occupies much of our thinking as well.

It can be difficult to remain focused on the things we know will make a positive impact on our lives when our thoughts are constantly being pulled in a million different directions. And, when that happens over time, we can forget about those positive things until opportunities have passed or we feel disconnected from those things.

I know I have written about this topic before (such as in an the article where I describe my morning journaling practice), but it literally bears repeating. Having a daily practice of writing out the things that are important to us can be an effective way to keep us focused on them, even when our lives are chaotic and threatening to derail our focus.

That said, just writing things over and over, even if we do this daily, is not enough. In the same way a certain cartoon character who has to write lines on the chalkboard every day doesn’t get the message to stay out of trouble, we risk not absorbing the information we’re writing unless we do it thoughtfully and intentionally.

What brings power to this practice is to actively engage in the writing process. By that, I mean that you not only write down words over and over each day. Instead, you carefully think about each word and phrase you are writing. It’s what I mean by “focused repetition.”

When thinking about what you are writing, you can actively visualize what you have written. This makes what you’re writing more likely to stay in your mind and even seep into your subconscious where it will guide your actions, making it much more likely that these things you’ve written down will manifest in your life.

Below, I list a few areas of writing that can be forced by repetition, include some ways to write more repetitively, and provide some tips for remaining focused and engaged during the writing process.

Areas We Can Reinforce Through Focused Repetition

While repetitive and focused writing can help us memorize random facts for a test, it can also help us in our personal lives. There are several areas in our lives that can benefit from this practice.

While this is by no means a complete and exhaustive list, below are a few areas where focused repetition can help reinforce what we desire and the believes we hold important:

Goals. You had to know goals were going to be on the top of the list, right? Our goals are some of the easiest to forget when we get weighed down by the distraction of our daily lives. However, being thoughtful and intentional about reviewing and rewriting our goals makes sure they don’t end up on the backburner of our minds. Our goals are what we are striving to achieve within a given year or over several years. For more on goal-setting, see this article linked here.

Bucket Lists. A bucket list is a set of goals that have no other end date than when you kick the bucket. So, they’re really long-term goals that make it onto a “someday” list and, frankly, they should not be so important as to make or break the trajectory of your life if you don’t get to do them all. That said, being able to cross a few off each year or will give you a great sense of accomplishment and should provide you with some unique experiences. Making sure they don’t get pushed aside until it’s too late to do any of them is a key reason to write them out more than once on a fairly regular basis.

Mantras and Affirmations. These are sayings, proverbs, and words to live by. Your mantra can be a phrase by which you live your life (or, if you live by it, will ensure you’re living your best life). One example of a mantra would be:  An affirmation confirms positive things about yourself and your life, such as “I am enough.” These phrases are reminders about who you are and may be things you need to hear on a regular basis to keep you in a positive mindset.

Values and Beliefs. These are similar to mantras and affirmations, however, they are geared more toward what you hold to be true and can be about more than simply giving yourself a pep talk. For example, your belief that people are capable of being their best selves when they are honest about their situations might be one of your values. You may also value hard work, the satisfaction of helping others, and the belief that time is short, so we should do our best today rather than putting off our best living to tomorrow. Regularly writing out your truths and beliefs are a great way to remind yourself of your core values, particularly when they are put to the test during times of adversity.

Scripture, poetry, quotations, and sage advice. This last category is a catchall. Perhaps your faith journey has you reading and memorizing scripture to better take in the lessons they teach. Or, you might find that poetry and wise quotations resonate with you on a deep level. The same can be said for advice you hear (from trusted mentors or a self-help book), which feels like an “ah-ha” moment. All of these things can feel bright and inspiring when you first read or hear them, but they soon fade in the haze of daily life. Writing them out on a regularly basis will help to keep them fresh.

Ways to Engage in Focused Repetition

There are so many ways to try this practice of focused repletion. Below are just a few suggestions to get you started:

Daily Lists. As I noted in that article I wrote about morning journaling, I write out my 10 greatest desires every day when I plan out my day. I also write out the goal I’m achieving first. By doing this every day, I remember what these goals are and think about little things I can do each day to move toward them.

Bucket List Review. Of course, your bucket list has items on it that will likely take a while to complete and cross off. However, it’s important to remember what you’ve written and review it periodically, so keep it somewhere you have easy access to it and may run across it without even thinking (such as your planner). Whether you do this annually, bi-annually or quarterly, you should be taking a peak at the list to evaluate 3 things:

1. Is there anything that you can add to your plans for this year from your bucket list?
2. Are there new things you want to add to the list?
3. Are there some items you need to remove from the list (because you’ve outgrown them or they no longer align with your values?

Review and Refresh. Not only should you write out your big goals on a daily list, but you should conduct regular reviews and refreshers of your goals and values. I’m doing this right now as part of the PowerSheets quarterly refresh. While I have the option to change up some of my goals (which I have done a little of that), I mostly use this section to repeat, rewrite, and reinforce my main goals. 

Journaling and Scripting. Another way I keep up with and reinforce my goals is by writing about them. Every night, I use my Spaces Planner (see review and my method here) to script about the various goals I have on my list. By scripting, I’m writing out in detail what I envision for the goals and ways I see them coming to fruition in my life. I don’t believe that things happen just because I write about them, but I do find that by writing about them in this way, I’m more likely to take actions that will bring about the things I’m hoping to achieve and come up with solutions to the obstacles that might explain why some haven’t yet taken place.

Memorization. When it comes to writing out my 10 Dreams, I found it was best to use the writing to not only reinforce the goals but to help memorize them. There is a great feeling of ownership we feel about our goals and dreams when we can articulate them in a precise way and be able to write them out without looking at any prompts. The same goes for affirmations, mantras, values, beliefs, or important quotations.

Incorporate into Artwork. Sometimes the best way to wrap your mind around a word or phrase is to represent it through a visual medium. You can write out words from an important phrase in a cross-word fashion. You can also incorporate the words into a drawing or painting. Creative journaling, which I wrote about in this prior post, is a great way to take goals, your bucket list, or other writings you’re wanting to reinforce, and bring them to life with color, texture, and additional journaling.

Tips for Effective Focused Repetition

Now that you see the many things you may want to reinforce through repeated writing and the ways you can do so, here are some tips to make sure your practice is truly effective.

Write it out by Hand. Whether you are using an artistic way of journaling or just jotting down a daily list, be sure to write it out by hand rather than typing. It’s a proven fact that more connections are made in our brain when we use our hands to write out information rather than typing or just rereading something we’ve written. This will help to keep the information you are writing fresh and anchored in your mind.

Past Tense for Goals. When it comes to writing out things you want to do in the future, make sure to write them out as though they have already happened. The reason for this is that it puts the notion in your mind that this is attainable. You can do this. In fact, you know you can because there is a future that exists where these things have already been achieved.

Present Tense for Affirmations and Mantras. When it comes to affirmations and mantras, it is important to speak about these in the present tense. The reason for that is you are writing out words and phrases that describe the person you wish to be. By writing these in the present tense, you adopt these characteristics as your own and turn them into reminders that they are part of who you currently are.

Keep it Positive. For whatever you write, make sure to focus on the positive version of what you’ve written rather than the negative. This means you will note what you are or what you have achieved rather than what you are not or what you no longer do. For example, rather than stating “I am no longer out of shape,” phrase it as “I am fit and healthy.” The reason for this is when we repeatedly write out phrases, our mind will focus on the bulk of the words we have written. The “no” or “don’t” or negative prompt does little to overcome our negative beliefs It actually reinforces the things we no longer wish to be or do. Instead, feed your mind the things you envision coming into your life.

What to do When You Write. In other words, don’t just write out words like a little kid who is being punished. You need to engage with what you are writing. Here are some ways to do just that:

1. Visualize. As you are writing try to picture in your mind what it is that you are trying to reinforce. If it is a goal, imagine what your life looks like when you have achieved it. If it is a mantra, envision the person you are following that life principle.
2. Write Descriptively. As I noted above, for journaling, you should be as descriptive as possible with your words. This can be more difficult than just forming an image in your mind as you now have to assign words to create a written descriptions of what it is you see. Do your best to use words that provide details about what takes place or how you feel.
3. Use Your Vision Board. If you have a vision board, it is important to make sure your board has images and words that align with your goals, affirmations, mantras, and any other aspects of your life that you would write about repeatedly. This can help with both the visualization and descriptive wording that I mentioned. However, it can also be a powerful way to help you see things when you write out even a basic goals list. (If you need some help putting together a vision board, check out this article with simple ideas for various vision boards).

I hope some of these ideas will help you to try focused repetition to reinforce what’s important in your life and what you’re aiming to achieve. While trying all of these ideas at once would be overwhelming, and I definitely don’t recommend doing so, I do hope you will try a technique or two. And, if you already do some form of repetitive writing, that this article will help you be more intentional and effective in the way you are writing.

Do you repeatedly write out certain phrases or goals? Any tips to share? Leave a comment below!

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** Image of affirmation on round table found on Unsplash. Images of writing on chalkboard, pen on notebook, bucket list, and affirmation in notebook with drink found on Pixabay.

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