How to Journal (Like a Philosopher)
Summary
TLDRThis video script offers a simple three-step guide to starting a journaling practice, emphasizing finding a preferred journal and writing instrument, and making writing a daily habit. It addresses the common question of what to write about by suggesting a structured approach: recount a notable event, reflect on personal achievements and areas for improvement, and consider how the event fits into the larger narrative of one's life. The script also delves into the philosophical underpinnings of journaling as a means of self-improvement and constructing a coherent personal narrative, aligning with the views of philosophers who see storytelling as a fundamental human trait.
Takeaways
- 📓 Start Journaling: The process of starting a journaling habit involves three simple steps: choosing a journal, finding a preferred writing instrument, and making a habit of writing regularly.
- ✍️ Overcoming Writer's Block: When struggling to write, a reliable structure can be followed, which includes writing about a notable event, something done well, and areas for improvement.
- 📅 Reflecting on Daily Events: Journaling should include a factual account of a significant event from the day or the previous day, helping to focus on notable occurrences.
- 🏆 Celebrating Achievements: A journal entry should also highlight something the writer is proud of, such as an achievement or a success, to foster a sense of accomplishment.
- 🚫 Identifying Failures: It's important to recognize and write about what did not go well, using it as an opportunity to identify problem areas and areas for self-improvement.
- 🔍 Analyzing the Bigger Picture: After detailing events and personal growth, the writer should reflect on how the event fits into the larger narrative of their life, seeking coherence and internal logic.
- 📚 Philosophical Perspective: The act of journaling is tied to the philosophical view that humans are storytelling beings, constructing narratives about themselves to find meaning and coherence in life.
- 🧠 Active Self-Authorship: Journaling is a way to take an active role in authoring one's life story, moving beyond habitual living and reflecting intentionally on personal experiences.
- 📖 Ethical Consideration: Journaling can be seen as a practice of ethical self-reflection, aligning with ancient philosophical thought that emphasizes the importance of understanding one's life as a whole for achieving happiness.
- 🌟 Personal Growth: The script suggests that journaling is not just about documenting life but also about personal growth, using the practice to actively shape one's narrative and work towards self-improvement.
- 📝 Consistent Practice: The key to successful journaling is making it a regular practice, which over time can provide insights and a deeper understanding of one's life journey.
Q & A
What are the three basic steps to start journaling according to the transcript?
-The three basic steps to start journaling are: 1) Get a journal that you like; 2) Find a writing instrument that you enjoy using, such as a fountain pen; 3) Make a habit of writing, either daily or when you feel like it.
What is the recommended structure to follow when journaling if you're struggling to write?
-The recommended structure includes writing a paragraph about an event that happened that day or the day before, a paragraph about something you did well, a paragraph about what did not go well, and then reflecting on the bigger picture to fit the event into a larger narrative about your life.
What is the purpose of writing about an event that happened during the day in your journal?
-Writing about an event serves as a factual account of something notable in your life, allowing you to reflect on and document significant moments or experiences.
Why is it important to write about something you did well in your journal?
-Writing about achievements or successes helps you to recognize and feel proud of your accomplishments, reinforcing positive habits and behaviors.
How does writing about what did not go well in your journal serve as an opportunity for self-improvement?
-It allows you to identify problem areas, besetting vices, or bad habits that you want to improve or break, providing a space for introspection and planning for change.
What is the significance of reflecting on the bigger picture when journaling?
-Reflecting on the bigger picture helps you to find internal logic and coherence in your life story, allowing you to construct a narrative that gives meaning to your experiences.
What philosophical perspective does the speaker mention regarding persons as storytelling beings?
-The philosophical perspective mentioned is that persons are primarily storytelling beings, constructing and telling a narrative about themselves, which is a key aspect of self-identity and coherence.
How does journaling relate to the concept of 'making sense of one's life as a whole'?
-Journaling provides a reflective practice that allows you to consider your life as a whole, examining the development and direction of your life, which is essential for personal satisfaction and happiness.
What is the connection between journaling and the ancient philosophical concept of eudaimonia?
-Journaling is connected to eudaimonia, or human flourishing, as it involves reflective work on one's life, which ancient philosophers like Aristotle considered central to achieving happiness.
Why does the speaker suggest taking an active role in the construction of your life story through journaling?
-Taking an active role in constructing your life story through journaling allows you to be intentional about your narrative, breaking routine and habit, and shaping a more meaningful and coherent life experience.
What is the recommended approach if you are struggling to get started with journaling?
-The recommended approach is to follow the format of writing about an event from your day, something you're proud of, areas for improvement, and then placing it in the larger context of your life to create a personal narrative.
Outlines
📓 Starting a Journaling Practice
This paragraph introduces the simplicity of starting a journaling habit, outlining three basic steps: choosing a journal, selecting a preferred writing instrument, and making writing a daily habit. It also addresses the common question of what to write about in a journal and introduces the concept of a guide to journaling, which will be discussed in the video. The speaker shares their personal preference for fountain pens and emphasizes the importance of writing regularly to foster self-improvement and explore the philosophy behind journaling.
🤔 Overcoming Writer's Block in Journaling
The speaker discusses a reliable structure to follow when struggling with what to write in a journal. This involves writing a factual account of a notable event from the day, reflecting on an achievement or success, identifying areas for improvement or failures, and considering the broader narrative of one's life. The paragraph provides a personal example of a stressful work event that was resolved and how the speaker used it to practice problem-solving and break down issues. The goal is to use journaling as a tool for self-reflection and personal growth, identifying habits and thought processes that can be improved.
🧐 The Narrative of Self-Improvement
This paragraph delves into the philosophy of journaling as a means of constructing one's life narrative. It references various philosophers who view humans as storytelling beings and the importance of actively participating in the creation of one's life story. The speaker shares their approach to journaling as a practice to take a more intentional role in authoring their own life narrative. The paragraph also touches on the work of ethicist Julia Annas and the concept of making sense of one's life as a whole, linking journaling to the pursuit of happiness and human flourishing.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Journaling
💡Fountain pens
💡Habit
💡Self-improvement
💡Philosophy
💡Narrative
💡Anxiety
💡Eudaimonia
💡Reflective work
💡Author
💡Coherence
Highlights
Starting journaling is simple and involves three basic steps: getting a journal, choosing a preferred writing instrument, and making a habit of writing.
The author prefers Lloyds terms soft covers for journals and fountain pens for writing.
A reliable journaling structure includes writing about an event, something done well, what didn't go well, and the bigger picture.
Writing about a notable event from the day helps in reflecting on personal experiences.
The author shares an example of a stressful work event that was resolved through investigation and problem-solving.
Journaling about achievements or small victories can foster a sense of pride and accomplishment.
Identifying areas for improvement through journaling can help in recognizing and breaking bad habits or vices.
The author's personal struggle with anxiety is used as an example to illustrate the process of self-improvement through journaling.
Zooming out to consider the bigger picture in journaling allows for understanding life events within a larger narrative.
Philosophers view humans as storytelling beings, constructing narratives about ourselves as we live.
The author emphasizes the importance of taking an active role in constructing one's life narrative through journaling.
Journaling is presented as a practice to intentionally and actively author one's life story.
Julia Annas' concept of making sense of one's life as a whole is discussed in relation to journaling.
Ancient ethics, as discussed by Annas, begins with the question of life satisfaction and the pursuit of happiness or eudaimonia.
Reflective work, such as journaling, is essential for achieving happiness and human flourishing according to ancient philosophers.
The author recommends trying the suggested journaling format to overcome struggles in getting started with the practice.
Transcripts
so if you want to start journaling it's
actually pretty simple there are
basically three steps first just get a
journal find one that you like I like
these Lloyds terms soft covers lately
second get a pin that you like to write
with I really like fountain pens but you
should just pick whatever works for you
and third the step is to just write make
a habit of it try to write every day if
you can and if you can't write every day
just write when you feel like it it
really is that simple but every time I
talk about journaling on this channel I
get one question over and over what do
you write about so in this video I'm
going to give you a guide to journaling
I'm going to tell you what to do when
the words aren't flowing and along the
way I am going to talk about
journaling's relationship to
self-improvement which is one reason so
many of us journal and also the
philosophy behind it all if I'm
struggling to write I found that there
is a reliable structure that I can
follow that lets me write about a Page's
worth of content First I write a
paragraph about something that happened
that day or if I'm journaling in the
morning something that happened the day
before this is a purely factual account
I'm just writing about some event in my
life something that was notable I'm
being selective here I'm not writing
about everything that happened to me and
I am not aiming for this to be a
comprehensive account of my entire day
so as an example a few days ago I was
writing in my journal about something
that happened at work basically this
event occurred it the details don't
really matter for this video but it was
something that I found very stressful
but it turned out to be a
misunderstanding on my part so I was
able to get it resolved but it took a
little bit of time and there was some
stress for me until it was resolved that
was a notable enough event that I
decided to write about it in my journal
so after I've written my factual account
of the event in my life I then try to
write about something that I did well
this is something I can feel proud of
this is an achievement or a little bit
of a success a small victory or even
just an instance where I was able to
reliably fall back on a habit that I've
built up over time to go back to my
example I wrote about how when the
problem arose I was able to investigate
it and I was able to actually figure out
what I would need to do to solve the
problem now because it turned out it was
a misunderstanding I didn't actually
have to do much but what I was proud of
was that I broke the problem up into
some smaller problems and started
solving the most important ones after
I've written that paragraph I write a
paragraph about what did not go well
this is an opportunity for me to
identify problem areas in my life to
identify places where I want to improve
these can be besetting vices so the
sorts of mistakes that I make over and
over again or it could be bad habits
that I've cultivated that I want to try
and break so I'm someone who's prone to
anxiety and when a problem arises I tend
to spiral for a little bit I can usually
then collect myself and solve the
problem but I always go through that
anxiety spiral and I want to stop doing
that so I try and identify times when I
let my anxiety get the best of me and
then I try and think about how I can
avoid that what are the conditions that
make me more anxious or what is the
thought process that my anxiety always
seems to follow because one very
effective technique for combating
anxiety is figuring out where the
anxious mind goes wrong and actually
being able to reason with yourself so
far I have written about an event I have
written about something I'm proud of and
something that I'm not proud of a
success and a failure but after that
there is still something else worth
writing and that is when I try and zoom
out and think about the bigger picture
this part really isn't a paragraph it
can sometimes just be a paragraph but it
often extends to pages on those days
when I have a lot to think about what
I'm really trying to do is figure out
what this event has in common with other
events in my life or really I am trying
to fit this event into a larger
narrative about my life I am giving a
sort of internal logic to my life story
and I am using my journal as an
opportunity to do that let's talk a
little bit more about this in the
philosophy behind it many philosophers
just to name a few Charles Taylor
Aleister McIntyre Mario sheckman uh
Martin Heidegger there are many others
but those are some notable names they
think of persons as primarily
storytelling beings so what makes us
persons as opposed to Mere animals is
that we are able to construct and tell a
narrative about ourselves it's not as if
we all have a formal narrative written
down despite being someone who has
consistently journaled for about a
decade it's not like I have written an
autobiography of myself and even those
who write autobiographies don't write
totally comprehensive accounts of their
lives but as we live our lives we are
thinking about how events relate to one
another we are finding the logic in it
we are looking for coherence and we are
placing them in a more or less linear
format we're being selective we think
about some events more than others but
all the time as we live we are
constructing a narrative about ourselves
as we tell this story about ourselves
and construct this narrative really we
are construct acting who we are what I
think is interesting though is that most
of us don't take an active role in this
construction we do it out of habit and
routine my journaling practice is
designed actually to break the routine
it is designed actually to take a more
intentional and active role in telling
my life story to myself if my life is a
story I want to be its author but I also
want to be a good author and that takes
practice journaling is my practice the
idea is that I want to go beyond a
fragmented account of my life Julia
Annis who is an ethicist and a scholar
of ancient philosophy who I really
admire calls this making sense of one's
life as a whole she discusses this at
length in the first chapter of her book
The morality of Happiness a book that I
highly recommend even if you're not an
academic philosopher it's pretty
readable according to Anise ancient
ethics begins with one simple question
am I satisfied with my life as a whole
with the way that it has developed and
the way that it promises to continue for
ancient philosophers like Aristotle the
central problem of Ethics is happiness
or what they would call eudaimania we
could also call that human flourishing
achieving happiness is no easy task it
takes work and a lot of that work is
reflective work reflecting on one's life
as a whole and that is exactly what a
regular practice of journaling can
provide so if you have been struggling
to get started with journaling maybe
give this format a shot all you have to
do is write about something that
happened to your day write about
something you're proud of something
where you can improve and then try to
place it in the larger context of your
life write that story about yourself
foreign
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