Research Behind the Summit Journal (Warning: Long Post Ahead)

The written word is powerful. It does something to you. The complex thoughts and ideas wrapped up in our minds can be unraveled with pen on paper. You may be thinking to yourself, “no one writes stuff down anymore. It’s all on a computer. He probably typed this whole thing out on a computer.” You would be absolutely correct. Computers are powerful tools for preserving and organizing thoughts. But perhaps in this age of technology we have cast aside a valuable and deeply personal tool that is engrained in human history. Perhaps we are underestimating the impact that actually writing down our goals and tracking our progress can have on our success. Perhaps we are underestimating the significance of preserving this progress “offline” in a space that is dedicated to just one purpose – accomplishing your goals in the right way.

In this post, I want to break down some of the research that motivated me to create the Summit  Goal and Gratitude Journal. I will focus on three points:

1. The significance of planning out large goals
2. The power of the written word, and
3. The incredible influence of expressing gratitude.

1. The Significance of Planning out Large Goals

Life is full of too many options. There are an endless amount of avenues you can pursue – and not enough time to discover what each of them are. “Inc.” published an article online explaining a study which found that 92% of people fail to accomplish their new year’s goals. In other words, the goals we set just to accomplish in the next year fail – how many more people fail to accomplish or even find their life’s passions?

An essay titled Tyranny of the Urgent  published in the ‘60’s by a man named Charles E. Hummel explains why we aren’t good at focusing on our big picture goals., Hummel explains how “we live in constant tension between the urgent and the important.” Our days are consistently bombarded by seemingly urgent requests. If it was true in the 1967, how much more truth it must carry today, when cell phones, the internet, memes (which deserve their own category), and a full email inbox are unavoidable. Inspired by Hummel’s observations, Stephen Covey published this visual in his 1989 best seller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People to describe the issues with time management (this version available for use publicly is slightly adapted):

 Quadrant I (things we must do now to keep our jobs or livelihood) and Quadrant III (things that pop up that demand our attention) take up most of our day, and when we’ve done enough of both of them we think we deserve a break! So Quadrant IV (entertainment, busywork, timewasters) usually fills the rest of our day until we feel satisfied or tired enough to be able to sleep at night.

Unfortunately, if we stepped back and took a bird’s eye view of our day, we gained nothing. We merely “maintained the status quo.” I, for one, am far more selfish with my time than to give it all up to maintain someone else’s expectations and handle their urgent requests. When will we take the time for Quadrant II, the time to plan and build on our own personal passions and goals?

How to Actually Do Things That Matter

Seems easy enough, right? These things matter to us – why should they be difficult to accomplish? In Deep Work, written by professor and author Cal Newport in 2016, Newport describes “The Principle of Least Resistance.” He describes how, without guidelines and an understanding of the impact of your decisions, we will always resort to the easiest possible path. It’s human nature. Our brains are wired to avoid stress and effort; it’s why we like entertainment so much, why we can’t stop looking at our phones, and why we jump to conclusions (but we can get into that later).

Knowing this about ourselves, we realize that we have to be absolutely intentional and regulated in how we approach the goals that (at least at first) only matter to ourselves. We have to push ourselves to view the “harder path” as more important, and structure it into our routines. Business reporter Charles Duhigg quotes a Cornell professor in his 2012 book The Power of Habit: “Once a small win has been accomplished, forces are set in motion that favor another small win.” The action of accomplishing small steps on a regular basis is what fuels success of large, long-term goals. You don’t look at a mountain and just appear at the top. You take your first step, and then another. And then another.

2. The Power of the Written Word

The written word contributes to this idea of “doing things that matter” in two ways. The written word is physical, and it is also personal.

Get Out of My Head

If you’ve ever had those thoughts that just continue to endlessly spin in your brain: I have a simple, psychological solution for you. Write it down. As psychologist Darek Dawda explains in a thesis on cognitive development, “writing codifies speaking, thus turning words into objects of conscious reflection.” The act of writing allows us to take something which previously only existed in our minds and put it out into the real world. From there, we can more thoroughly reflect – instead of trying to navigate our thoughts we can look at it as a physical creation outside of ourselves. For the first time, our dreams have become real: something you can see and touch and build upon.

Speaking of building upon your ideas, writing things down is the first step towards organizing your thoughts into something useful. In The Power of Habit, mentioned above, Duhigg notes that there are some habits that just “make other good habits easier.” Charting and listing are good examples of a habit that becomes a pattern and sparks other reactions. I’ve found the most success with writing my thought or idea in the center of a large sheet of paper, and then asking questions and filling gaps to work out a plan of action that make that idea possible or support it as a good idea. If I can’t support it as an idea that changes the world in some way or provides some benefit, or if I can’t back into a way to make it happen, then it gets stowed away. Maybe I’ll think of a good way to bring it into reality later – but if it wasn’t written down, I wouldn’t have laid out that initial framework that establishes that idea in my head, and any further thoughts on the idea wouldn’t be able to find firm footing in my mind. Writing down the steps and building an intentional framework support further development of those ideas in the future, and promote organization and clarity by reinforcing these principles with physical behavior.

Don’t Ask Someone Out Through Text

When I was in 7^th or 8^th grade I Facebook-messaged a girl who was far more mature than myself to ask if she wanted to go to a movie. It backfired quickly. I thought I would get results with a half-hearted effort that required little to no courage and a low level of respect. She waited until I saw her the next day and asked me why I would think such a non-personal means of communication would work in my favor. I didn’t have an answer. Although my maturity didn’t transform overnight, I learned a valuable lesson that day. If I really care about the outcome, it’s probably better to be more personal and make an attempt to stand out from the crowd of the mundane.

There’s a lot to be said about the written word and its ability to connect. From a business and leadership perspective, take the example of former GE CEO, author, and management institute founder Jack Welch. Jack made a habit of handing out written notes to those under his supervision – to commend them on jobs well done, provide feedback, and build a personal relationship. Written letters enabled him to establish the value that “personal connection is what matters.” It made a lasting impression on those who were on the receiving end of his letters, and built up the mutual investment between both sender and receiver. Investing in someone like that makes people more likely to invest back into you. It establishes trust and makes your intentions clear.

3. The Incredible Influence of Expressing Gratitude

The act of expressing gratitude – particularly in writing – creates an impact not just within ourselves, but also with the people we are grateful towards. Gratitude is an expression, it is relational – it works best when it is given and received and not just thought about interpersonally through meditation or journaling.

Positive Psychology Says: Share It

Positive psychology sounds like a hoax. It sounds like something your eccentric aunt learned about on daytime television in between episodes of Joel Osteen and Bob Ross and can’t stop talking about at thanksgiving. But it’s a fairly simple idea. While most of psychology attempts to understand where our minds go wrong – positive psychology focuses on the outliers on the opposite end of the spectrum. It attempts to answer the questions behind “what is this guy doing right, and how can we imitate it?”

Dr. Martin E. P. Seligman, often referred to as the founder of positive psychology, completed a study where participants were tasked with writing and delivering a letter of gratitude to someone in their past who hadn’t gotten the recognition they deserved. Participants “happiness scores” increased dramatically. There is something in us that wants to promote good – and when we are able to do it in a physical, tangible way, like a written thank you card would provide, the benefits are lasting.

Make Connections

As mentioned earlier, expressing written gratitude has also been found to increase the potential for a lasting connection. Psychology Today explained a study which determined that “thanking a new acquaintance makes them more likely to seek an ongoing relationship.” Not only does gratitude open the door to more relationships, but it increases the odds that the relationship will be found to be valuable for both people involved. Compare this to salesmanship. A good salesman knows that the ability to convert leads into lasting sales relationships is make or break for their career. You can go to as many networking events as you want and meet hundreds of new people, but if you can’t express that your vision and values align with theirs, no connection will be made. Gratitude can be a powerful means of sharing those values.

On a related note, people like to feel useful. Adam Grant, an organizational psychology professor at the Wharton School, published remarkable research in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 2010 on how expressions of gratitude motivate prosocial behavior. Prosocial behavior is the idea of social behavior that benefits the society – giving back to your community is an example. What he found is that people who help are more likely to help again if they have been shown gratitude for helping in the first place. Hearing gratitude for your actions promotes our internal feeling of self-efficacy – the belief that we can accomplish our goals. In other words, if someone has helped you, take a minute to write them a thank you note. This expression of gratitude could have a great influence on their desire and ability to help you again in the future.

Learn more about the Summit: Goal and Gratitude Journal here.