Change Your Life by Journalling in 2024

Summary

This video delves into the transformative power of journaling, a habit that has significantly impacted the speaker's life since 2015. The speaker outlines the benefits of journaling, such as reflecting on memories, controlling one's thoughts, and shaping one's life through intentional actions and decisions. Three levels of journaling are discussed, from basic daily logs to expressive writing and future-oriented prompts. The video also introduces tools like Rise for time tracking and offers various journaling exercises and prompts to drive positive change, emphasizing the profound effect that consistent journaling can have on personal growth and happiness.

Takeaways

• 📓 Journaling is a powerful habit that can significantly impact one's life, as the speaker has experienced since 2015.
• ✍️ Writing down thoughts and feelings can help cut through mental noise and reduce the power of limiting beliefs, especially for those dealing with stress, anxiety, or self-doubt.
• 🔍 Journaling provides a way to look back on life's progression and memories, offering a unique perspective on personal growth over time.
• 💭 The act of journaling can lead to a clearer understanding of one's thoughts and feelings, which in turn can influence decisions and actions that shape life outcomes.
• 📈 The video introduces three levels of journaling: basic reflection on daily activities, writing about feelings to understand emotions better, and using prompts to plan future actions and decisions.
• 📚 The speaker recommends 'Homework for Life' from 'Storyworthy' by Matthew Dix, emphasizing the importance of recognizing story-worthy moments in everyday life.
• 🌅 'Morning Pages' from 'The Artist's Way' by Julia Cameron is suggested as a method to clear the mind and potentially spark creative ideas.
• 💖 Gratitude journaling, as studied in the Journal of Happiness Studies, can increase happiness and strengthen relationships by focusing on positive aspects of life.
• 🚀 Level three journaling involves setting goals and planning actions, with prompts like 'The Odyssey Plan' and 'Wheel of Life' to envision future scenarios and assess life satisfaction across different domains.
• 🤔 The 'Fear Setting' exercise by Tim Ferriss is highlighted as a tool to confront and overcome fears by understanding potential outcomes and benefits of taking action.
• 👴 The 'Solomon Conversation' strategy involves having a dialogue with one's future self to gain perspective and advice on current concerns and decisions.

Q & A

What is the main habit discussed in the video that has significantly impacted the speaker's life?

The main habit discussed in the video is journaling, which the speaker has been practicing consistently since 2015 and attributes many positive changes in their life to it.

What are the three main reasons the speaker finds journaling to be effective?

The three main reasons are: 1) Journaling serves as a record of memories and life progression, 2) It helps in taking control of one's thoughts and mind, especially beneficial for those prone to stress, worry, or anxiety, and 3) It can change the way one approaches life by influencing decisions and actions.

How does journaling help in managing stress, worry, anxiety, and fear according to the speaker?

Journaling helps by allowing individuals to write down their thoughts and feelings, which cuts through the mental noise and makes it easier to not believe limiting beliefs as much. It creates a detachment from thoughts and feelings, reducing their power to cause stress, worry, and anxiety.

What is the connection between journaling, decisions, and life outcomes as explained in the video?

The speaker explains that journaling helps in understanding one's thoughts and feelings, which in turn influence decisions. Decisions then dictate actions, and consistent actions lead to specific life outcomes.

Can you explain the 'Homework for Life' strategy mentioned in the video?

The 'Homework for Life' strategy is an exercise from the book 'Storyworthy' by Matthew Dix. It involves asking at the end of every day what the most story-worthy event was and writing it down in a maximum of two sentences. This practice increases appreciation for life and helps in recognizing small, beautiful moments.

What is the 'Morning Pages' technique from 'The Artist's Way' by Julia Cameron?

The 'Morning Pages' technique involves writing out three pages by hand every morning, ideally about whatever is on one's mind. This practice helps clear the mind and can lead to the generation of interesting ideas.

What are the benefits of expressive writing as per the 2015 study mentioned in the video?

The 2015 study found that expressive writing, where participants wrote about a past painful event, led to better mental health and less stress four months later compared to a control group that wrote about a neutral topic.

How does gratitude journaling, as discussed in the 2017 study, impact happiness and relationships?

Gratitude journaling, where participants wrote about things they were grateful for, led to higher happiness ratings and stronger relationships compared to a control group after a month.

What is the 'Odyssey Plan' journaling prompt and how does it work?

The 'Odyssey Plan' is a prompt where one writes about what life would look like five years from now if they continued on the same path, took a completely different path, and took a completely different path without worrying about money or others' opinions.

Can you describe the 'Wheel of Life' journaling prompt and its purpose?

The 'Wheel of Life' involves splitting life into different components and rating satisfaction with each domain on a scale of one to ten. This helps identify areas of life that may need attention or improvement and tracks changes over time.

What is the 'Solomon Conversation' journaling method proposed by Alex Hallmosi?

The 'Solomon Conversation' method involves having a conversation with one's future self, specifically an 85-year-old version, to gain advice and perspective on current decisions and worries. This practice aims to provide clarity and reduce the stress associated with making important decisions.

Outlines

00:00

📓 The Transformative Power of Journaling

The speaker introduces journaling as a life-changing habit they've maintained since 2015. They argue that journaling can lead to positive life outcomes when approached correctly. The video promises to explain why journaling is effective, how to do it, and to share various journaling prompts for personal growth. Three main reasons are given for journaling's benefits: memory preservation, mental control against stress and anxiety, and life approach transformation. The speaker also discusses how journaling can help manage thoughts and emotions, leading to better decisions and actions.

05:01

📈 Journaling Techniques and Their Impacts

This paragraph delves into specific journaling techniques such as 'Homework for Life' from Matthew Dix's book, which encourages identifying story-worthy moments, and 'Morning Pages' from Julia Cameron's 'The Artist's Way', promoting morning writing to declutter the mind. The speaker cites studies showing the mental health benefits of expressive writing and gratitude journaling, suggesting these methods can reduce stress and increase happiness. The paragraph also touches on the use of prompts to guide journaling about feelings and life appreciation.

10:01

🌟 Advanced Journaling for Personal Growth

The speaker presents advanced journaling strategies like the 'Odyssey Plan' for envisioning different future scenarios, the 'Wheel of Life' for assessing life satisfaction across various domains, and the '12-Month Celebration' for setting future goals. They also mention Tim Ferriss's 'Fear Setting' exercise, which helps confront and plan for feared outcomes. Another technique discussed is having a 'Solomon conversation' with one's future self for advice on present decisions. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of journaling for gaining perspective, making informed decisions, and taking actions that lead to a better life.

15:02

🚀 Encouraging Action and Reflection on Journaling

In the concluding paragraph, the speaker prompts viewers to reflect on their favorite journaling prompts or to adopt new ones from the video. They stress the importance of taking action and sharing experiences in the comments section. The speaker also references a 90-day journaling experiment video for additional inspiration. The goal is to motivate viewers to experience the benefits of journaling firsthand and to use it as a tool for personal development and enjoyment of life's journey.

Keywords

💡Journaling

Journaling is the practice of regularly writing down one's thoughts, feelings, and experiences. It is central to the video's theme as the speaker discusses its profound impact on personal growth and life transformation. The script highlights journaling's benefits, such as reflecting on life progression, managing stress and anxiety, and shaping one's future through intentional decision-making.

💡Mind Control

Mind control in this context refers to the ability to manage and influence one's thoughts and emotions. The video emphasizes how journaling can help take control of one's mind, especially for those who struggle with negative thought patterns like stress, anxiety, and self-doubt. It illustrates how writing down thoughts can reduce their power and provide a clearer perspective.

💡Progression

Progression is the concept of advancement or development over time. The video uses the term to describe how journaling allows individuals to track their life's journey and observe personal growth. The speaker reflects on looking back at journal entries from previous years to see the progression of their life.

💡Decisions

Decisions are choices made between alternatives that determine actions and outcomes. The script discusses how journaling can influence the decision-making process by clarifying thoughts and feelings, which in turn can lead to life-changing actions and results. It is depicted as an upstream factor that shapes one's life direction.

💡Expressive Writing

Expressive writing is a form of journaling where individuals write about their deepest thoughts and feelings, often related to traumatic or stressful experiences. The video cites a study showing that expressive writing can improve mental health and reduce stress, as it helps individuals process and understand their emotions better.

💡Gratitude Journaling

Gratitude journaling involves writing down things for which one is grateful. The script explains that this practice can increase happiness and strengthen relationships by training the focus on positive aspects of life. It is exemplified through a study that showed increased happiness ratings among participants who practiced gratitude journaling.

💡Morning Pages

Morning pages is a journaling technique where individuals write three pages first thing in the morning, stream of consciousness, to clear the mind. The video mentions this as a strategy from 'The Artist's Way' to reduce mental scatter and foster creativity, contributing to a more intentional and productive day.

💡Homework for Life

Homework for Life is an exercise from the book 'Storyworthy' by Matthew Dix. It involves reflecting at the end of each day on the most story-worthy event that occurred. The video uses this concept to illustrate how journaling can increase appreciation for life's small details and create compelling personal narratives.

💡Rise

Rise is a time-tracking app mentioned in the video that helps users understand how they spend their time across various activities. The speaker discusses using Rise to gain insights into productivity and intentional time use, integrating it with journaling for a comprehensive self-improvement routine.

💡Fear Setting

Fear setting is an exercise popularized by Tim Ferriss, which involves identifying worst-case scenarios, preventative measures, and potential benefits of attempting a feared action. The video describes it as a powerful journaling prompt that can help individuals overcome fears and make transformative decisions.

💡Solomon Conversation

The Solomon conversation, inspired by the biblical figure King Solomon, is a journaling method where one seeks advice from their future self. The video describes it as a strategy to gain perspective on current worries and decisions, helping to realize the long-term insignificance of immediate concerns.

Highlights

Journaling has been a life-changing habit since 2015, contributing to many positive outcomes.

Approaching journaling correctly can guarantee positive life changes.

Three main reasons for journaling's effectiveness: memory preservation, control over thoughts and emotions, and life approach transformation.

Journaling helps in managing stress, worry, anxiety, and fear by challenging limiting beliefs.

Journaling creates a detachment from thoughts and feelings, reducing their power over us.

Journaling is a tool to understand thoughts and feelings, which influence decisions and actions.

Rise app is a time-tracking tool that helps understand how time is spent and promotes intentional living.

Day One app is recommended for journaling, and the speaker is an investor due to belief in its value.

Level one of journaling involves writing down daily activities.

Story worthy technique from 'Story Worthy' book encourages identifying meaningful daily moments.

Morning Pages from 'The Artist's Way' is a method to start the day by writing three pages of thoughts.

Expressive writing has been shown to improve mental health and reduce stress.

Gratitude journaling can increase happiness and strengthen relationships.

John Gottman's 'I appreciate' exercise is a method for expressing gratitude towards others.

Level three of journaling focuses on planning actions and decisions for the future.

The Odyssey plan is a journaling exercise to envision different future scenarios.

The Wheel of Life is a tool to assess satisfaction in different life domains.

The 12-month celebration prompt helps set future goals and plan actions to achieve them.

Tim Ferriss's Fear Setting exercise is a method to confront and plan for fears.

The Solomon conversation is a journaling method to seek advice from one's future self.

Encouragement to take action and share experiences with journaling in the comments.

Transcripts

hey friends welcome back to the channel

so if there is one single habit that's

most changed my life that habit is

journaling I've been journaling pretty

consistently since like 2015 and I can

attribute so many of the good things

that have happened in my life as a

result of journaling consistently now

you might be thinking that you don't

have time for journaling what good is

writing about your thoughts and feelings

going to do anyway maybe you've tried it

a couple of times and it hasn't really

worked for you but something that I put

a lot of money on is that if you

approach journaling in the right way

then I can basically guarantee that it

can change your life for the better so

in this video I want to share the why

behind journaling why it's such a

powerful tool for changing your life

we're going to talk about how to

actually journal and the three levels of

journaling and along the way I'm going

to be sharing a bunch of different

powerful questions and journaling

prompts that I find incredibly useful

for driving positive change in my life

so broadly there are three main reasons

why journaling is incredibly effective

firstly it's a nice way to look back on

your memories if you're right about what

you've been up to and how you've been

feeling it's super nice I now look back

from journal entries for the last like

eight years and I can see what I was

doing on this date a year ago two years

ago four years ago five years ago and

it's really cool to see the progression

of my life but then we've got reason

number two which is even more powerful

which is that journaling helps you take

control of your own thoughts and your

own mind especially if you're prone to

stress or worry or anxiety or fear or

you're letting fear of judgment and fear

of failure and fear of self-doubt you're

letting these things hold you back from

doing the things that you really want to

do the reason for that is that your mind

has a thought like I don't know I am

unworthy I'm not good enough I'm unloved

I'm not good enough to do this thing and

because the mind is so powerful it can

immediately Marshall up evidence to

support that limiting belief now the

benefit of journaling is that by writing

this stuff down by writing down your

thoughts and feelings you cut through

the BS that the mind is very good at

generating and when you see these

thoughts written down on paper it's

easier to not believe them so much

because our minds can lie to us our mind

is ultimately a survival machine that's

just trying to you know keep us out of

danger and the more you write about your

thoughts and feelings the more of this

sort of Detachment you get from it you

stop identifying so much with your

thoughts and feelings and this really

helps for people who are struggling with

anxiety or fear or unworthiness or lack

of self-love which to some degree is

literally everyone on the planet but the

third and I think the most important

benefit of journaling is that journaling

can completely change the way that you

approach your life so how does this work

so let's imagine this kind of diagram

and it's pretty uncontroversial to say

that our results and the outcomes that

we get from Life are broadly correlated

with what actions we consistently do so

in a way actions lead to results if for

example you eat well and you exercise

regularly then the result is that you're

going to be fairly healthy and fit but

what is the thing that leads to the

actions well I would argue that that

thing is decisions initially before

taking an action you decide what

decision to take and then that decision

dictates the actions and then the

actions lead to the results for example

for me the decision to start this

YouTube channel six and a half years ago

dictated the action by making videos

consistently which has led to the

results of my life being completely

transformed whether you decide to take

this job or that job whether you decide

to marry this person or that person

whether you decide to move to this city

or that City completely changes the

direction of your life but there's one

thing that's Upstream of decisions and

that is thoughts and feelings now within

thoughts and feelings we've got beliefs

which are just thoughts and feelings

that we identify with very strongly and

then we also have the stories that we

tell ourselves about our life and about

our place in the world and then we also

have the day-to-day thoughts and

feelings that we all experience and all

of these things combine our beliefs our

stories and our and feelings to lead to

certain decisions for example for you to

make the decision that you're going to

start your own business you have to have

the thought that that would be a cool

thing to do you've got to have the

feeling of self-confidence you have to

have the thought of like what the

concept is what the business model is

going to be you have to have a bunch of

thoughts feelings and beliefs in order

to get to the decision and then that

decision to take your actions and then

those actions completely change your

life so why are we talking about all

this stuff and where does journaling fit

in well journaling is how we understand

our thoughts and feelings because

journaling is literally the process of

writing down our thoughts and feelings

so that we can interrogate them so that

we can ask questions of ourselves and so

that we can get clarity on what are the

stories and beliefs and thoughts and

feelings that we actually have now other

than journaling there's another really

cool tool that I use to help me figure

out what I've actually been doing with

my time and that is Rise who are very

kindly sponsoring this video now I've

been using rise every single day since

November of 2021 so it's been almost two

years since I started using rise and

it's a fantastic cross-platform apps

that tracks your time across any website

or any app that you're using and so

without having to think about it you can

see how productive and intentional your

being with spending your time like I can

show you how much time you spent on Zoom

calls how much time you spend on notion

writing stuff how much time you spend on

Google Docs how much time you spent on

YouTube and Netflix and Disney plus and

all this other stuff and it helps you

track how many hours you've worked

across the whole week it gives you

reminders if you've been working for

more than 50 minutes of when you need to

take a break and I really like it as a

way of helping me understand what I've

actually done with my time and sometimes

I'd even screenshot the rise window and

Chuck it into my journaling app of

choice which is day one and actually I

like the app so much that I reached out

to the founders and asked if I could

invest in it and so we as a company are

now Angel Investors in rice because we

believe in it so much and because it's

just great so if any of that stands up

your street and you would like a really

effective and low friction way to track

your time and figure out how you're

spending your time and whether you're

spending it intentionally then head over

to rise.io forward slash Ali abdall and

if you use that link or you use the code

alibdal then you can get 25 your first

three months so thank you so much rice

for sponsoring this video and let's get

back to journaling let's now talk about

how to journal in the three levels of

journaling so level one is the most

basic form of journaling and this is

where you just write down what are the

things you have done today now one of my

favorite ways of doing this is from this

book story worthy by Matthew Dix which I

read in 2020 and was the best book that

I read that year hands down Matthew Dix

is a world champion Storyteller he's won

competitions like World competitions for

the thing which are apparently a thing

and one of the exercises that he uses to

tell better stories is called homework

for life and the idea behind this is

that at the end of every day you ask

yourself what was the most story worthy

thing that happened to me today and you

just write this down as a maximum of two

sentences and you're kind of imagining

if I had to tell a five-minute story

about something that happened today what

would that be now Matthew writes not

every day contains a story worthy moment

for me but I found that the longer I did

my homework the more days it did contain

one and my friend Plato has said that I

can turn the act of picking up a pebble

from the ground into a great story

neither of these statements is true the

truth is this I simply see more story

worthy moments in the day than most

people they don't go unnoticed as they

once did I discovered that there is

Beauty and Import in my life that I

never would have imagined before doing

my homework and that these small

unexpected moments of beauty are

oftentimes some of my most compelling

stories and what I love about the

homework for Life strategy which

admittedly I've been fairly on and off

doing since 2020 since reading the book

but in the months where I've actually

been sticking to this consistently I

have found that it's actually increased

my appreciation for life because now I

remember the small details if I think

back to what I did last week I have to

look at my calendar I'm like I'm not

anybody last week I have no idea what it

I did last month but when I look back

through my journal I can see ah that was

the day that this happened that was the

day that happened that's fine that was a

cool thing that happened here and there

and there and there and you could take

this a step further you could talk about

what you've learned that day you could

talk about any new people that you've

met you could talk about something that

surprised you but this is a fairly

straightforward way of getting started

with journaling you just open up a

journal it can be physical it can be

digital you can use an app I like the

app a day one I also like pen and paper

journaling and you just start writing

about a few things that happened that

day all right next we have a strategy

from this book the artist's Way by Julia

Cameron a spiritual path to higher

creativity it sounds a bit weird but

this is like such a fantastic book and

like almost every creative person that

I've ever met has read this book and

swears by the methods that Julia Cameron

talks about but in this book there's a

technique called morning Pages which you

might have come across before basically

the idea is that every morning you just

write out three pages by hand ideally of

just whatever on your mind now when I do

my morning pages I get out my notebook

and I start with the phrase today is

going to be a great day if I don't know

what else to write I'll say it's 10 38

on a Monday morning and I'm sitting on

the dining table in the house the sun is

streaming in and I'll just start writing

and I find that on the days that I do

this a my mind feels less scattered

because I've taken the time to kind of

offload some of my thoughts onto the

page and I also come up with really

interesting ideas for videos for writing

or for work and it's just taking that 20

minutes in the morning sometimes 15

minutes sometimes less to just write

down some thoughts and morning pages is

another fantastic way of getting started

with journaling you don't have to start

with three pages it might be a bit much

you could even start with three lines

you can start with half a page you can

start with the whole page but the point

is that there's all these different ways

of journaling but the objective of all

of it is to just get thoughts and

feelings down on the page and it doesn't

really matter what format that takes so

that was level one level two of

journaling is where you are writing

about how you're feeling and there's

actually quite a lot of scientific

evidence around these forms of

journaling and there's two that I want

to talk about in particular so firstly

have a look at this study from 2015 that

was published in the Journal of Social

and clinical and in this study the

researchers were looking at the effects

of expressive writing which is a form of

journaling so they recruited 70 students

and they randomly chose 35 of them to

write expressively about a past painful

event and they got the other 35 to write

about a neutral topic and the really

cool thing was that four months later

they followed the students up and they

found that the students who were in The

expressive writing category they seem to

have better mental health and were less

stressed than the students in the other

category who just wrote about a neutral

event and the theory behind expressive

writing is that if you spend some time

just writing about any kind of painful

or negative or dramatic event it helps

you understand your own thoughts and

feelings about it and once you

understand your own thoughts and

feelings about it those thoughts and

feelings are less prone to cause you

stress worry and anxiety now for the

second form of journaling about feelings

have a look at this 2017 study that was

published in the Journal of Happiness

studies now this was a really simple

study where they recruited 91

participants and they split them into a

few different groups now the first group

was the Gratitude journaling group and

they were writing about events or people

that they were grateful for and then

there was a control group and they were

just asked to write about what they did

today which is basically level one of

journaling and they were just asked to

do this four times in total across a two

week period This is not very much time

at all but then when the researchers

followed up a month later they found

that the people who did just gratitude

journaling they seem to have higher

happiness ratings and also rated their

relationships with their friends as

being stronger than the people in the

control group and the theory here is

that by journaling about the things that

you're grateful for and writing them

down this gratitude journaling helps

Focus your attention and appreciation of

the good things that are happening in

your life and because our subjective

experience of Life Is So massively

colored by the things that we pay

attention to it means that you just end

up becoming happier and just have way

better mental health which is fantastic

and there was one study that I even read

that showed that five minutes of

gratitude journaling in the morning

every day has the same effect as

doubling your salary if we're looking at

the impact on happiness now there's a

few different ways you can prompt

yourself to do this exercise so a really

simple one would be to just pause this

video right now and just imagine what

are three things that you're grateful

for it can be literally anything you

want and if you're looking for something

a little bit more in-depth I really like

John gottman's approach to this John

gottman I interviewed on my podcast he's

a world famous researcher in the world

of relationships and he's got this I

appreciate exercise that apparently

really helps inclusive relationships

firstly you think of someone in your

life that you want to Express gratitude

towards then you pick three qualities

that characterize this person and in the

worksheet he's got a long list of

different qualities just to make it

easier to choose because sometimes it

can be hard to come up with the right

words and then you write down the three

qualities that this person displays and

write about a time in which they

displayed that quality and so we'll put

on screen an example of what this could

look like then the final thing is to be

brave and to actually share what you've

written with the person in question and

this is where this becomes really

powerful because now it's not just

gratitude that you're doing for your own

sake but you're also sharing with

someone else and as you as you're

watching this you're probably thinking

oh my God that feels cringe like I can

possibly do that it feels a bit too much

but imagine if one of your best friends

were to say to you hey look whatever

your name is

um I was just doing some journaling and

I just wanted to say I really appreciate

these three qualities about you you're

thoughtful you're caring and you're very

generous and you know here are the ways

in which you show those qualities and I

just wanted to share that with you

because I really appreciate you in my

life that would feel freaking phenomenal

wouldn't it and then finally we come to

level three of journaling which is I

think the most powerful and that is

where you Journal about what you should

do what direction you want to go what

decisions you want to make and what

actions you should take in the here and

now now there's a few different ways of

doing this and this is where prompts are

particularly powerful and one thing I

like to do is collect the most powerful

questions and the most powerful

journaling prompts that I can find

across different places and I actually

put all of these into a single Google

doc that I always keep up to date so if

you'd like access to that you can click

the link down below I'll send it to you

completely for free and then it'll be

updated whenever I come across new

powerful questions so you can check that

out if you like okay so one prompt that

you can do is called The Odyssey plan

that's one of my favorite prompts I love

this this is from the book of designing

your life and basically the idea is that

you write down what does my life look

like five years from now if I continue

down the same path and then you Journal

about that for a bit then you ask

yourself okay what does my life look

like five years from now if I take a

completely different path and you

generally about that for a bit and then

you ask yourself what does my life look

like five years from now if I take a

completely different path but if I'm not

worried about money and I'm not worried

about what other people will think of me

in the new Journal about that it takes a

while it's a bit it's a bit intense a

lot of people are like oh I don't want

to do this because it feels feels hard I

don't know I don't have time but

genuinely doing this exercise in 20 2019

was what fundamentally prompted me to

leave medicine option number two there

is something called The Wheel of Life

which is basically where you split up

life into like eight nine ten different

components and you just rate how happy

you are how satisfied you are with your

life across these different domains and

the idea is you've got your wheel you

split up your circle into a bunch of the

different categories and you just rate

out of ten how like if you had to pick a

number how satisfied are you how aligned

do you feel with that particular domain

of your life and again this is helpful

because the numbers don't lie and

secondly you can do this exercise

multiple times throughout the year and

you can see how your numbers change over

time and generally when you see the

numbers you're like oh crap I've only

got a 3 out of ten for like my friends

category it's probably because I haven't

seen my friends enough cool what can I

do to make this go from a three to a

five and then you take some actions and

this is where generally becomes very

effective because now the journey that

you're doing is not just about

understanding your thoughts and feelings

although although that's important it

also then helps you figure out what

actions you can take in the here and now

to make a change another good prompt is

what I call the 12 month Celebration by

the way I talk about a bunch of these in

my brand new book The feel good

productivity it's in the Final Chapter

this is a book about how to do more of

what matters to you so if you're

interested can check it out link down

below feel good productivity.com

available in all bookstores but another

prompt that I really like is the 12

month celebration which is 12 months

from now in the different components of

Life what would I like to be celebrating

with a friend for example I'd like to be

celebrating that for the last 12 months

I've been hitting the gym consistently

three times a week I might like to

celebrate that I've gotten engaged I

might like to celebrate that I started

my first business I might like to

celebrate that I decided to ask for that

raise at work and again by projecting

yourself forward by asking yourselves

these questions it helps inform what

actions you would like to take in the

here and now now one of my favorite

exercises when it comes to journaling is

Tim ferriss's Fear setting exercise

again all of these problems are in the

Google Doc link down below if you want

to check it out but I really like the

fear setting exercise because this is

fantastic if I'm worried about doing

something and so you're asking what is

the worst thing that will happen if I do

the thing that I'm that I fear doing

what can I do to prevent each of the

worst things from happening if the worst

case scenario happened what can I do to

repair it what are the benefits of an

attempt or partial success if I don't do

the thing that scares me what will my

life look like in six months one year

and three years asking yourself these

questions for just 10 minutes can

genuinely be

10 minutes that completely changes your

life because if you decide to do the

thing to quit the job to go on that

holiday to ask that person out to

propose to that person to start that

business whatever the thing might be if

you decide to do it the decision then

dictates your actions your actions

dictate your results and then you'll

look back and you'll think damn that

decision completely changed my life and

so when I say that journaling can change

your life I'm not I'm not being like

clickbaity about it that's not the

objective it like literally the right

decision can genuinely change the entire

course of your life there's another

strategy that I've been experimenting

with recently and that comes from Alex

hallmosi and he calls it the Solomon

conversation or something like that and

basically the story is about the

biblical figure I think was King Solomon

who is like incredible at giving advice

to other people but his own life wasn't

was a mess and he was terrible at taking

that advice for himself people give

significantly better advice about their

own scenarios if they don't know it's

about themselves if you only just filed

your own advice it'd be way better than

you currently are and so the idea behind

Alex's kind of journaling method is that

he has a conversation with his 85 year

old self in the form of like a Google

doc a practice that I started doing

which is I have a coaching session with

myself weird I have a conversation with

my future self who's 85 and I asked him

for advice on what I should do now and

that's been really helpful for helping

helping me realize that actually you

know 29 now but the things that I'm

thinking about I'm worried about just

completely meaningless in the grand

scheme of things and my 85 year old self

is generally telling me to chill the F

out and like enjoy life a little bit

more because you know nothing is as

serious as I actually make it out to be

in my mind and the Mind Tricks us into

believing our own BS into thinking that

the thing that we are doing has huge

importance and it's very serious but

actually getting that old dude's

perspective helps us realize hang on

it's all about enjoying the journey as

we go along now if you enjoyed this

video then I'd love for you to leave a

comment down below what is your favorite

journaling prompt or what is a

journaling prompt that you've maybe

taken away from this video that you're

going to start doing in your own life

because fundamentally watching a video

like this is kind of pointless if you're

not going to take action on it so I

would love for you to share something in

the comments and commit to making some

sort of action and if you enjoyed this

video and you want to see the results of

my own 90 days in a row experiment with

journaling then check out that video

over here where I share my personal

experience with journaling in case you

need some more inspiration but honestly

the main thing is to actually try it out

for yourself and let me know how it goes

so thank you so much for watching and

I'll see you hopefully in the next video

bye