The Journaling System that changed my life
Summary
TLDRThe video script introduces the 'vomit system' of journaling, a transformative practice that the speaker has been using for 15 years. It covers five key reasons to journal, represented by the acronym 'Vomit': Vent (to release emotions), Obligations (to organize tasks), Mindfulness (to improve mental clarity), Ideation (to foster creativity), and Trajectory (to track personal growth). The speaker shares personal anecdotes and practical techniques to make journaling a life-changing habit, emphasizing the importance of starting with a blank page and letting thoughts flow freely.
Takeaways
- 📓 Journaling has been a consistent practice across different stages of the speaker's life, from being a teenager to becoming a suburban dad.
- 🌟 Despite the hype around journaling, there is a lack of clear instruction on how to effectively use it for life-changing benefits.
- 🤮 The 'vomit system' is introduced as a metaphor for journaling, suggesting that it should be a release of thoughts and emotions without overthinking.
- 🔑 The speaker identifies five main reasons to journal, each represented by a letter in the word 'Vomit': Vent, Obligations, Mindfulness, Ideation, and Trajectory.
- 💥 Venting is the first reason for journaling, which helps to overcome the hurdle of starting and serves as a mind dump to clear mental clutter.
- 📝 Obligations are journaled to ensure they are not just intrusive thoughts but are organized and prioritized into actionable tasks.
- 🧠 The mindset aspect of journaling involves techniques such as reframing, because statements, inversion, perspective, discipline, and gratitude to train the brain for a better outlook.
- 💡 Ideation is practiced through journaling to generate ideas, using prompts and exercises that challenge the brain to think creatively and expansively.
- 🛣 Trajectory involves using journaling to assess and adjust life direction and daily activities to ensure they align with long-term goals.
- 🔄 The speaker emphasizes the importance of making hidden metrics visible through journaling to understand the impact on one's well-being and happiness.
- 🌱 The 'vomit system' is presented as a comprehensive approach to journaling that encompasses emotional release, organization, mindset training, idea generation, and self-reflection.
Q & A
What is the main theme of the video?
-The main theme of the video is the concept of journaling as a transformative practice, with a focus on the 'vomit system' as a method to utilize journaling effectively.
What does the speaker refer to as 'vomit system' in the context of journaling?
-The 'vomit system' is a metaphor for the act of journaling, where one 'vomits' their thoughts and feelings onto the page, similar to the act of vomiting to relieve oneself of discomfort.
How does the speaker describe the initial experience of journaling?
-The speaker describes the initial experience of journaling as facing a blank page and not knowing where to start, which can be overwhelming and confusing.
What are the five main reasons the speaker uses journaling for, as represented by the acronym 'Vomit'?
-The five main reasons are to Vent, Obligations, Mindfulness, Ideation, and Trajectory, each represented by a letter in the word 'Vomit'.
What is the 'vent' aspect of journaling according to the speaker?
-The 'vent' aspect involves writing about what makes the individual angry or upset, which helps to start the journaling process and clear the mind.
How does the speaker suggest using journaling for managing obligations?
-The speaker suggests using journaling to dump all obligations onto the page, organize them into categories, prioritize them with a guiding question, and then form them into a to-do list.
What is the purpose of the 'mindset' aspect of journaling as discussed in the video?
-The 'mindset' aspect of journaling is used to train the brain to think in more positive and constructive ways, using various techniques such as reframing, because statements, and inversion.
Can you explain the 'ideate' component of the 'vomit system'?
-The 'ideate' component involves using journaling to generate ideas, such as challenging oneself to come up with multiple solutions to a problem or considering how others might approach the same issue.
What does the speaker mean by 'trajectory' in the context of journaling?
-In the context of journaling, 'trajectory' refers to understanding and adjusting one's life direction and day-to-day actions to ensure they are moving towards their goals.
What are some of the journaling techniques mentioned in the video for improving mindset?
-Some of the techniques mentioned include reframing negative situations to find positives, using because statements to gather evidence of desired traits, inversion to consider the opposite of a solution, and perspective-taking to view problems from outside oneself.
How does the speaker suggest using journaling to track and improve daily life?
-The speaker suggests asking oneself three questions at the end of each day: what excited them, what drained their energy, and what they learned. This practice helps to make hidden metrics like happiness and fulfillment more visible and actionable.
Outlines
📓 Introduction to the Vomit System of Journaling
The speaker introduces the concept of journaling as a transformative practice that has been hyped without clear instructions. They liken journaling to vomiting, a release of thoughts and emotions that can be therapeutic and clarifying. The speaker has been journaling for 15 years and aims to share effective techniques through the 'vomit system,' which is based on five main reasons for journaling, each beginning with a letter that aligns with 'Vomit.' The first reason discussed is to vent, using anger as a starting point to overcome the initial hurdle of writing.
📝 Journaling for Venting and Obligations
The speaker expands on the first reason for journaling, venting, explaining its benefits for mental clarity and flow. They liken the mind before journaling to a chaotic room and after as an organized space. The second reason, obligations, involves using journaling to externalize and organize responsibilities. The process includes an 'obligation dump,' organizing into categories, prioritizing with a guiding question inspired by Tim Ferriss, and translating these into a manageable to-do list that includes a 'bare minimum' and 'killing it' section to accommodate varying levels of energy and motivation.
🧠 Using Journaling to Train Your Mindset
The speaker discusses the use of journaling for mindset training, comparing the mindset to a computer's operating system that can be trained. They introduce six journaling techniques to improve mindset: reframing negative situations to find positives, using 'because statements' to gather evidence for desired identities, inversion to explore solutions and their opposites, perspective-taking to gain advice from an outsider's point of view, practicing discipline through the act of journaling, and cultivating gratitude by identifying three things to be grateful for each day.
🤔 Ideation and Trajectory Through Journaling
The speaker moves on to discuss using journaling for idea generation, a skill they believe can be developed rather than being innate. Techniques include timed ideation challenges, considering how others would solve a problem, and 'open loop' questions that prompt the brain to seek resolution. The final aspect of the 'vomit system' is tracking one's trajectory, both in terms of long-term direction and day-to-day actions. The speaker suggests evaluating whether daily activities are moving one towards or away from their goals and adjusting behavior accordingly, as well as identifying 'hidden metrics' like happiness and fulfillment that are often overlooked but crucial for a well-rounded life.
🔚 Conclusion of the Vomit System and Call for Journaling Prompts
The speaker concludes the presentation of the 'vomit system' and invites viewers to share their journaling prompts in the comments, expressing a passion for collecting and exploring different journaling techniques. They express gratitude to the viewers for watching and wish them well, encapsulating the overall theme of the video as an informative and engaging exploration of journaling for personal growth and reflection.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Journaling
💡Vomit System
💡Vent
💡Mind Dump
💡Actionables
💡Mindset
💡Reframing
💡Because Statements
💡Inversion
💡Perspective
💡Discipline
💡Gratitude
💡Ideate
💡Trajectory
Highlights
Journaling is a life-changing habit practiced by the speaker at different stages of life.
There is a lack of clear instruction on how to effectively journal despite its popularity.
The speaker introduces the 'vomit system' as a personal journaling method.
Venting is the first reason for journaling, using anger as a starting point for writing.
The mind dump effect helps in organizing thoughts and reducing mental chaos.
Obligations are journaled to externalize responsibilities and avoid intrusive thoughts.
Actionables in journaling include dumping, organizing, prioritizing, and forming a to-do list.
Using guiding questions like Tim Ferriss's to prioritize tasks effectively.
The concept of 'bare minimum' and 'killing it' for managing to-do lists and reducing guilt.
Journaling for mindset involves training the brain like an operating system.
Reframing negative experiences as opportunities for growth.
Because statements as a technique to gather evidence for self-identity affirmations.
Inversion technique to identify the opposite of the desired solution.
Perspective technique to gain advice from an outsider's point of view.
Discipline can be developed and evidenced through consistent journaling.
Gratitude journaling to recognize and appreciate daily occurrences.
Ideation through journaling, challenging oneself to generate multiple ideas quickly.
Using the 'open the loop' technique to provoke thought and problem-solving.
Trajectory journaling to assess progress towards long-term goals.
Hidden metrics like happiness and fulfillment are made visible through journaling.
Three end-of-day questions to reflect on excitement, energy drain, and learnings.
Transcripts
let's talk about journaling and vomit
this is a picture of me at 18 here's me
at 25 and here's me now now these three
guys they don't have a ton in common but
there is one thing this druggy little
teenager this quarter lifee crisis dude
who's losing his hair and this sober
happy Suburban Dad they all Journal
journaling is one of those things that
massively changed my life but there is a
problem with it there is a lot of hype
but there isn't that much instruction
the general message is journal and it
will change your life and so you sit
down at a blank page and uh now what
should I start with dear diary do I talk
about my day do I talk about my
childhood am I allowed to use this for a
shopping list what are the rules if
you've ever wondered why journaling
isn't doing that life-changing thing
that it's meant to or even if you love
journaling and you're looking to love it
more then I made this video for you but
first I should probably explain the
title The vomit
system to me journaling is vomiting so
you know when you're really really sick
maybe you got windy roads maybe you got
plasted last night I don't know for
whatever reason you're just not feeling
good and then you vomit and you kind of
do feel good in the moment vomiting is
pretty gross but just after you're like
oh I feel better I think that was what I
needed now I've journaled for 15 years
which means I've tried hundreds of
techniques some are great others not
great but the good stuff stays with you
and in this video I want to take you
through that good stuff my all-time
favorite journaling techniques and the
system that I think about them in the
vomit system all right let's do
it so what is this that's probably the
question that you got right now what
this is is the five main reasons that I
journal the five things that I use
journaling for one reason starts with v
another reason starts with o then M Then
I then T and the entire topic starts
with j so if you're playing along with
the alphabet superet this video is J now
let's talk about vomit I feel like I'm
going to keep saying that first
reason a journal to vent I've also made
this the first reason because this is
how I started journaling and it's how I
start a lot of journaling sessions I'll
show you what I mean vent write what
makes you angry this is a quote from the
writer po Bronson who said whenever he
has writers block he just thinks of
something that you know makes him mad
and it's not that he's trying to write a
rant it's just that rants come pretty
easy you know it just rolls right out of
here I start with whatever makes me
angry and that usually gets me over that
hurdle of starting now as much as
venting is a tool to get us into the
flow it does have some practical
benefits one of the big ones is the Mind
dump effect so
come on red so before journaling I kind
of see my mind like that
[Music]
afterwards it's like that it's this
indexing effect things are chaotic up
here things are not chaotic up here
there's this quote that I like I don't
know what I think until I write it
apparently Jan didan and like 30 other
people said that it's one of those ones
where there's like a think piece on
where did this qu originate but
regardless of its origin I really like
its meaning cuz basically what we're
trying to do is get all of this mess and
put it on paper and paper it's finite
it's trivial it's clean we can sort of
see what's going on the thing that I
liking it to is looking for your keys if
you were looking for your keys in a dark
room probably wouldn't find them soon as
you turn on the light you're like boom
got them this is when the lights are off
I have no idea what's going on up here
this is when the lights are on and I'm
like oh there's that nasty thought
there's that cognitive distortion maybe
I'm not a train
wreck and that is vent the first thing
that I like to journal for now now we
have
oh obligations yeah specifically to make
sure our obligations aren't just Rogue
intrusive thoughts that just bug us
throughout the day and also to get them
done this step is similar to venting in
the sense that we are mind dumping but
the big difference is we are not just
mind dumping our thoughts but our
responsibilities our to-do list we're
just trying to I'm going to say it again
vomit it onto the page the idea here is
that we don't want to use our brain to
store problems that was smooth we want
to use it to to solve problems and in
order to free out that space we want to
put all of our problems onto the journal
also if you want to explore just how far
you can take this indexing idea just
taking your thoughts and putting them
somewhere else check out Thiago Forte's
concept of the second brain super
fascinating stuff all right let's get
into actionables when I am using
journaling for obligations what I do is
these four things so firstly I'll start
with an obligation dump this is where
it's like anything that could remotely
be considered an obl
everything from I need to write this
chapter I need to get this film
developed I need to clean the kitchen I
need to write back to this email I need
to update my license I want to buy a
boat everything everything from the
Monday into the grandio just get it all
on the page next I organize it I draw
some buckets here that's fun in terms of
actual buckets I usually just split this
up into like broad categories you know
like family Finance Health work now we
get to step three
prioritize I've drawn a boat here you
probably know the story it's this UK
rowing team that won Gold one year and
when the coach was asked what the secret
formula was he said I just gave them all
one guiding question doesn't make the
boat go faster do you want to eat
broccoli or a cake what a crossroads
right what a normal decision but for
example sake I'll roll with it broccoli
or cake which one are you going to eat
for breakfast buddy instead of having to
mul over all of the pros and cons the
team would just encouraged to ask one
question will it make the boat go faster
therefore pick the broccoli sorry Kake
so in terms of journaling and organizing
all of these obligations and the to-do
list I usually run up past a guiding
question there's a decent Tim Ferris
question that I like for this it's which
thing on this list if done would make
everything else easier and that usually
raises the correct obligations to the
top and then finally I put it into a
to-do list form that's what I got right
here so bare minimum and killing it this
is how I truncate my to-do lists I write
out the bare minimum that I need to do
that day what is the least amount of
things that I need to do in order to
make tomorrow suck a little less and
then if I'm really in the mood what
could I get done I've used this split
system for years and what I really like
lack is it minimizes the guilt that you
might place on yourself if you don't get
enough stuff done it creates momentum
cuz the bars set low so you do achieve
stuff and it accounts for the normal es
and flows of Life some days are really
really hard and on those days it is
really nice to know what the bare
minimum that you have to do
is and that brings
us to M the next thing that I like to
use journaling for what could this
be I use journaling for my mindset huh
do you like this guy this is meant to be
a brain and it's training to get a
better mindset I promise this is going
somewhere so I like to understand
mindset in two ways the first way is
with a tech metaphor your mindset is
like the operating system that your
computer runs and the second is
something that you can train hence the
SW brain but training your mindset is
one of those phrases that just doesn't
sound like it's going to lead anywhere
you know super vague man it's like what
do you do with that what's the action
that you take and this is where journal
comes in here I've got six journaling
techniques that I will use from time to
time to improve my mindset and from 15
years of journaling I'd say that these
are probably my favorites all right so
the first one reframing I've talked
about this so much but my favorite
journaling question is how is this the
best thing that has ever happened to me
and I've asked that about some deeply
deeply painful things and it feels so
inappropriate but the thing about your
brain is it just starts looking for
answers when you ask that question it's
like could be this could be this could
be this it's wrong every time but starts
breaking your thinking and it helps
train your mindset to just naturally
refrain stuff next one possibility if
you are struggling with like limiting
beliefs or just doubting yourself might
be worth checking out because statements
what's a because statement Mr Boldman I
will tell you don't worry I got this a
because statement is a way that we
gather evidence that we are whatever the
thing that we say we want to be is cuz
it's not like you can yell affirmations
at yourself and just have your identity
change if for example you're trying to
be healthier you can't just yell on a
Mir I am healthy I am healthy I am
healthy I mean you probably could do
that maybe you'd get a sweat but
ultimately it's probably not going to be
that effective instead we want to build
a tangible Bank of evidence that we're
healthy so you write the identity
statement the one that you might want to
yell in the mirror I am healthy then you
write because and then at the end of the
day you find a few reasons that actually
validate this from your
day now this works on three levels
firstly it's positive cuz you do start
to actually piece together the evidence
and that's the thing that will cause
change and actually creates new
possibilities secondly I found that this
will make me create evidence you know if
I'm like I am sober because if I want to
finish that sentence I got to stay sober
and then thirdly it can actually be a
half decent reality check so if I'm like
I am 6'4 because I'm not 6'4 I I it's
just not going to happen the next
journaling technique that I use to train
my mindset is inversion for me what this
is about is practicing a reaction that I
want to have to problems in my everyday
life and that reaction is to look at the
solution but also look at what the
opposite of the solution is but why why
do I want that reaction well the reason
that I want this is because I find that
it makes the solution to things really
really obvious to the point where not
doing them looks quite dumb an example
would be let's say I want to draw more
it's a bit of an open-ended problem to
solve but with the inversion you sort of
get a better Direction so while asking
how can I draw more we're also asking
how can I draw less to draw less I could
leave my books where I can't see them I
could put my pencils in the cupboards so
there's more friction and I can spend
any window of time that I have on my
phone
immediately I realize what I'm doing
wrong which I find gets me to the answer
of what to do right a lot faster in a
journaling prompt context this is just
about taking whatever question it is
that you're asking and asking the
opposite next technique for mindset
training is perspective M this is fun so
you know that whole phenomenon that
other people's problems are easier to
solve than your own like you know when
your friend has this conundrum and
they're like what do I do what do I do
and everyone's like obviously you do
this you just do this man but they still
deliberate and it's not as clear as it
is to everybody else and it makes sense
obviously you know they're the ones who
actually have to live it they're the
ones with all the Nuance whereas the
people giving the advice have the luxury
of not getting caught in the details and
perspective and that is what we can
practice giving ourselves perspective so
the journaling prompt here is if you
were a friend who was giving you advice
on this situation right now and you
really really wanted you to succeed what
advice would you give we are practicing
looking outside ourselves in order to
help
ourselves next up we have discipline
this is a bit of a meta tool cuz it's
it's not about a journaling prompt but
just the entire action of journaling so
just like with because statements
discipline is something that is
evidence-based you know you have to
build that up in order to believe
yourself that you actually are
disciplined it's one of those things
that you got to practice when things
aren't easy as well but man this really
really helped me out a lot I made a full
video on this experiment that I did
where in every time I went to look at
social media I switched the placement of
the apps so then my muscle memory just
naturally opened the notes app and then
I was like well I'm here guess I got a
journal and it was really cool cuz
switching from something that pacifies
your brain to something that gets you to
actively reflect on what your brain's
doing it just fastracks this entire
process and yeah massively gladed up to
discipline all right final mindset thing
that we can use journaling to practice
the one that everybody knows gratitude
easy prompt what are three things that
you're grateful for today if you want to
spice it up you can add a bonus prompt
make the first thing you're grateful for
something mundane make the second thing
something that happened by chance and
for your third thing L something that
you made happen write them down and
what's your brain get
SW all right vomi that's where up to the
next thing that I use journaling for I
use journaling to
ideate the skill of having ideas is one
of those things where I don't know
there's so much messaging about it being
innate and if you don't have it you
can't do it it's just not true you can
absolutely work on having ideas you can
build that muscle up strong man and
journaling I think is a really great
environment to do this so let's say
youve got a problem that you're trying
to solve maybe it's a big problem like
where do I want to live live or a
creative problem like what should I draw
today or even a problem of what do I
want to do on the weekend whatever it is
and there's always something what I like
to do is put on a timer for 5 minutes
and then challenge myself to come up
with 30 answers before the timer goes
off you know that phrase if you want a
kitten ask for a horse this is like the
cognitive version of that if I want one
solution I've got to come up with 30 and
usually I find it's like the 14th idea
that I go with but yeah one thing that I
find really important is just don't edit
the list until it's over it's a quantity
game
the second technique that I like to use
to ideate is how would blank solve the
problem that could be anybody I learned
this when I worked in advertising my
first year I was working for this
amazing creative director and every time
we get a brief he'd say things like what
would Nike do how would Red Bull solve
this problem and every single time it
would just break out thinking in the
best way possible you can substitute
this with anything sort of the basis of
what would Jesus do I
guess and then the third technique for
ideating that I like using is open the
loop we like closing the loop well our
brains do I guess our brains love to
close the question Loop if a question is
posed our brains want to answer them how
many regular sized Ducks could you fit
in a k Carnival I've just opened a loop
it's a question out of nowhere but it
still opens a loop in your brain your
brain's just naturally going to the size
of a dark and then the volume of a
minivan and it is just Keen to get to
the answer it wants the resolve and we
can use this so much in our journaling
if there's a question that's on your
mind ask the question just write it down
and your brain will naturally try to
close the loop this technique I find
really good when I'm really struggling
with a problem and the way that I do it
is I'll write down the question just
before I go to bed then I go to sleep
and then hopefully wake up and I try to
answer it and for me at least it works
more often than it doesn't close the
loop speaking of closing the
loop it's time for our final letter in
the vomit system
T trajectory yeah I use journaling to
get a good sense of my trajectory and
also to tweak it as I go all right last
letter let's have a little look so I
split trajectory up into d Direction and
day to-day what I've got here is two
different journaling techniques one's
for the macro one's for the micro
Direction this is a pretty well-known
prompt but here's how it goes so to make
sure that we are on the right direction
we have our goal up here let's say it's
a financial one I want to save 1,000
bucks then you look at the day that
you've just had or the week that you've
just had whatever the time period is and
you ask whether you're moving away from
that goal or towards that goal to answer
this you compile evidence so evidence
for away could be like oh I got Uber
Eats that wasn't wise evidence for
towards could be but I canceled like
eight subscription that I've forgotten
about or I resisted the urge to impulse
buy whatever it is then you just adjust
accordingly so if you're moving away you
sort of tweak that behavior if you're
moving towards just keep it up order
uats delete the uat tab you can put your
save money into savings you can write
down what you learned so it helps you in
the future if you're doing good double
down and then our final journaling
technique for today is about getting the
daytoday hidden metrics a hidden metric
all right so we got visible metrics
things like money then we got hidden
metrics things like happiness
fulfillment peace of mind and the
problem when these are hidden is they
can get ignored and this can lead to all
sorts of misery pretty quick like people
choosing to work a little longer instead
of spending time with their kids is the
dollar we can count but the quality of
the relationship we can't but just
because the metric is hidden doesn't
mean that it is any less important but
what helps with these hidden metrics is
making them visible and this is where
journaling comes back in and actually
starts creating change these three
questions it's one of my favorite
journaling prompts but basically at the
end of every day you ask yourself these
three question questions what excited me
today what drained me of energy and what
did I learn if you do this for 30 days
you'll get seriously good daa on
yourself honestly you'll see the
patterns by like 5 days and you'll be
like all right I get the idea I got to
do some
[Music]
stuff and this concludes the vomit
system yeah thank you very much for
watching I hope you enjoyed that also if
anybody has any cool journaling prompts
Chuck them in the comments because I
really like collecting them I just I
think they're fun but yeah hope you
enjoyed the video hope you have a
beautiful day and uh vomit catch you
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