Exercise Two: Keeping a Journal

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                           EXERCISE 2
                        Keeping a Journal



A journal is a way to organize and examine one's experience so as
to learn from it.

> Two assumptions about journals:

          þ    Each of us experiences life in a unique way that is
               worth writing about.

          þ    We can increase our competence to know, value, and
               make choices in our life in a variety of ways;
               keeping a journal is one of them.

> Some reasons to keep a journal are:

          þ    To experiment with something new, to try a new
               behavior if you've never kept a journal before.

          þ    To develop an internal feedback system, different
               from feedback received from others.

          þ    To express feelings freely, to explore them, to
               reflect on them in private.

          þ    To increase your awareness of inner dynamics, to
               become more sensitive to yourself and your power.


> One way to make entries in your journal is:

          þ    Describe the experience--what happened?

          þ    Record your reactions to what happened--what did
               you think, feel, want, do? (any or all of these)

          þ    Reflect on your learning--based on your reactions
               to what happened, what are you learning?  These
               reflections may suggest issues to work on, progress
               made, new insights about the past, information for
               the future, etc.

> Time:

     Individual preference


Adapted from articles by Larry Porter and Margaret James-Neill, NTL
Reading Book for Human Relations Training, 1982. 

• Lois M. Frey, UVM Extension, RR #4, Box 2298, Montpelier, VT 05602, (802) 223-2389, email: lfrey@sover.net
• "Group Development: Creating Group Effectiveness" by Duane Dale, DFD Associates, 99 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138-3402 (moving to 764 South East Street, Amherst, MA 01022 after 8/1/98);
• Bob Biagi, 142 Cherry Lane, Amherst, MA 01002 (413) 549-1412;

Comments to: crs@uvm.edu
Reviewed as of 4/20/98