What we don't know usually winds up hurting us. Because if we don't pay attention to why things happen then we never learn the lesson about the dangers of ignorance. 

We have trouble learning any lesson that requires us to (1) step outside our self-focused frame of reference (2) dwell on failures and unpleasant feelings and (3) reflect on things over time. 

A journaling practice like the daily morning pages increases the opportunity to notice these things and build awareness about them. 

Meditation can as well, but meditation is usually focused on training our mind to be still and less reactive. 

Noticing the right things, and then continuing to observe and reflect on them over time, is exceptionally helpful. 

But you won't notice this benefit unless you do the observation practice long enough. 

When you first start journaling (i.e.morning pages) you don' t notice the power very much. It might feels trivial, like many routines do. And this new routine takes time that you're not used to spending. 

It's easy to skip journaling days or to stop altogether. Because, at first, there’s not enough sizzle. 

Sure you'll have some astonishing insights at first. But you can't count on that happening all the time. Plus some on these insights are about things that feel unpleasant (see #2 above).

So starting and continuing a journaling practice is fragile. The odds of survival are low for most people.

And yet, if we're able to persist in the practice and develop the routine into a habit, the benefits over time will be extraordinary. 

It's funny how most of our self-focus is usually unhelpful (or disastrous). But there are a few kinds of self-focus that help us in extraordinary ways  (meditation, journaling). 

Those are the ones we resist, avoid and abandon (usually pretty quickly after we start). Why is that?

Perhaps that’s worth reflecting on.