Kevin Maguire, author of the blog The New Fatherhood, writes that the one piece of advice he gives to new parents is to: “Buy a small notebook, keep it handy, and write down things you notice.” Maguire goes on to say that the writing doesn’t need to have any deadlines or set pattern, rather to “simply start recording the things that itch your brain. They may be significant milestones, but they’ll just as easily be minor, almost imperceptible, events that you alone observed.”
Maguire titled this entry in his blog “noticing” and it’s a strategy that I recommend to many of my coaching clients. You can’t change your behavior until you notice what is triggering your actions. You can’t feel good about the changes until you notice that small modifications are taking place. You can’t replicate what brings you joy until you notice the small things that make your heart smile. And you can’t quell the demons until you notice when they sneak into your thoughts. We have good intentions to become more conscious about our actions, but without intentionally writing them down even the observations we do notice are lost before they can constitute a meaningful pattern.
Put pen to paper and record what you notice about a segment of your life: watching your kids grow up, using your voice for change, acquiring a new skill, conducting outreach efforts for your organization, sustaining a loving partnership, or any other aspect that warrants your attention. Just the act of noticing will make your experience much richer.
