The Art of Manliness - 7 Journaling Techniques That Can Change Your Life

00:00:00.000 This is a rebroadcast of episode number 861,

00:00:02.600 Seven Journaling Techniques That Can Change Your Life.

00:00:05.120 Hope you enjoy it.

00:00:05.880 We'll be back on Wednesday with a brand new episode.

00:00:15.420 Brett McKay here, and welcome to another edition

00:00:17.240 of the Art of Manliness podcast.

00:00:19.380 In my 20s and early 30s, I was a regular journaler.

00:00:22.560 Several years ago, however,

00:00:23.760 I stopped journaling almost entirely

00:00:25.600 because I wasn't getting anything out of it anymore.

00:00:27.920 But my guest has helped me see that my problem

00:00:30.040 wasn't with journaling itself,

00:00:31.180 but that I had got into a journaling rut.

00:00:33.600 And he's introduced me to some new ways to journal

00:00:35.140 that have inspired me to get back into the practice.

00:00:37.800 Campbell Walker is an illustrator, animator,

00:00:40.020 podcaster, and YouTuber,

00:00:41.460 as well as the author of Your Head is a Houseboat,

00:00:44.020 A Chaotic Guide to Mental Clarity.

00:00:45.960 Today on the show, Cam shares how journaling

00:00:47.580 transformed his life and what it can do for yours.

00:00:50.040 We discuss why it's helpful to do a journaling brain dump

00:00:52.280 and how to then move beyond that

00:00:53.940 to incorporate different techniques

00:00:55.420 that'll help you get greater insight

00:00:56.860 with the problems you're facing

00:00:57.960 and how to solve them.

00:00:59.520 We unpack those techniques,

00:01:00.720 which include how to journal to break mindset,

00:01:02.960 conduct a lifestyle and habits audit,

00:01:04.860 and quell anxiety.

00:01:06.180 We also talk about an experiment Cam did

00:01:07.900 where he only used the social media apps on his phone

00:01:10.300 when he was posting something.

00:01:12.240 And every time he got the itch

00:01:13.100 to check social media for fun,

00:01:14.740 he engaged in something he calls micro journaling instead.

00:01:18.040 We enter a conversation

00:01:18.840 with how Cam's journaling changed

00:01:20.220 after he became a dad

00:01:21.260 and his tips on making journaling

00:01:22.840 a consistent habit in your life.

00:01:24.340 If the show's over,

00:01:25.560 check out our show notes

00:01:26.240 at aom.is slash journaling.

00:01:44.880 All right.

00:01:45.780 Cam Walker, welcome to the show.

00:01:47.740 Thanks so much for having me, man.

00:01:48.680 So you are a YouTuber, an author,

00:01:51.560 and do a lot of self-development type things.

00:01:53.880 And a lot of it is about journaling.

00:01:55.940 You're a big fan of journaling.

00:01:57.380 You've called it

00:01:58.040 your number one problem-solving tool.

00:02:00.940 I'm curious,

00:02:01.560 what was going on in your life

00:02:02.680 when you discovered the power of journaling?

00:02:05.440 Oh, that's a brilliant question.

00:02:07.180 So number one solving tool

00:02:08.900 in terms of problems

00:02:09.880 only because it lets you know

00:02:11.800 what problems are next to solve.

00:02:14.260 But in terms of my life,

00:02:15.580 I guess it was pretty contrasted

00:02:17.620 with the sort of situation

00:02:18.600 that I found myself in.

00:02:19.900 Long story short,

00:02:20.980 found myself in the grips

00:02:22.020 of a pretty gnarly drug addiction,

00:02:25.260 which I was funding

00:02:26.180 by funding other people's drug addictions.

00:02:29.420 And every time that I would sober up,

00:02:33.220 I think,

00:02:33.980 which wasn't for long,

00:02:35.020 like that was part of my mission statement,

00:02:36.260 I think at that point in my life,

00:02:37.680 I started realizing,

00:02:40.300 maybe I was around like 17 or 18

00:02:41.760 at this point

00:02:42.260 that I would just sober up

00:02:44.520 to a shitter world each time,

00:02:46.020 just a worse version

00:02:47.040 of the reality that I left.

00:02:49.040 And I was blocking this out

00:02:52.160 for the most part,

00:02:52.860 but at some point I realized

00:02:53.960 that I couldn't really block it out.

00:02:55.440 And long story short,

00:02:58.100 my best attempt at getting sober,

00:03:00.380 I would have been 18,

00:03:01.560 no, freshly 19.

00:03:03.380 And I decided that

00:03:04.400 I just had to get out

00:03:05.400 of the environment

00:03:05.980 where I could even access drugs.

00:03:08.180 And my first instinct

00:03:09.900 was to go to my grandparents' house

00:03:11.180 because they lived in New Zealand.

00:03:12.680 And they lived in a small town

00:03:13.920 called Whangarei,

00:03:14.540 which is where my whole family's from.

00:03:15.620 They've been there forever.

00:03:17.420 And I go into my grandpa's room

00:03:19.740 and without drugs,

00:03:21.140 I start having all of these

00:03:21.940 withdrawal symptoms.

00:03:23.380 And I didn't even have a plan

00:03:25.140 to journal at this point,

00:03:26.740 but nature sort of took over.

00:03:29.440 And with all these withdrawal symptoms,

00:03:31.400 sort of like,

00:03:32.380 I don't know if you've ever

00:03:33.260 had an amphetamine addiction,

00:03:34.460 but they're pretty hectic.

00:03:35.740 And I start having this

00:03:36.740 massive panic attack

00:03:38.280 just on the floor in his room.

00:03:41.600 He was one year past at this point,

00:03:43.420 so he wasn't there.

00:03:44.920 And I was looking around the room

00:03:47.120 trying to figure out

00:03:48.040 what could stop it.

00:03:50.260 And I think I had used drugs

00:03:52.820 for so long

00:03:54.080 to be the thing

00:03:54.800 that could stop it.

00:03:55.920 But now,

00:03:57.540 I just couldn't access them.

00:03:59.420 So,

00:04:00.580 all I could really see

00:04:01.560 was his computer.

00:04:02.520 So, I went onto that

00:04:03.380 and he didn't have access

00:04:04.660 to the internet.

00:04:05.500 All he had was Microsoft Word.

00:04:07.120 And I'm like,

00:04:07.740 man,

00:04:08.560 desperate times call

00:04:09.240 for desperate measures.

00:04:10.560 So, I opened up Microsoft Word

00:04:11.900 and I just started typing

00:04:13.080 and holy smokes, Brett.

00:04:15.720 The words just flowed

00:04:17.680 from my brain

00:04:19.320 out of my fingers.

00:04:20.960 It felt like

00:04:21.880 a massive pressure valve

00:04:23.320 had just been released.

00:04:24.700 And I just got

00:04:25.220 all of this crazy head noise

00:04:26.840 that I think

00:04:27.300 I was dealing with

00:04:28.040 onto the page

00:04:29.000 in front of me.

00:04:29.640 And once it was there,

00:04:30.400 it was indexed.

00:04:31.180 And I'm like,

00:04:31.920 oh my God,

00:04:32.960 I can see it.

00:04:34.360 I'm not in the grips of it.

00:04:35.960 And I mean,

00:04:37.080 I think I wrote in the book

00:04:37.920 that that lasted

00:04:38.600 for about two days

00:04:39.500 before I realized

00:04:40.220 it was going to be

00:04:40.700 an ongoing practice.

00:04:41.680 But that little euphoric moment,

00:04:43.740 that changed me, man.

00:04:45.200 It was beautiful.

00:04:46.620 Yeah.

00:04:46.800 And so,

00:04:47.320 in your book,

00:04:47.800 it's called

00:04:48.240 Your Head is a Houseboat.

00:04:49.340 You're all about

00:04:49.840 showing people,

00:04:51.280 guiding people through

00:04:51.940 what's worked for you

00:04:52.700 to gain mental clarity.

00:04:54.600 Like that's the,

00:04:55.140 I think that's why

00:04:55.900 you journal

00:04:56.660 is to find that mental clarity.

00:04:58.440 Why use the houseboat

00:04:59.880 as a metaphor

00:05:00.600 for the mind?

00:05:01.920 Yeah.

00:05:02.440 Well,

00:05:02.680 firstly,

00:05:03.240 like the concept of metaphor,

00:05:04.760 I was,

00:05:05.820 I've always lent towards

00:05:07.380 and particularly

00:05:08.240 when it comes to

00:05:08.980 issues of the mind.

00:05:10.660 And I think that's just

00:05:11.240 because when you're trying

00:05:11.800 to describe something cerebral

00:05:12.820 or something that can't really

00:05:13.780 be explained in tangible terms

00:05:15.320 because I've never seen

00:05:16.580 the brain,

00:05:17.580 like I've never seen

00:05:18.100 the inside of my brain,

00:05:19.420 it's a lot easier

00:05:20.400 to understand it

00:05:20.980 in terms that we do know,

00:05:22.080 like a house

00:05:22.600 or a park

00:05:23.380 or a street

00:05:23.800 or something like that.

00:05:24.680 And I really did gravitate

00:05:26.040 towards this idea of a house

00:05:27.080 because it's got

00:05:27.460 different compartments,

00:05:28.440 you know,

00:05:28.600 different parts of the brain

00:05:29.460 for different reasons,

00:05:30.520 different parts of your house

00:05:31.180 for different reasons.

00:05:32.420 However,

00:05:33.020 the house kind of fell short

00:05:34.340 when I was really thinking

00:05:35.040 about the metaphor.

00:05:36.220 So,

00:05:37.180 and it fell short

00:05:37.700 for two reasons.

00:05:38.420 So the first one was

00:05:39.420 a house doesn't really

00:05:40.360 go anywhere

00:05:40.920 whereas your brain does

00:05:42.140 and the stakes

00:05:43.200 aren't quite high enough

00:05:44.380 with a house.

00:05:45.100 So the houseboat for me

00:05:46.140 was like a logical choice

00:05:47.640 because the stakes

00:05:48.440 of life are,

00:05:50.040 yeah man,

00:05:50.500 like you can sink

00:05:51.360 and I guess that's the stakes

00:05:53.560 of a houseboat as well.

00:05:54.920 Granted,

00:05:55.540 probably about like

00:05:56.180 one percent of people

00:05:56.940 have been on a houseboat

00:05:57.780 and I'm not in that one percent

00:05:58.840 but I'll figure

00:06:00.060 it's not too much

00:06:00.840 of a stretch to imagine.

00:06:02.600 Yeah,

00:06:02.980 I like how you describe

00:06:03.780 like the water

00:06:04.500 that the houseboat is on

00:06:05.480 as sort of life.

00:06:06.640 Yeah.

00:06:07.060 And you know,

00:06:07.720 our houseboat starts off

00:06:08.840 on a river,

00:06:09.760 right,

00:06:10.480 and it's sort of like,

00:06:11.300 there's direction,

00:06:12.780 right?

00:06:12.960 The river's got a course

00:06:14.420 you have to follow

00:06:15.180 and you kind of liken that

00:06:16.500 to childhood.

00:06:17.180 You're born

00:06:17.540 and here's this thing

00:06:18.340 you're supposed to do.

00:06:18.980 You're born,

00:06:19.440 you go to school,

00:06:20.080 you go to college

00:06:20.680 and then you get to adulthood

00:06:22.160 and then it kind of opens out

00:06:23.700 into the ocean

00:06:25.080 and that's when things

00:06:26.180 get tricky.

00:06:27.600 Massively

00:06:27.960 and I think we've all been there

00:06:29.240 like when you just hit

00:06:30.260 that delta

00:06:30.740 and you're like,

00:06:31.400 oh,

00:06:31.800 I don't really know

00:06:33.200 what to do

00:06:33.720 and even if your childhood

00:06:35.480 was tumultuous,

00:06:36.300 there's still a level

00:06:36.940 of prescription to it

00:06:37.960 because as kids,

00:06:39.120 like even if things

00:06:39.920 are wild,

00:06:41.540 the tendency to question

00:06:42.600 or that bestowed independence,

00:06:45.760 it's not there

00:06:46.840 as much as it is

00:06:47.660 when you are staring

00:06:48.460 at the world

00:06:49.040 as an adult.

00:06:50.480 And what is it about

00:06:51.360 journaling

00:06:51.820 that can help us

00:06:52.700 keep our houseboats

00:06:54.100 in tip-top shape

00:06:55.620 and help us get

00:06:57.300 to where we want

00:06:57.680 to be in life?

00:06:58.760 Yeah, man.

00:06:59.360 Brilliant question again.

00:07:00.400 So I think

00:07:01.100 what I liken it to is

00:07:03.220 have you ever been

00:07:04.200 like shopping

00:07:04.680 at the groceries?

00:07:06.240 But what you'll do

00:07:07.300 is like you'll think

00:07:08.520 that you only want

00:07:09.260 a few things.

00:07:10.100 I want limes,

00:07:11.060 I want hummus,

00:07:11.840 I want soy crisps.

00:07:12.900 So you go in there,

00:07:13.600 you don't get a basket,

00:07:14.500 you pick up the limes,

00:07:15.200 you pick up the hummus,

00:07:15.820 you pick up the soy crisps

00:07:16.740 but on the way

00:07:17.360 you're like,

00:07:17.740 oh, actually I needed milk.

00:07:18.920 Oh, actually I needed cereal.

00:07:20.280 Oh, actually I needed mangoes.

00:07:21.840 So all of a sudden

00:07:22.900 now you're holding

00:07:23.660 all of these groceries

00:07:24.660 and you're like,

00:07:25.300 dude, I should have just

00:07:26.640 bought a freaking

00:07:27.860 shopping basket

00:07:28.740 in with me.

00:07:29.340 This whole thing

00:07:29.780 would have been easier.

00:07:30.780 So for me,

00:07:31.240 journaling is like

00:07:32.060 that shopping basket

00:07:32.820 and I guess I'm mixing

00:07:34.240 my metaphors here

00:07:34.920 but it's going somewhere,

00:07:36.260 I promise.

00:07:37.180 And I think all of the thoughts

00:07:38.460 that we sort of like collect

00:07:39.520 are like the things

00:07:40.420 that we are going

00:07:41.080 around the shops with.

00:07:42.340 So for me,

00:07:43.400 it's not the ultimate

00:07:44.320 problem-solving tool

00:07:45.280 in the world

00:07:45.960 or in our heads

00:07:47.380 but I guess like

00:07:48.200 the preliminary

00:07:48.960 problem-solving tool

00:07:50.280 that shows us

00:07:51.060 what the problems

00:07:51.860 are that we need

00:07:52.920 to solve.

00:07:53.760 I've noticed that

00:07:54.480 whenever you get stuff

00:07:55.200 on paper,

00:07:55.640 when it's in your head,

00:07:57.140 it's all amorphous

00:07:58.540 and it just kind of

00:07:59.440 consumes you

00:08:00.080 and then like you said

00:08:00.780 you had that experience

00:08:01.700 when you were going

00:08:02.880 through your withdrawals,

00:08:03.760 you put all those thoughts

00:08:04.880 on a screen

00:08:05.760 and it makes it concrete

00:08:07.480 and you're able to see

00:08:08.160 it's like,

00:08:08.400 well, actually

00:08:08.860 that's not that,

00:08:10.200 I mean,

00:08:10.540 some of those issues

00:08:11.380 are big

00:08:11.860 but it's not as big

00:08:12.940 as my brain

00:08:14.020 is fooling me

00:08:15.200 to think it is.

00:08:16.380 Massively

00:08:16.700 and that's it

00:08:17.340 and it's almost like

00:08:18.120 a cavernous echo effect

00:08:19.540 that it has

00:08:20.000 when it is in your head

00:08:20.960 and then once it's

00:08:21.560 on the page

00:08:22.180 it kind of looks

00:08:22.840 a bit like dormant

00:08:23.780 or benign

00:08:24.280 and you're like,

00:08:25.300 well, hello,

00:08:26.080 little thought,

00:08:27.060 I can see you there.

00:08:29.040 Well, let's talk about

00:08:29.940 some specific journaling

00:08:31.100 practices that have

00:08:32.060 changed your life

00:08:32.740 because you've developed

00:08:33.740 other ones

00:08:34.560 after you did

00:08:35.460 the initial

00:08:36.000 just like her brain dump 1.00

00:08:37.340 that sort of put you

00:08:38.480 on this path

00:08:39.060 that you started

00:08:39.720 figuring out other ways,

00:08:40.860 other practices

00:08:41.540 or techniques

00:08:42.080 you can use

00:08:42.780 but before we talk

00:08:43.980 about those,

00:08:44.680 I want to talk more

00:08:45.300 about this brain dump

00:08:46.580 you did when you were

00:08:47.560 at your grandparents' house

00:08:48.560 because this is a practice

00:08:49.920 you've continued

00:08:50.460 to use since then

00:08:51.360 and this is a practice

00:08:52.280 that anyone can use.

00:08:53.520 It's really easy to do.

00:08:54.900 You make the case

00:08:55.520 this is how we can

00:08:56.840 declutter our minds

00:08:58.060 and our,

00:08:59.160 you know,

00:08:59.400 slash houseboat

00:09:00.340 and free up

00:09:01.640 some brain space.

00:09:02.760 So,

00:09:03.360 tell us more about,

00:09:04.380 you know,

00:09:04.560 what this journaling

00:09:05.380 practice looks like.

00:09:06.900 Basically,

00:09:08.220 no inhibitions,

00:09:09.320 just type every single thought

00:09:10.660 or write every single thought

00:09:11.840 or if you aren't able

00:09:13.220 to type or write,

00:09:14.020 use voice,

00:09:14.720 like a voice recording app

00:09:15.900 but just get everything

00:09:16.960 out of your head

00:09:17.740 and flush it 0.98

00:09:18.340 onto somewhere else.

00:09:19.900 There is no structure

00:09:20.960 intentionally

00:09:21.620 and I guess the idea

00:09:23.420 is it doesn't matter

00:09:24.280 how small

00:09:25.740 or insignificant

00:09:26.380 the thought seems,

00:09:27.220 just get it out

00:09:27.880 and try chase your thoughts

00:09:29.180 out and get them

00:09:30.420 onto the page.

00:09:31.640 So,

00:09:31.880 even if your thought

00:09:32.540 is something like,

00:09:33.540 man,

00:09:33.860 I really doubt

00:09:34.700 that that Australian guy

00:09:35.640 knows what he's talking about

00:09:36.820 or like,

00:09:37.440 man,

00:09:37.620 this whole journaling thing,

00:09:38.580 is it really what it's

00:09:39.240 cracked up to be?

00:09:40.040 I am not feeling

00:09:40.760 the full effects of this.

00:09:41.820 Where's my euphoria?

00:09:43.180 Get that out.

00:09:43.960 You know what I mean?

00:09:44.900 And then once you do,

00:09:46.160 it opens up the next layer

00:09:47.540 and that next layer might be,

00:09:49.080 oh,

00:09:49.540 I was meant to buy

00:09:50.180 so-and-so a birthday present.

00:09:51.560 Oh,

00:09:51.920 it's nearly the end of the year

00:09:52.800 and I haven't even thought

00:09:53.520 about what I'm doing

00:09:53.980 for Christmas.

00:09:54.540 Oh,

00:09:55.000 it's going to be 2023

00:09:56.260 and how am I going

00:09:57.080 to make my life different

00:09:57.720 and oh my God,

00:09:58.260 I didn't even do

00:09:58.960 all those New Year's resolutions.

00:10:00.160 Oh God,

00:10:00.640 I'm such a failure.

00:10:01.360 Oh,

00:10:01.540 is it my dad's fault?

00:10:02.740 You know what I mean?

00:10:03.440 You just kind of like

00:10:04.260 peel back the layers

00:10:05.140 and it all just comes out

00:10:06.260 and there it is.

00:10:08.780 Granted,

00:10:09.060 it's unstructured

00:10:09.680 but that's where

00:10:10.200 the techniques come in,

00:10:10.980 right?

00:10:11.580 Yeah,

00:10:11.860 it puts like a lot of less,

00:10:14.060 there's like no pressure,

00:10:15.420 right?

00:10:15.540 Sometimes I think people

00:10:16.420 when they start journaling,

00:10:18.460 they put this pressure,

00:10:19.320 well,

00:10:19.500 it's got to sound good

00:10:20.520 because they read journals

00:10:21.360 from like their great,

00:10:22.240 great grandparent

00:10:22.920 where it sounds like

00:10:23.880 very sophisticated

00:10:24.980 and it's like,

00:10:26.120 no,

00:10:26.240 it doesn't need to be like that.

00:10:27.180 Just go stream of conscious.

00:10:29.600 That's all you got to do.

00:10:30.660 That's a brilliant insight,

00:10:31.920 man,

00:10:32.220 because yeah,

00:10:32.760 I think there's also like,

00:10:33.860 I think some people might read

00:10:35.560 sort of,

00:10:36.320 oh,

00:10:36.480 I need to,

00:10:37.060 like,

00:10:37.400 they want like a goal,

00:10:38.220 like,

00:10:38.420 oh,

00:10:38.560 should I get one page

00:10:39.400 or two page

00:10:39.980 or half a page?

00:10:41.180 And honestly,

00:10:42.200 anything above a single word

00:10:43.780 is a win.

00:10:44.760 If that's all you have,

00:10:45.660 if all you have time for

00:10:46.560 is like that one minute window

00:10:47.720 where you are waiting for the bus

00:10:49.940 and you use your notes app,

00:10:51.660 that's a win.

00:10:52.840 And then what this brain dump does,

00:10:54.980 it allows you,

00:10:55.860 you can like,

00:10:56.400 like we said,

00:10:57.000 you can see everything in your head,

00:10:58.860 the things that have been consuming you

00:11:00.500 and then you can start,

00:11:01.500 let's like decluttering your garage,

00:11:03.320 right?

00:11:03.600 You can start organizing things.

00:11:04.940 You can go through and like,

00:11:05.760 well,

00:11:06.440 do I need this thing?

00:11:07.300 No,

00:11:07.440 I can chunk that.

00:11:08.720 Or I like this thing.

00:11:10.080 Let's,

00:11:10.460 let's take that

00:11:11.600 and we're going to organize it

00:11:12.680 a little better.

00:11:13.860 You know,

00:11:13.980 put this over here.

00:11:14.980 You can start doing that

00:11:16.180 with that brain dump.

00:11:17.660 That's it,

00:11:18.220 man.

00:11:18.500 Yeah.

00:11:18.780 Just looking at the thoughts

00:11:20.800 unemotionally outside your head

00:11:22.660 as if they are objects in your garage.

00:11:24.900 Beautiful.

00:11:25.940 Okay.

00:11:26.380 So the first technique,

00:11:27.260 just a brain dump,

00:11:28.280 no pressure,

00:11:29.220 no stakes,

00:11:30.000 just every little thought,

00:11:31.140 big thoughts could be like,

00:11:32.960 you know,

00:11:33.720 is that lump in my arm?

00:11:36.560 Is that cancer?

00:11:37.540 Or it could be like little,

00:11:38.560 just dumb stuff.

00:11:39.060 Oh,

00:11:39.260 I need to,

00:11:39.820 I need to pay that,

00:11:41.180 that library fine or whatever.

00:11:42.780 I don't know.

00:11:43.180 Yeah.

00:11:43.360 Just whatever's in your head.

00:11:44.680 Completely.

00:11:45.420 And more often than not,

00:11:46.420 I find that they run on into each other,

00:11:48.540 those two sentences.

00:11:49.840 I don't know.

00:11:50.080 There's almost like a comedy to it

00:11:51.320 where you're just like,

00:11:52.320 yep,

00:11:52.600 I do need to,

00:11:53.960 you know,

00:11:54.620 fill up my car.

00:11:55.720 Yes,

00:11:56.040 I should apologize to my cousin

00:11:58.100 for that thing that happened

00:11:59.040 when we were eight,

00:11:59.780 you know?

00:12:00.740 No,

00:12:01.140 it is funny.

00:12:01.760 Like when I,

00:12:02.360 cause I've done these brain dumps before

00:12:03.640 and it is funny to see like,

00:12:04.840 you know,

00:12:05.760 there's like this really big thing

00:12:07.160 followed by this rinky dink thing

00:12:08.840 and it's just like,

00:12:09.420 oh my gosh,

00:12:10.220 I can't believe.

00:12:10.820 Every time.

00:12:11.400 When did,

00:12:11.640 when did you start doing brain dumps

00:12:13.080 and journaling?

00:12:14.080 Um,

00:12:14.460 like,

00:12:14.740 so I don't journal regularly.

00:12:16.080 I used to be a regular journaler.

00:12:17.680 I hear you.

00:12:18.280 But then,

00:12:18.780 you know,

00:12:19.000 I just stopped getting anything out of it.

00:12:21.020 I kind of took,

00:12:21.540 I had to,

00:12:21.820 I kind of got burnt out,

00:12:22.840 I think,

00:12:23.420 um,

00:12:23.640 from it.

00:12:24.320 I can relate.

00:12:25.140 Yeah.

00:12:25.600 But yeah,

00:12:26.120 like I,

00:12:26.460 I do the brain dump still every now and then

00:12:28.220 when I'm just feeling overwhelmed

00:12:29.500 and I just get a piece of paper

00:12:31.380 or my,

00:12:31.820 I have a nice journal

00:12:32.760 and I just write,

00:12:33.920 just stream of conscious stuff.

00:12:35.320 And,

00:12:35.740 uh,

00:12:35.980 it's,

00:12:36.360 it's always,

00:12:37.020 it feels good when you do it.

00:12:39.180 Hmm.

00:12:39.620 How,

00:12:40.240 can I ask how often you might do something like that?

00:12:42.420 I don't,

00:12:42.680 it's,

00:12:42.880 it's gotten,

00:12:43.420 it's interesting.

00:12:44.380 So it's,

00:12:44.760 it's more situational.

00:12:46.140 It's more situational.

00:12:47.260 So I used to be really regular about it.

00:12:50.100 Like when I was in high school

00:12:51.440 and in my twenties,

00:12:53.120 but then as I got into my thirties,

00:12:55.900 I noticed that I just didn't have the,

00:12:57.940 the need for it anymore.

00:12:59.760 And,

00:13:00.240 uh,

00:13:00.380 I get that.

00:13:00.940 One of the things I,

00:13:01.660 one of the things,

00:13:02.160 reasons why I've found I may be why I've

00:13:05.040 haven't had the desire or need to journal as much

00:13:08.140 compared to when I was younger.

00:13:09.540 When you're young,

00:13:10.140 you got all these big questions in your life,

00:13:12.000 right?

00:13:12.240 Like,

00:13:12.880 where should I go to school?

00:13:14.480 Should I,

00:13:15.220 I,

00:13:15.420 I like this girl a lot.

00:13:16.840 Should I take it?

00:13:18.020 You know,

00:13:18.180 should we get married?

00:13:19.340 Uh,

00:13:19.740 what should I do with my career?

00:13:21.480 And then as you make decisions on those things

00:13:25.240 and then you move into your thirties and your forties,

00:13:28.540 think like,

00:13:28.960 you know,

00:13:29.160 there's not too many big issues,

00:13:31.780 questions,

00:13:32.160 that you have to tackle anymore.

00:13:33.780 If that makes sense.

00:13:34.940 Oh,

00:13:35.460 completely.

00:13:36.160 It's that,

00:13:36.580 uh,

00:13:36.720 difference between the radical changing and like a

00:13:39.220 maintenance phase of life.

00:13:40.880 I also think that there's a flow on effect of having

00:13:43.400 journal when you're younger,

00:13:44.560 sort of,

00:13:45.420 it does start to shape your mindset into a more,

00:13:49.380 uh,

00:13:49.580 you know,

00:13:49.820 your thoughts aren't necessarily facts kind of mindset.

00:13:53.220 And I think that's one of the side effects that comes

00:13:56.580 from journaling.

00:13:57.640 And if you're starting,

00:13:58.660 if you've achieved that or achieved like a proxy of

00:14:02.140 that by the time that you're in your thirties,

00:14:03.540 it's a lot easier to access that and sort of emotionally

00:14:05.900 detach yourself from a thought,

00:14:07.560 which yeah,

00:14:08.260 might not be as based in reality,

00:14:09.840 but might've plagued you a bit when you were younger.

00:14:11.580 Yeah.

00:14:11.780 And that's another reason I stopped journaling too.

00:14:13.860 Cause I,

00:14:14.520 whenever I would journal,

00:14:15.380 I would sometimes found myself doing just sort of the,

00:14:18.500 the kvetching,

00:14:19.280 just be like,

00:14:19.580 well,

00:14:19.700 here's all my problems,

00:14:20.600 blah,

00:14:20.720 blah,

00:14:20.840 blah,

00:14:21.000 blah.

00:14:21.560 And then I,

00:14:22.160 you know,

00:14:22.340 I started going,

00:14:22.960 I started reading through my entries.

00:14:24.300 It's just all the same.

00:14:25.120 It's just me complaining about the same stuff over and over again.

00:14:28.260 It's like,

00:14:28.540 is this any,

00:14:29.200 is this useful?

00:14:29.780 And that's,

00:14:30.120 that's why I like,

00:14:31.180 it was great to find your videos.

00:14:32.340 You,

00:14:32.620 cause you offered other things you can do besides the,

00:14:35.020 the,

00:14:35.780 cause I think what happens to do the brain dump thing,

00:14:37.560 it can be really useful.

00:14:38.900 But then if that,

00:14:39.840 you just stick with that,

00:14:40.720 I think you get in a,

00:14:41.400 like a mental rut where you just keep on like,

00:14:43.420 well,

00:14:43.940 here are the things I just keep want to complain about and it doesn't get any

00:14:47.700 better.

00:14:48.000 And I actually think it just makes things worse.

00:14:50.660 Totally.

00:14:51.020 And the worst is when either a,

00:14:53.100 you read something from when you were younger and you were just completely put

00:14:55.680 off yourself,

00:14:56.320 which I guess is a sign of growth,

00:14:57.660 but it's still like cringy or B you read a problem when you were younger and

00:15:02.020 you still like 10 years later,

00:15:03.500 haven't solved it.

00:15:04.340 Right.

00:15:04.560 You're like,

00:15:04.980 ah,

00:15:05.620 here we are again,

00:15:06.640 brother.

00:15:07.560 Okay.

00:15:07.960 So we've talked about the brain dump,

00:15:09.300 another practice.

00:15:10.340 So if someone wants to move on to something else,

00:15:12.100 right?

00:15:12.400 They're getting tired of that.

00:15:14.040 Another practice is journaling to break your mindset.

00:15:17.620 And maybe this can be useful for that,

00:15:19.320 getting into that rut of just complaining about stuff.

00:15:22.400 So what kind of mindset would we want to disrupt?

00:15:25.660 And how do you journal to accomplish that?

00:15:28.740 I would say the,

00:15:30.440 where my head immediately goes is to the sort of poster boy of demonized

00:15:34.000 mindset,

00:15:34.520 the fixed mindset,

00:15:35.220 which is a nice name for the mindset that you get in when you don't really

00:15:40.900 believe that you can change or that you're capable of things that are beyond

00:15:43.760 your current level of skill or talent or ability.

00:15:46.320 And this is horrible because obviously this keeps us at the same place.

00:15:49.140 And it also reinforces the idea that you can't change.

00:15:53.060 So for me,

00:15:54.900 breaking this is obviously vital,

00:15:57.980 but it becomes incredibly difficult because it's the type of mindset that says it's unbreakable

00:16:03.120 when you are thinking in that mind frame.

00:16:06.060 If that makes sense.

00:16:07.780 Yeah.

00:16:08.580 Yeah.

00:16:09.140 Yeah.

00:16:09.300 So,

00:16:09.740 and I've thought a long time about ways to break here and I've tried a couple of things,

00:16:14.820 but what I find is really good for something that's more mindset based isn't necessarily

00:16:18.140 like a one-off hit.

00:16:19.140 It's not like the,

00:16:19.980 you know,

00:16:20.740 trash can delete effect of a brain dump that sort of like gives you that immediate pressure

00:16:25.200 valve relief,

00:16:26.020 but it's more like a consistent practice.

00:16:28.280 So because statements might be really good.

00:16:31.000 So let's say you don't believe,

00:16:33.840 what's a classic limiting belief?

00:16:35.700 Like you don't believe that you will ever be the fit athletic Adonis that your childhood

00:16:40.460 self wished that you would be.

00:16:42.000 You're never going to have that six pack because six packs aren't,

00:16:44.400 just aren't for people who are you, 0.93

00:16:46.040 right?

00:16:46.360 Like I think a lot of us who aren't Adonises,

00:16:49.700 you know,

00:16:50.000 we might have a thought like that.

00:16:51.800 The because statement basically takes that and it questions that belief.

00:16:56.020 So,

00:16:56.560 and it sounds so corny when you do it.

00:16:58.920 So just,

00:16:59.580 you know,

00:16:59.760 you don't have to broadcast this to the world.

00:17:01.380 You just kind of got to do it like subtly in your notes app away from the,

00:17:04.340 the judging eyes of the public who might think you're cringe for self-improving.

00:17:07.800 Maybe that's an Australian thing.

00:17:08.940 Who knows?

00:17:09.580 But you would start a sentence with,

00:17:12.020 I will have,

00:17:13.840 call it that athlete's body that I like,

00:17:16.940 that I really want because,

00:17:18.540 and then every morning you might finish that sentence with five dot points.

00:17:21.880 Then the next day you finish it with five dot points more.

00:17:24.420 Next day you finish it with five more dot points.

00:17:26.100 And these might be things like,

00:17:27.140 because I understand that eating healthy is something that I really do enjoy every time I do it.

00:17:32.480 Or it might be because I regularly go to the gym or it might be because I am researching how to actually do this.

00:17:40.460 You know what I mean?

00:17:40.980 And even if it's just one answer to that because statement a day,

00:17:44.600 by the end of a year,

00:17:45.420 you've got 365 reasons why you are actively breaking that limiting belief.

00:17:51.840 And reminding yourself that every day,

00:17:54.360 like it seems so trivial and nominal,

00:17:57.540 but I think it's,

00:17:59.000 I don't know,

00:17:59.440 it's incredibly powerful to do it over a consistent period of time.

00:18:02.740 I think you're right.

00:18:03.460 And this,

00:18:03.740 this comes straight out of cognitive behavioral therapy.

00:18:05.960 This is an idea.

00:18:07.200 If you went to a therapist,

00:18:08.040 because you're like,

00:18:08.640 I just feel like I'm not getting anywhere in life because I'm a, 0.91

00:18:11.020 I'm a dumb,

00:18:11.980 dumb,

00:18:12.560 whatever.

00:18:13.300 Yes.

00:18:13.840 They would say,

00:18:14.800 you know,

00:18:15.080 they would,

00:18:15.380 the therapist would be like,

00:18:16.020 well,

00:18:16.760 what's your proof for that?

00:18:17.940 And maybe we can,

00:18:18.700 we can question that assumption.

00:18:20.380 And that's what you're doing with this,

00:18:21.680 this prompt.

00:18:23.380 Massively,

00:18:23.860 massively.

00:18:24.380 And that's another brilliant way in is,

00:18:26.560 yeah,

00:18:26.740 find the proof.

00:18:27.600 Cause I mean,

00:18:28.720 so many of these things,

00:18:29.540 they exist in the emotional realm of our heads and not in the rational.

00:18:32.400 And I mean,

00:18:33.460 the rational,

00:18:34.240 the cynic in us is really quite good at dissecting things when it doesn't benefit us.

00:18:38.100 But when it does benefit us,

00:18:39.440 it can switch off a little,

00:18:41.040 which is why sometimes it's nice to have that logic in front of you,

00:18:43.880 objective on paper.

00:18:45.300 And as you said,

00:18:46.120 you might feel awkward doing this.

00:18:48.000 Cause you're like,

00:18:48.300 what is this so cheesy?

00:18:49.680 Like I'm challenging my thoughts,

00:18:51.020 but the,

00:18:51.400 the alternative is,

00:18:52.460 is you just let your brain reinforce the negative mindset you have.

00:18:57.200 So why not do something different?

00:19:00.240 Absolutely,

00:19:00.760 man.

00:19:00.960 Yeah.

00:19:01.260 Cause otherwise it's what complacency taking over.

00:19:03.220 And I mean,

00:19:03.520 play that out over a lifetime.

00:19:04.620 Like that doesn't sound too pleasant.

00:19:06.600 So the little bit of pain where you have to access your inner Tony Robbins energy,

00:19:11.620 uh,

00:19:12.340 it's probably going to be worth it in the long shot.

00:19:14.580 So that practice is take a look at limiting belief or mindset you have and then challenge it

00:19:19.920 and show like the proof like,

00:19:21.460 Hey,

00:19:21.580 here's why I'm not doing that.

00:19:23.020 I,

00:19:23.280 here's what I'm doing to,

00:19:24.360 to counter that and do that consistently.

00:19:26.800 And I imagine like reviewing that stuff just reinforces that.

00:19:30.080 Oh,

00:19:31.000 completely.

00:19:31.540 I mean,

00:19:31.760 that's a whole other kettle of fish.

00:19:33.540 Cause I mean,

00:19:34.540 this is,

00:19:34.940 if we're going into a sort of more,

00:19:38.040 what would you call like a tough love version of this exercise?

00:19:40.660 This is a really cool one.

00:19:41.800 So basically what you do is you paint two versions of yourself.

00:19:44.600 So we've got Brett who is,

00:19:46.460 so what is actually,

00:19:47.220 yeah,

00:19:47.420 we'll do this right now,

00:19:48.120 a lot of time.

00:19:48.500 So what's the worst version of you that you could become like just left to your own devices,

00:19:53.280 hedonism takes over massively.

00:19:55.300 What do you look like?

00:19:56.960 Let's see.

00:19:57.820 Just constantly surfing the internet,

00:20:00.460 not exercising and just being a jerk to my family. 0.65

00:20:05.040 Love it.

00:20:05.780 All right.

00:20:06.220 So we'll call it a chronically online unfit jerk.

00:20:10.720 All right.

00:20:11.120 And what's the best you that you can become spending just really any time online,

00:20:15.880 just enough to do my work.

00:20:17.340 I'm exercising regularly and I'm just on it with my family.

00:20:21.360 I'm just like number one dad.

00:20:22.820 Cool,

00:20:23.300 man.

00:20:23.640 Yeah.

00:20:24.360 Sweet as.

00:20:24.900 So yeah,

00:20:25.360 I'm successful,

00:20:26.020 inspiring family,

00:20:26.660 man.

00:20:27.060 So you would have these two archetypes and one is designed,

00:20:31.220 the words are chosen specifically to bully you.

00:20:33.240 And the other one,

00:20:33.660 the words are chosen specifically to inspire you.

00:20:35.960 And then with each thing that you do in a day,

00:20:38.260 you basically add like,

00:20:40.260 you would say,

00:20:41.020 okay,

00:20:41.240 today,

00:20:41.820 what did I have for breakfast?

00:20:42.800 It was this.

00:20:43.580 What did I do after that?

00:20:44.440 Oh,

00:20:44.560 I scrolled social media.

00:20:45.640 What did I do after that?

00:20:46.420 I actually did my work.

00:20:47.440 And each of these things basically places a vote in either the chronically online jerk

00:20:53.100 or in the inspiring Brett who loves his family.

00:20:56.360 And then by the end,

00:20:57.500 you tally the votes and whichever one has more is theoretically the goalpost that you're moving towards.

00:21:02.500 So that's more of like a review based one.

00:21:05.220 And what I like about that is I know some of us do really respond quite well to that tough love,

00:21:09.460 myself included.

00:21:11.020 So if you want to up the ante,

00:21:14.420 that might be one to try.

00:21:16.620 I like that.

00:21:17.240 And you call this a lifestyle and habits audit.

00:21:20.580 And just to kind of do a recap for people,

00:21:23.200 what you do is you take a journal page

00:21:25.200 and then you break it down into three columns.

00:21:28.280 And then in the first column,

00:21:29.600 you put actions as the heading.

00:21:31.180 And then the second,

00:21:32.680 you put the worst version of yourself.

00:21:34.340 And then in the third column,

00:21:35.900 you put the best version of yourself as the heading.

00:21:38.860 And then in the first column,

00:21:40.520 you list all the things you did that day.

00:21:42.220 And then you put a check mark for that action

00:21:45.100 in either the negative or positive column.

00:21:48.360 And what you can do is you can see which column has more marks in it.

00:21:52.160 And what this can do,

00:21:53.920 it sounds like,

00:21:54.860 is it can give you a sense just as a glance at the page

00:21:57.660 of which direction your life is moving,

00:22:00.140 whether it's moving towards or away from the person you want to be.

00:22:03.820 So that's the lifestyle audit part of it.

00:22:07.500 And then it can help you think about

00:22:09.000 what habits and environments are reinforcing

00:22:11.960 either the good or bad lifestyle decision,

00:22:14.740 like what's helping you or what's hindering you.

00:22:18.260 We're going to take a quick break for your word from our sponsors.

00:22:20.040 And now back to the show.

00:22:28.760 So another journaling practice you recommend

00:22:30.920 is journaling as a daily reflection.

00:22:34.820 And you recommend asking yourself five questions each day

00:22:38.420 as you look back on your day.

00:22:40.360 Those questions are,

00:22:41.860 what excited me?

00:22:42.820 What drained me of energy?

00:22:44.640 What did I learn?

00:22:46.260 What am I grateful for?

00:22:47.980 And how did I push the needle forward?

00:22:50.040 And you say your three favorites of these five questions are,

00:22:54.220 what am I grateful for?

00:22:56.040 What drained me of energy?

00:22:57.460 And what did I learn?

00:22:59.120 Why is it helpful to journal about those questions?

00:23:01.640 Those three particular questions,

00:23:03.640 I think are really cool.

00:23:04.960 Because it's like,

00:23:06.220 they don't exactly show you anything new in terms of information,

00:23:09.920 but they do articulate your intuition.

00:23:12.160 And worse still,

00:23:13.440 they articulate that intuition over a time period

00:23:16.300 where it is so painfully obvious to see

00:23:20.640 what you had a suspicion about just reflected back at you.

00:23:25.140 So I'll give you an example.

00:23:26.280 So what are you grateful for today?

00:23:27.620 Spending time with your family.

00:23:28.680 What drained you of energy?

00:23:29.620 If it's you,

00:23:30.600 and that picture that you painted before,

00:23:32.280 it might be,

00:23:33.000 oh man,

00:23:33.460 I just fell down a scroll hole

00:23:34.900 and all of a sudden I'm learning about something

00:23:36.820 that just is not useful to me.

00:23:38.420 All of a sudden,

00:23:38.800 I'm reading the most toxic comment section

00:23:40.200 and just enjoying it, right?

00:23:41.640 That drained you of energy.

00:23:42.540 What did you learn?

00:23:43.280 I should spend more time with my family

00:23:44.640 and less time online.

00:23:45.840 Now,

00:23:46.360 you already know this,

00:23:47.640 but seeing it in writing,

00:23:49.140 it's painful, man.

00:23:51.420 Seeing it in writing over 30 days,

00:23:53.940 you can't look at that

00:23:54.920 and not actively act on that.

00:23:57.200 Do you know what I mean?

00:23:58.040 What's something you personally discovered

00:23:59.560 through this practice?

00:24:01.380 Oh,

00:24:02.020 so much.

00:24:03.460 Definitely.

00:24:04.420 So I mentioned at the start of this interview,

00:24:06.640 that sort of feeling of withdrawal

00:24:08.020 and obviously like teenage drug addict,

00:24:11.360 blah, blah, blah,

00:24:11.980 sob story.

00:24:12.980 But when I did go back home

00:24:15.620 after what I thought was going to be

00:24:18.540 my one and only attempt at sobriety,

00:24:21.560 I fell straight back into patterns

00:24:23.260 and it wouldn't take me,

00:24:24.700 you know,

00:24:24.960 it would be another nine years of shitty habits

00:24:27.360 before I could actually finally kick those drugs

00:24:30.660 and finally kick the alcohol. 0.74

00:24:32.400 So I think journaling massively helped me realise

00:24:35.860 that I was justifying using drugs and alcohol

00:24:43.220 in the most insidious ways.

00:24:46.140 Once I had quit something,

00:24:48.360 for example,

00:24:48.900 like once I quit either like meth or cocaine,

00:24:51.360 I would still find myself drinking,

00:24:53.460 but justifying it to myself by saying,

00:24:56.820 oh,

00:24:57.040 but this is a socially acceptable alcohol.

00:24:59.320 But then when I still wrote,

00:25:00.560 what drained me of energy today?

00:25:01.680 I'm like,

00:25:02.100 well,

00:25:02.240 it was probably the three drinks I had at night

00:25:03.940 or the 10 drinks I had on the weekend.

00:25:06.120 And I was like,

00:25:06.920 oh man,

00:25:07.340 I don't think I've gotten sober at all.

00:25:08.880 I think I just traded addictions

00:25:10.080 for one that people don't hate.

00:25:12.680 So yeah,

00:25:14.900 sobriety would be probably

00:25:16.260 the biggest benefit that I got from that.

00:25:19.180 And again,

00:25:19.740 seeing that stuff on paper,

00:25:21.200 it just makes it objective,

00:25:22.980 right?

00:25:23.120 You can't hide from it anymore.

00:25:25.320 You really can't.

00:25:26.800 And I think that's,

00:25:29.420 I mean,

00:25:29.780 journaling is not going to solve the problems,

00:25:31.480 but it's going to really show you what the problems are.

00:25:34.180 It's going to be just incredibly well-defined.

00:25:37.640 Is there a journaling practice you recommend

00:25:39.340 for when you're having trouble making a decision?

00:25:42.360 Yeah.

00:25:42.800 So this is one,

00:25:43.540 I haven't actually talked about this on the channel yet

00:25:45.180 because I'm using it at the moment.

00:25:46.460 I want to see if it works.

00:25:47.780 And between you and me,

00:25:49.100 Brett,

00:25:49.340 it is definitely working.

00:25:50.940 And the reason that I started using it

00:25:52.720 is mostly because

00:25:53.380 I think it really applies to like big life decisions.

00:25:55.940 I've been thinking a bit about

00:25:56.740 sort of like moving cities,

00:25:58.400 that type of thing.

00:25:58.940 And what I realized that I do,

00:26:03.240 and then after Googling,

00:26:05.180 I realized humans do it,

00:26:06.220 is when we look at the future,

00:26:08.760 we tend to not be able to predict it that accurately.

00:26:12.640 Like there,

00:26:13.260 so if you've got like an optimistic bias,

00:26:15.000 you might look at what the future will be

00:26:17.540 and you'll look at through rose-tinted glasses.

00:26:19.160 If you've got a pessimistic bias kicking in that day,

00:26:21.140 then you might see the opposite,

00:26:22.240 right?

00:26:22.760 So when I am at the precipice of these big decisions,

00:26:26.320 I'll use the example of moving cities,

00:26:28.000 the thing that I have done to try offset those biases,

00:26:32.200 and I know that's an impossible task,

00:26:34.060 but I'm doing my best,

00:26:35.500 is instead of just comparing

00:26:37.380 what I think the good and the bad is,

00:26:39.360 is comparing the worst possible day

00:26:41.040 that I would have in city A

00:26:42.160 with the worst possible day I'd have in city B,

00:26:44.340 then a mundane day versus a mundane day,

00:26:46.680 then a good day versus a good day.

00:26:48.000 And I find that this is like a really nice way

00:26:50.700 of overcoming,

00:26:51.980 I don't know,

00:26:52.320 any romanticism that I might have

00:26:54.160 about where I go

00:26:55.080 because that's only just going to set me up

00:26:56.920 to have those expectations broken.

00:26:58.660 Instead,

00:26:59.040 I'm actually comparing the reality of it,

00:27:01.240 if that makes sense.

00:27:02.340 That always makes sense.

00:27:02.980 And you actually have a section

00:27:04.220 in Your Head is a Houseboat.

00:27:06.500 We got what's the wacky,

00:27:07.620 it's called the wacky windshield,

00:27:09.140 right?

00:27:09.340 And those are all of those biases.

00:27:11.140 And then that technique that you're using

00:27:13.080 is trying to help you

00:27:13.760 just kind of wash the biases

00:27:16.000 from your windshield you look out through.

00:27:18.740 Yeah.

00:27:19.380 And trying is the key word.

00:27:20.620 I think,

00:27:21.100 I don't know if anybody in history

00:27:22.680 has ever been able to truly see

00:27:24.000 anything objectively,

00:27:25.320 but I mean,

00:27:26.520 it's a noble goal to try, right?

00:27:28.060 Yeah, no, for sure.

00:27:29.220 Another journaling practice

00:27:30.220 you recommend for decision making

00:27:31.680 that I really liked

00:27:33.140 was you set a timer for 60 seconds

00:27:35.420 and then during that time,

00:27:37.440 you write down what your decision would be

00:27:39.240 if you just had that minute to decide.

00:27:42.060 And I like this

00:27:42.600 because it forces you

00:27:44.120 to recognize the answer.

00:27:46.560 You know,

00:27:46.700 you probably already know it

00:27:48.220 and you just haven't been able to

00:27:50.000 admit it or accept it yet.

00:27:52.060 Let's say someone struggles with anxiety.

00:27:54.820 Is there a journaling practice

00:27:55.960 that you like to use

00:27:56.900 to quiet that anxiety?

00:27:59.180 Yeah, there is.

00:28:01.000 So, me and anxiety,

00:28:02.380 we go way back.

00:28:03.680 And what I've found is that,

00:28:06.180 so we all know about the idea

00:28:07.580 of catastrophizing

00:28:08.420 when you start thinking

00:28:09.200 of a particular consequence

00:28:10.400 and then that consequence spirals

00:28:11.640 out of control.

00:28:12.600 Like, oh man,

00:28:13.880 can I tell a story

00:28:14.880 that was stupidest catastrophizing

00:28:17.320 I've ever done?

00:28:17.720 Yeah, I love it

00:28:18.140 because I do that all.

00:28:19.320 I do it.

00:28:20.180 I'm a master catastrophizer.

00:28:22.300 Okay, so I was,

00:28:24.060 I would have been quite young.

00:28:25.260 Now, it's sort of like,

00:28:26.120 you know how Americans

00:28:27.400 might go to like Cancun

00:28:28.800 or wider Mexico

00:28:30.740 as like a bit of a rite of passage

00:28:32.500 at some point in their life?

00:28:33.980 Right.

00:28:34.240 So, for Australians,

00:28:36.200 it's Southeast Asia.

00:28:37.180 And I was doing my obligatory

00:28:39.380 19-year-old trip to Thailand

00:28:41.000 and I was on a train

00:28:42.500 and this guy sits down next to me,

00:28:45.000 this train guard,

00:28:45.960 and first red flag,

00:28:47.300 he goes,

00:28:47.700 hi, my name's Cop.

00:28:50.220 And I'm like,

00:28:51.000 g'day, Cop.

00:28:51.560 How you going?

00:28:52.880 And I didn't think anything of it.

00:28:54.580 I'm just like,

00:28:55.040 yeah, that's just his name.

00:28:56.000 And he's like,

00:28:57.020 do you like music?

00:28:58.060 And I'm like,

00:28:58.580 yes, I do.

00:28:59.320 He's like,

00:28:59.740 do you like weed?

00:29:00.760 And I'm like,

00:29:01.300 yes, I do.

00:29:02.000 And he's like,

00:29:02.660 how about when the train starts,

00:29:05.280 you and me smoke weed?

00:29:06.940 And I'm like,

00:29:07.560 Cop, you genius.

00:29:08.840 That sounds like the greatest thing

00:29:09.880 that we could do right now.

00:29:11.040 Anyway, the train starts.

00:29:12.180 It's one of those

00:29:12.720 sort of overnight trains.

00:29:14.400 Cop comes and gets me.

00:29:15.300 We go into his guard compartment

00:29:16.560 and he pulls out

00:29:17.600 this little homemade bong

00:29:18.780 and we both take some hits.

00:29:21.180 And I'm like,

00:29:21.900 all right,

00:29:22.700 me and Cop,

00:29:23.420 we're now getting stoned on the train.

00:29:24.840 This is cool.

00:29:25.620 Anyway,

00:29:26.220 go and sit back down.

00:29:27.720 And, oh no,

00:29:28.220 before I go sit back down,

00:29:29.280 sorry,

00:29:29.580 Cop's like,

00:29:30.480 hey,

00:29:30.960 did you like,

00:29:31.960 the weed?

00:29:32.560 And I'm like,

00:29:33.140 yeah,

00:29:33.400 I did, dude.

00:29:34.000 And he's like,

00:29:34.860 why don't you buy some?

00:29:35.940 And I'm like,

00:29:36.900 immediately I start thinking,

00:29:39.140 oh,

00:29:40.040 if I do that,

00:29:40.960 because you hear all these stories

00:29:41.940 about tourists

00:29:42.740 who get the weed planted on them

00:29:44.160 and then all of the police guards

00:29:46.400 will come and like,

00:29:47.160 you know,

00:29:47.360 like basically arrest you

00:29:48.240 until you,

00:29:48.680 unless you pay some sort of bribe,

00:29:49.740 right?

00:29:50.000 So I am freaking out at this point

00:29:52.200 and I'm like,

00:29:53.520 nah, man,

00:29:54.160 I'm actually,

00:29:55.120 I don't have any money.

00:29:56.680 I'm so sorry.

00:29:57.540 And so I go and sit back down.

00:29:59.460 Here is where catastrophizing

00:30:01.080 actually helped.

00:30:02.380 And this is,

00:30:03.420 I think,

00:30:03.700 why anxiety sticks with a lot of people

00:30:05.280 because I see Cop go and pull the same stunt

00:30:08.540 on another dude,

00:30:09.420 another young dude who's like roughly my age,

00:30:12.120 like visually Australian.

00:30:14.120 And you can just tell he goes in,

00:30:16.800 he's clearly bought weed

00:30:17.960 because the next stop,

00:30:19.380 30 train guards come on

00:30:21.060 and take this kid off. 1.00

00:30:23.320 And I think because of that,

00:30:26.320 because the catastrophizing

00:30:27.560 actually helped me in that one moment,

00:30:30.020 it can be really,

00:30:31.140 really hard to part with.

00:30:32.580 And I think that's like

00:30:33.640 the first thing to remember

00:30:35.320 when you are thinking about

00:30:37.160 some of these like negative things

00:30:38.800 in your head

00:30:39.480 is a lot of them have come up

00:30:41.540 as a means of protecting yourself.

00:30:42.980 So I would say like

00:30:44.580 the first journaling technique

00:30:46.340 for something like anxiety

00:30:48.080 or like fear

00:30:48.860 is to understand

00:30:50.540 how it's there to protect you.

00:30:53.060 And then the second one

00:30:53.940 I would say is

00:30:55.020 when it comes to catastrophizing,

00:30:56.900 try pull it into the reality

00:30:58.260 because when things are in your head,

00:31:00.160 so like that's a one-off situation.

00:31:01.840 99 times out of 100

00:31:02.960 when I'm thinking,

00:31:03.780 oh, I really want to go for a swim,

00:31:04.880 but there was a shark attack here

00:31:05.820 like 40 years ago

00:31:06.680 and what if I get in by a shark?

00:31:08.280 99 times out of 100,

00:31:09.500 that catastrophizing

00:31:10.140 has no basis in reality.

00:31:12.080 So a good journaling technique

00:31:13.660 for that would be

00:31:14.840 just to pull it

00:31:15.400 into terms of reality.

00:31:16.660 And one that I really like

00:31:17.560 is what would I bet money on?

00:31:19.740 So if you're thinking like,

00:31:21.260 I don't want to drive my car

00:31:23.180 because I'm worried

00:31:24.860 that a semi-trailer

00:31:26.120 will crash into me.

00:31:27.380 I think we've all had

00:31:28.360 a thought like that.

00:31:29.980 Then the option

00:31:31.160 that you would bet money on

00:31:32.200 if some sort of like

00:31:33.020 devil bookie came down 1.00

00:31:34.560 and took all of your money

00:31:35.500 out of your bank account

00:31:36.380 and said,

00:31:36.740 hey, which one?

00:31:38.280 Which one?

00:31:39.140 You would probably be more inclined

00:31:41.080 now that it's in a reality terms

00:31:43.000 to bet on the

00:31:44.000 less catastrophized scenario,

00:31:46.560 if that makes sense.

00:31:47.900 So to sum up,

00:31:49.080 firstly,

00:31:49.480 understand that

00:31:50.280 some of these anxieties

00:31:51.620 are there to protect you

00:31:52.780 and sometimes there are situations

00:31:54.180 where overthinking things

00:31:55.720 has a benefit

00:31:56.840 and that might be

00:31:57.840 why they're sticking around in you,

00:31:58.940 but also recognize

00:31:59.920 that most of the time

00:32:01.460 it's just a hang up

00:32:03.300 from our old brains

00:32:04.440 and that a lot of the things

00:32:06.100 that we fear

00:32:06.640 probably aren't going to happen.

00:32:07.780 I love that

00:32:09.020 like to do the journaling

00:32:10.200 where like you bet money,

00:32:11.440 right?

00:32:11.640 Like hypothetically,

00:32:13.000 like how much would I bet?

00:32:14.000 It reminds me of,

00:32:15.500 we've had,

00:32:16.040 I don't know if you know,

00:32:16.880 heard of Annie Duke.

00:32:17.920 She used to be 1.00

00:32:18.320 a professional poker player

00:32:19.320 and she's written a lot of books

00:32:20.400 about decision making.

00:32:21.180 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yep, yep.

00:32:21.960 Yeah, and she has this,

00:32:23.120 in one of her books,

00:32:23.960 she talks about

00:32:24.600 if you've got an opinion

00:32:26.540 or you got someone

00:32:27.400 who's got this opinion

00:32:28.300 that it's just,

00:32:29.680 it's kind of dumb

00:32:30.460 and they're being really

00:32:31.300 stubborn about it,

00:32:32.520 ask them,

00:32:33.160 how much would you bet

00:32:34.480 that you're right

00:32:36.220 and like actually put a number

00:32:38.900 and like,

00:32:39.480 and actually maybe give a number

00:32:40.420 like are you 70% sure,

00:32:42.140 80% sure

00:32:43.060 and put money to it

00:32:44.020 and it causes,

00:32:45.200 immediately when you do that,

00:32:46.460 it causes you

00:32:47.440 and maybe the other person

00:32:48.400 to,

00:32:49.160 you start hedging your bets

00:32:51.160 a little bit.

00:32:51.600 You're like,

00:32:51.800 well, maybe,

00:32:52.860 well,

00:32:53.200 if you put it that way,

00:32:53.900 maybe not.

00:32:54.540 So I like that idea.

00:32:55.280 It's like if I'm having catastrophizing,

00:32:57.020 like, okay,

00:32:57.960 if I were to,

00:32:58.960 said I had to bet $1,000

00:33:00.440 that this would come true,

00:33:01.780 would I make that bet?

00:33:03.040 And probably the answer would be no.

00:33:05.520 I think to extend on that as well,

00:33:07.680 like when you're talking percentages,

00:33:09.020 like is to rule out 70% as well.

00:33:13.360 Rule out seven out of 10

00:33:14.400 because then you'll find

00:33:15.200 that you'll naturally

00:33:15.760 either go six or eight

00:33:16.700 and there's your answer.

00:33:19.080 Okay.

00:33:19.500 So we've talked about different techniques.

00:33:21.320 We got the brain dump,

00:33:22.040 which is a really easy one.

00:33:23.200 You could do the journaling

00:33:24.500 to break your mindset.

00:33:25.680 So it's just challenging assumptions you have.

00:33:27.780 You can do the journaling

00:33:28.880 as a daily reflection,

00:33:30.420 ask those questions.

00:33:31.240 What are you grateful for?

00:33:32.060 What's draining you of energy?

00:33:33.440 What'd you learn today?

00:33:34.800 We talked about the lifestyle audit.

00:33:36.540 We talked about using journaling

00:33:37.920 to kind of help with anxiety

00:33:39.800 and then also journaling

00:33:41.000 to make a decision.

00:33:42.260 How do you know

00:33:43.380 what sort of journaling

00:33:44.600 you should do on a particular day?

00:33:47.040 Oh, that's a brilliant question.

00:33:48.400 So I guess it's about

00:33:50.480 how you're feeling, right?

00:33:52.080 And I mean,

00:33:52.820 not every problem

00:33:53.600 can be solved by journaling.

00:33:54.860 Like there's no real point

00:33:55.760 understanding what's going on

00:33:57.520 in your head

00:33:57.860 if you haven't slept for 48 hours.

00:33:59.300 There's definitely

00:34:00.220 a better solution for you.

00:34:01.640 But if you are,

00:34:02.820 if all your physiological needs are met,

00:34:04.820 what I would do

00:34:06.020 is more or less

00:34:06.980 start out with

00:34:07.760 a brain dump or something

00:34:08.800 to figure out

00:34:09.980 what the problem is

00:34:11.020 that you are trying to solve

00:34:12.080 on any given day.

00:34:13.500 Because until you know the problem,

00:34:16.600 you don't really know

00:34:17.320 what direction

00:34:18.040 you need to run in.

00:34:19.160 So there's no point

00:34:19.880 running full steam.

00:34:21.540 And yeah,

00:34:23.060 so I guess I'd say

00:34:24.240 like establish

00:34:25.060 what the problem is

00:34:26.100 and then go from there.

00:34:27.940 Okay.

00:34:28.420 And so they could change.

00:34:29.320 I think it's great

00:34:30.040 to have different options

00:34:31.100 because like I said,

00:34:32.400 we were talking about earlier with me,

00:34:33.380 I think my problem was

00:34:34.320 I just use the brain dump technique.

00:34:36.280 Okay.

00:34:36.640 So just kind of

00:34:37.140 based on what you

00:34:37.960 start with a brain dump,

00:34:38.920 that's a great way

00:34:39.560 to get started.

00:34:40.100 And then from there,

00:34:41.080 kind of just figure

00:34:42.200 what you need

00:34:42.800 and then pick a technique

00:34:44.780 based on that.

00:34:45.820 A lot of people

00:34:46.500 get hung up on this question

00:34:47.960 is how do you recommend

00:34:50.080 people do their journaling?

00:34:52.040 Paper and pen,

00:34:53.740 computer,

00:34:54.480 smartphone,

00:34:55.080 what's your take on that?

00:34:56.020 Yes to everything.

00:34:58.260 Okay, yeah.

00:34:58.980 I think,

00:35:00.040 yeah,

00:35:01.560 some people like

00:35:03.100 the romance

00:35:04.180 of the Moleskine journal

00:35:05.720 and the beautiful fountain pen.

00:35:07.240 Some people really cherish

00:35:09.380 the anti-romance

00:35:11.020 of like a biro 1.00

00:35:12.680 and a $1

00:35:14.060 like spiraling notebook.

00:35:16.280 I personally think

00:35:17.600 any way

00:35:18.380 that it's not in your head

00:35:19.280 and then it's out

00:35:19.960 is the good technique.

00:35:21.780 Whatever you have

00:35:22.320 at your disposal

00:35:22.860 at that time

00:35:23.700 and it doesn't even

00:35:25.040 need to be written.

00:35:27.180 Like you could use

00:35:27.820 the voice recording app

00:35:28.620 on your phone.

00:35:29.460 If they're just questions

00:35:30.320 that you want to talk about,

00:35:31.400 you can just get a trusted friend

00:35:32.440 and literally have

00:35:33.100 the conversation with them.

00:35:34.520 If it's a podcast

00:35:35.680 that you're not going to publish

00:35:37.160 because it's too intimate,

00:35:38.380 do that.

00:35:38.880 Like whatever it is

00:35:39.780 that helps you structure

00:35:40.760 your thoughts

00:35:41.280 so that they're not tormenting you

00:35:42.500 is the right technique

00:35:43.700 and it might change day to day.

00:35:45.820 There doesn't need

00:35:46.220 to be consistency.

00:35:47.540 You don't have to show anybody.

00:35:49.620 So yeah,

00:35:50.140 whatever.

00:35:50.860 There's arguments

00:35:51.380 for a lot of stuff.

00:35:52.260 The argument for handwriting

00:35:53.560 that you hear a lot of the time

00:35:55.120 is that the speed of handwriting

00:35:57.380 and the fact that you are moving

00:35:58.780 helps you synthesize

00:35:59.880 your thoughts a bit more

00:36:00.700 and the fact that your thoughts

00:36:02.160 go a little bit faster

00:36:02.940 than your handwriting

00:36:03.720 and that handwriting

00:36:04.500 slower than typing

00:36:05.480 means that the synthesis

00:36:06.900 of your thoughts

00:36:07.900 leads to a clearer thought

00:36:10.160 on the page.

00:36:11.260 The argument for typing

00:36:12.300 would be the speed of it

00:36:13.580 and that you can sort of

00:36:14.540 keep up with your thoughts

00:36:15.280 a little bit better.

00:36:16.220 Argument for voice recording

00:36:17.340 is, I mean,

00:36:18.720 it's probably the least effort.

00:36:20.300 So honestly,

00:36:21.720 whatever you have,

00:36:22.740 whatever feels good,

00:36:23.560 whatever the path

00:36:24.200 of least resistance is,

00:36:25.320 that's the right technique.

00:36:27.160 Okay.

00:36:27.680 So yeah,

00:36:27.900 don't worry about it.

00:36:29.260 You don't have to do

00:36:29.580 like Google searchers

00:36:30.540 or watch Instagram videos

00:36:31.640 of people talking about

00:36:32.660 paper journal.

00:36:34.020 Yeah, bullet journal

00:36:34.500 and whatever.

00:36:35.100 Yeah, whatever.

00:36:35.540 Yeah, I'd say

00:36:37.200 if you're getting hung up

00:36:38.620 on that,

00:36:39.120 just type.

00:36:40.320 Yeah, just type.

00:36:41.420 So this is a really cool video

00:36:42.860 you did about an experiment

00:36:44.440 you did for a year

00:36:47.040 where you replaced social media

00:36:48.600 with what you call

00:36:49.400 micro journaling.

00:36:50.820 So what was going on

00:36:51.860 in your life

00:36:52.420 that prompted

00:36:53.160 the experiment

00:36:54.240 of giving up social media

00:36:55.880 for micro journaling?

00:36:57.520 Yeah, so you know

00:36:59.080 how I sheepishly

00:37:00.340 told you that I had

00:37:01.400 quit drugs to use

00:37:02.420 and then just kept

00:37:03.280 going with alcohol.

00:37:04.460 So when I quit alcohol

00:37:05.680 I kept going with social media.

00:37:07.360 So I think it was just

00:37:08.120 addiction trading

00:37:09.220 before I really started

00:37:10.160 figuring out

00:37:10.580 what was kind of

00:37:11.300 going wrong in my head.

00:37:12.620 And when I was like

00:37:13.600 well, shoot

00:37:14.520 now I am using my phone

00:37:16.260 way too freaking much.

00:37:17.840 I've got to do

00:37:18.260 something about this.

00:37:19.240 So there's like

00:37:20.100 probably I guess

00:37:20.740 like three ways

00:37:21.660 that people might

00:37:22.540 look at

00:37:23.760 phone addiction

00:37:24.800 or social media addiction.

00:37:25.740 You might think

00:37:26.180 okay, I'll use willpower

00:37:27.240 or I'll use environment

00:37:28.840 like get a lockbox

00:37:29.840 or I will

00:37:31.320 use

00:37:32.780 the energy

00:37:34.000 of the habit

00:37:34.500 and try to turn it

00:37:35.280 into something good.

00:37:36.100 So I figured I'd

00:37:37.020 try all three

00:37:37.720 and then in terms of

00:37:39.240 taking the trigger

00:37:40.400 of my phone

00:37:41.160 so in terms of

00:37:41.760 using that third thing

00:37:42.680 what I decided to do

00:37:43.980 was basically

00:37:44.720 you know how you got

00:37:45.420 the muscle memory

00:37:46.040 you unlock your phone

00:37:46.760 and then immediately

00:37:47.280 you go to press YouTube

00:37:48.120 or immediately go to press

00:37:49.040 TikTok or whatever.

00:37:50.380 Basically

00:37:50.780 where my thumb

00:37:51.940 would naturally go

00:37:52.760 I decided to take

00:37:53.560 the social media apps

00:37:54.580 out and put in

00:37:55.840 my notes app

00:37:56.700 which sounds

00:37:57.340 super trivial

00:37:58.140 but what you find

00:38:00.600 is you actually

00:38:01.560 met with like

00:38:02.080 a little bit

00:38:02.700 of embarrassment

00:38:03.300 the first time

00:38:03.920 it happens

00:38:04.360 and that's

00:38:05.080 kind of a good feeling.

00:38:06.620 So you unlock

00:38:07.180 your phone

00:38:07.700 you mindlessly

00:38:08.560 go to press

00:38:09.340 on call it

00:38:10.280 Instagram

00:38:10.640 but instead

00:38:11.360 your notes app

00:38:11.980 opens up

00:38:12.560 and when that

00:38:13.420 happened to me

00:38:13.880 I was like

00:38:14.480 oh I'm pathetic

00:38:16.120 because I could feel

00:38:17.560 my brain being like

00:38:19.740 give me give me

00:38:20.480 dopamine

00:38:20.900 where is my

00:38:22.380 validation

00:38:23.080 I want my brain

00:38:23.900 to go bro

00:38:24.440 when I see

00:38:24.940 the red number

00:38:25.680 but instead

00:38:26.820 I'm now looking

00:38:27.420 at this

00:38:27.900 notes app

00:38:28.840 and I'm like

00:38:29.760 well I'm here

00:38:30.960 might as well

00:38:31.860 write that

00:38:32.620 embarrassing

00:38:33.300 shameful thought

00:38:34.260 so I did that

00:38:35.560 and I was like

00:38:36.640 that didn't feel

00:38:38.520 so bad

00:38:39.340 so that's where

00:38:41.060 the experiment

00:38:41.520 started

00:38:41.980 it was me

00:38:42.720 trying to replace

00:38:43.400 my muscle memory

00:38:45.160 in order to help

00:38:46.260 with that

00:38:46.740 habit

00:38:47.320 and the notes app

00:38:48.800 felt like the most

00:38:49.480 benign app I could use

00:38:50.780 and after doing that

00:38:52.340 I was like

00:38:52.680 well let's just

00:38:53.760 keep going

00:38:54.320 so I went for a week

00:38:55.320 and I was like

00:38:56.080 yeah this is pretty cool

00:38:57.480 and then I went for

00:38:58.800 another week

00:38:59.300 went for another week

00:39:00.080 and after a while

00:39:01.260 I realized it had been

00:39:02.340 a year

00:39:02.780 which is when I made

00:39:03.500 that video

00:39:03.940 and oh man

00:39:06.240 it was crazy

00:39:06.800 so some of the things

00:39:07.840 that happened

00:39:09.360 when I found that

00:39:11.040 I basically traded out

00:39:12.600 those little 30 second

00:39:13.640 social media breaks

00:39:14.520 for a sentence

00:39:15.760 or two in my notes app

00:39:16.840 so firstly yes

00:39:17.780 all the obvious stuff

00:39:18.560 happened

00:39:18.940 used social media less

00:39:20.180 felt a bit more

00:39:20.740 mentally clear

00:39:21.300 felt a bit happier

00:39:22.000 compared myself less

00:39:22.820 to people

00:39:23.240 but then there were

00:39:24.080 all these other

00:39:24.520 cool side effects

00:39:25.540 that I didn't really

00:39:26.120 see coming

00:39:26.560 like I just

00:39:28.180 I don't know

00:39:28.920 I started using

00:39:29.960 my phone a bit

00:39:30.940 differently

00:39:31.300 I started thinking

00:39:32.860 about my relationship

00:39:34.020 to my phone

00:39:34.620 my memory got better

00:39:35.620 as well

00:39:36.080 like I was able

00:39:37.400 to recall things

00:39:38.460 from way further

00:39:39.940 back in my timeline

00:39:41.660 because I was like

00:39:42.180 well I wrote about them

00:39:42.960 so they're there

00:39:43.800 so yeah

00:39:44.900 I would recommend

00:39:46.100 that to most people

00:39:47.580 sadly after my daughter

00:39:49.340 was born

00:39:49.720 I stopped doing it

00:39:50.920 but I've picked it

00:39:51.680 back up recently

00:39:52.320 and so when you

00:39:53.480 opened up the app

00:39:54.140 what did you write

00:39:55.020 about

00:39:55.280 was just like

00:39:56.000 like I'm feeling

00:39:56.580 dumb doing

00:39:57.160 like besides that

00:39:58.500 what other stuff

00:39:59.180 did you write about

00:39:59.840 yeah heaps of stuff

00:40:01.460 man

00:40:01.720 like they were never

00:40:03.200 all too pretty

00:40:04.060 and they would vary

00:40:05.000 few and far between

00:40:05.740 so some would be like

00:40:06.840 just woken up

00:40:07.880 feeling good

00:40:08.480 had a coffee

00:40:09.080 life is great

00:40:10.120 like some would be

00:40:10.800 like the most

00:40:11.380 simple stuff

00:40:12.800 and then other times

00:40:13.880 would be like

00:40:14.380 I had the worst day

00:40:15.500 head is crying

00:40:17.040 like not even

00:40:17.800 well written

00:40:19.340 other times

00:40:20.500 it would be like

00:40:21.240 a to-do list

00:40:22.720 in the form of

00:40:23.680 kind of like

00:40:24.660 emotional prose

00:40:25.900 other times

00:40:26.960 it would be

00:40:27.440 a recount

00:40:27.960 of what happened

00:40:28.700 in that day

00:40:29.340 other times

00:40:30.040 it would be

00:40:30.380 whatever's frustrating

00:40:31.300 me

00:40:31.560 whatever I don't

00:40:32.240 want to do

00:40:32.680 it was honestly

00:40:33.560 stream of consciousness

00:40:34.740 and it was just

00:40:35.260 capturing those tiny

00:40:36.000 thoughts

00:40:36.380 there was no rules

00:40:38.080 I mean I can read

00:40:38.780 them out if you want

00:40:39.660 but yeah

00:40:40.740 they were

00:40:41.100 fairly

00:40:42.840 they ranged from

00:40:44.860 completely benign

00:40:46.840 thoughts about

00:40:47.880 oh I need to

00:40:49.160 go to Bunnings

00:40:50.200 to fix my shelf

00:40:51.200 to like

00:40:51.900 intense thoughts

00:40:53.160 about

00:40:53.840 I don't know

00:40:55.180 childhood trauma

00:40:56.880 so there was

00:40:58.000 it was everything

00:40:59.340 and everything

00:40:59.900 the only rule

00:41:01.240 was that it happened

00:41:02.420 in my notes app

00:41:03.360 and that it never

00:41:04.540 really exceeded

00:41:05.260 the five minute mark

00:41:06.480 and just to be clear

00:41:07.760 you didn't get rid

00:41:08.560 of your social media

00:41:09.400 because you're

00:41:09.860 an online content creator

00:41:11.540 correct

00:41:12.080 so you just

00:41:12.580 all you did

00:41:12.880 is you just

00:41:13.320 shifted

00:41:13.880 the location

00:41:14.960 of the apps

00:41:15.800 on your phone

00:41:16.820 so that

00:41:17.280 you know

00:41:17.620 the usual place

00:41:18.420 where Instagram

00:41:18.840 is at

00:41:19.200 you put the notes

00:41:19.840 app there

00:41:20.200 for example

00:41:20.720 how did you

00:41:22.020 overcome the tendencies

00:41:23.720 like well

00:41:24.220 you kind of

00:41:24.660 your brain

00:41:25.200 sort of

00:41:25.700 figures out

00:41:26.220 well

00:41:26.580 I typed in my

00:41:27.980 thing

00:41:28.600 and I can go

00:41:29.100 to this app

00:41:29.660 and like

00:41:29.940 I can enjoy myself

00:41:30.880 like how did you

00:41:31.480 minimize

00:41:31.800 that

00:41:33.160 yeah

00:41:34.000 a couple of ways

00:41:34.820 so coming back

00:41:35.440 to that idea

00:41:35.960 of like

00:41:36.340 so either

00:41:36.840 using the addiction

00:41:37.700 using your environment

00:41:38.900 or using willpower

00:41:39.760 so willpower

00:41:40.480 was good

00:41:41.020 but a lot of

00:41:41.720 addiction experiences

00:41:42.500 told me

00:41:42.880 it's just

00:41:43.500 not that great

00:41:44.260 so environment

00:41:45.240 was the next one

00:41:46.020 so if I did

00:41:47.220 feel that

00:41:47.860 I would

00:41:49.040 either

00:41:49.820 use like a lockout

00:41:51.020 app

00:41:51.300 like one of those

00:41:51.860 lockout timers

00:41:52.700 or I would quite

00:41:54.040 literally delete the app

00:41:54.920 so that would

00:41:56.000 happen as well

00:41:56.600 if it was ever

00:41:57.600 just getting too much

00:41:58.640 yeah so mostly

00:41:59.740 just trying to use

00:42:00.440 my digital environment

00:42:01.280 to literally

00:42:02.740 ban myself

00:42:03.440 because I know

00:42:04.180 I'm like a

00:42:04.740 I don't know

00:42:05.540 I'm not passing

00:42:06.700 the marshmallow test

00:42:07.420 brother

00:42:07.700 oh god no

00:42:08.440 okay so

00:42:09.680 I like

00:42:10.460 I've actually

00:42:11.380 after I watched

00:42:12.080 that video

00:42:12.480 about microjournal

00:42:13.080 I started doing it

00:42:13.980 it's really cool

00:42:14.600 no way

00:42:15.080 no yeah

00:42:15.620 no it's really great

00:42:16.860 and like what I

00:42:17.760 think it's genius

00:42:18.720 because

00:42:19.300 I think most people

00:42:20.880 like the smartphone

00:42:21.780 is just basically

00:42:22.980 an adult pacifier

00:42:24.080 like when I

00:42:25.120 bust out my phone

00:42:25.980 it's just because

00:42:26.320 I'm bored

00:42:26.820 it's like a

00:42:27.820 what is this

00:42:28.260 fidget popper thingies

00:42:29.980 that

00:42:30.300 oh my god

00:42:31.020 you know

00:42:31.380 that's

00:42:31.620 yeah

00:42:31.880 and I just

00:42:32.640 kind of like

00:42:33.060 by muscle memory

00:42:33.940 like I'll open up

00:42:34.660 and I'll just like

00:42:35.320 I go through this loop

00:42:36.520 of stuff

00:42:38.100 and then I look

00:42:38.760 it's like that was dumb

00:42:39.680 and so I like the idea

00:42:41.280 I like the idea

00:42:43.180 that's my favorite

00:42:43.780 analysis of social media

00:42:45.060 ever

00:42:45.420 yeah

00:42:45.940 that was dumb

00:42:47.360 that was dumb

00:42:48.200 and so I like the idea

00:42:49.420 I'm just gonna

00:42:49.920 I'm gonna do something else

00:42:51.040 it's on my phone

00:42:51.780 I'm gonna get the tactile

00:42:52.740 satisfaction of

00:42:53.940 doing bubble pop

00:42:55.160 on my phone

00:42:55.740 you know

00:42:56.020 tapping things out

00:42:57.060 but it's a little bit

00:42:58.760 more productive

00:42:59.440 totally

00:43:00.820 that was

00:43:01.400 yeah the philosophy

00:43:02.360 that drove it

00:43:03.020 100%

00:43:03.680 I'm so

00:43:04.260 I'm thrilled

00:43:05.440 to hear you did it

00:43:06.260 no it's

00:43:06.920 it's cool

00:43:07.240 so what I do

00:43:08.260 is I just

00:43:08.620 I got the iPhone

00:43:09.820 and so I've got my

00:43:11.160 the notes app

00:43:12.300 and so like every day

00:43:13.240 I just start

00:43:13.820 a new note

00:43:15.200 and I put the date

00:43:16.580 at the top

00:43:16.980 I guess that's what you did

00:43:18.000 that's yeah

00:43:18.920 and I still do that

00:43:19.700 I still do that

00:43:20.240 every day

00:43:20.660 and then from there on

00:43:21.800 anytime I bust out my phone

00:43:22.700 I have that

00:43:23.040 that itch to be like

00:43:24.020 I'm gonna go

00:43:24.680 you know

00:43:25.220 check out what's going on here

00:43:26.420 like I'm like

00:43:26.900 I gotta google that

00:43:27.880 instead of doing that

00:43:28.880 I'll just open up my notes app

00:43:29.880 and it's like well

00:43:30.360 I had this itch to google

00:43:31.940 this thing

00:43:32.780 and I don't really need to do that

00:43:34.680 and the reason why I was googling it

00:43:36.660 because I was you know

00:43:37.300 wondering about blah blah blah

00:43:38.360 and I guess I don't need

00:43:39.400 and it's been

00:43:40.800 it's been so far

00:43:41.880 I'm enjoying it

00:43:43.000 it's been useful

00:43:43.720 nice

00:43:44.640 can I ask

00:43:45.120 how long you've been

00:43:46.560 doing the habit

00:43:47.280 so it's like just a week

00:43:48.580 I'm just a weekend

00:43:49.320 so I started

00:43:49.960 after I watched it

00:43:50.780 and I started you know

00:43:51.400 prepping for this thing

00:43:52.240 I was like I like that idea

00:43:53.420 awesome man

00:43:54.540 so we'll see how it goes

00:43:55.920 we'll see if it continues strong

00:43:57.360 yeah I'm keen to

00:43:58.960 I'm keen to hear

00:43:59.720 so you mentioned

00:44:01.560 you're a new dad

00:44:02.640 and becoming a new dad

00:44:04.660 threw off the micro journaling

00:44:06.060 but you're getting back into it

00:44:07.680 I am

00:44:08.480 yeah

00:44:08.660 has having a baby

00:44:09.980 thrown a wrench

00:44:11.140 into other journaling practices

00:44:12.420 or have you found ways

00:44:13.740 to keep it going

00:44:14.440 it threw a wrench

00:44:17.020 for sure

00:44:17.880 like most definitely

00:44:19.420 no two ways about it

00:44:20.800 so first kid

00:44:22.120 which man

00:44:22.820 it's the wrench

00:44:24.140 that completely

00:44:24.740 changes your lifestyle

00:44:25.860 and I mean

00:44:27.240 completely changes hers 0.60

00:44:28.100 because she starts one

00:44:29.100 and definitely

00:44:30.920 those first two months

00:44:31.920 I think any

00:44:33.220 any plans

00:44:37.060 of self-improvement

00:44:38.320 or any plans

00:44:39.420 of introspection

00:44:40.160 were put on hold

00:44:42.200 or put on the back burner

00:44:43.100 for keep the blob alive

00:44:44.640 which became the new goal

00:44:46.420 but I guess

00:44:47.600 as yeah

00:44:48.740 me and my wife

00:44:49.300 have gotten

00:44:50.020 into the rhythm

00:44:50.920 of parenthood

00:44:51.540 and into the rhythm

00:44:52.240 of the you know

00:44:53.460 the life we want to create

00:44:54.260 for her

00:44:54.660 we've sort of started

00:44:56.260 incorporating back

00:44:57.240 some of those old practices

00:44:58.520 and like obviously

00:44:59.680 new practices as well

00:45:00.780 because you know

00:45:01.600 your whole entire life changes

00:45:03.360 so it only goes to stand

00:45:05.480 that something

00:45:06.160 that might not have worked

00:45:06.840 for you back then

00:45:07.400 would still work for you now

00:45:08.460 who knows

00:45:09.020 but in terms of

00:45:10.680 when I did start

00:45:11.320 incorporating it back

00:45:12.260 it was

00:45:13.140 firstly

00:45:14.500 in the form of a brain dump

00:45:16.880 but what I found

00:45:17.720 that I was gravitating

00:45:18.520 more towards

00:45:19.340 was really

00:45:20.620 action-oriented

00:45:21.780 journaling

00:45:22.300 so

00:45:22.980 I found

00:45:24.480 basically like

00:45:25.240 with less time

00:45:26.160 with more responsibilities

00:45:27.260 with all of that

00:45:28.920 sort of stuff

00:45:29.460 I

00:45:30.600 always had the idea

00:45:32.260 that the

00:45:32.900 journaling

00:45:33.640 had to lead

00:45:34.720 to actions

00:45:35.660 at the end

00:45:36.420 and

00:45:37.260 I found that

00:45:38.160 at the end

00:45:38.580 like basically

00:45:39.360 if it was a brain dump

00:45:40.640 if it was questions

00:45:41.300 if it was prompts

00:45:41.920 if it was micro journaling

00:45:42.880 there was always

00:45:43.980 what are the next

00:45:44.740 three things

00:45:45.300 that I have to do

00:45:45.920 that would come out of it

00:45:46.760 and

00:45:47.220 I guess that

00:45:48.180 for me

00:45:48.780 felt like

00:45:50.420 A

00:45:50.940 a justification

00:45:51.560 of like the time

00:45:52.940 that I spent journaling

00:45:53.740 and not time

00:45:54.460 that I spent doing

00:45:55.100 something else

00:45:55.800 and

00:45:56.740 B

00:45:57.420 it

00:45:57.880 I don't know

00:45:58.320 calmed me down

00:45:59.140 in a way that

00:46:00.420 improved other people

00:46:01.880 around me

00:46:02.380 so no more angsty

00:46:03.960 teenage

00:46:04.940 20 something

00:46:05.620 yeah

00:46:05.980 massively dude

00:46:07.340 yeah that's it

00:46:08.360 and like

00:46:08.800 even

00:46:09.220 sometimes

00:46:10.020 like I'll go back

00:46:10.800 and read like

00:46:11.680 the stupid things

00:46:13.460 that I wrote

00:46:13.840 when I was 20

00:46:14.520 and holy hell

00:46:15.860 that guy had no idea

00:46:17.080 man

00:46:17.420 but

00:46:19.260 maybe I'll

00:46:19.940 maybe I'll think

00:46:20.420 that about this time

00:46:21.100 now

00:46:21.340 and I'll

00:46:21.660 I'll look back

00:46:22.240 and be like

00:46:22.660 that guy had no

00:46:23.300 just as no idea

00:46:24.380 you know

00:46:24.960 yeah I like that idea

00:46:26.280 as you shift into

00:46:28.200 you know

00:46:29.100 adulthood

00:46:30.100 making your journaling

00:46:31.440 more action oriented

00:46:32.380 instead of sort of

00:46:33.140 the

00:46:33.380 belly

00:46:34.480 staring

00:46:35.660 that

00:46:36.040 you can

00:46:37.080 you tend to do

00:46:37.820 when you're younger

00:46:38.360 I like that

00:46:39.200 completely

00:46:39.680 yeah

00:46:40.300 but I think it's worth

00:46:41.080 finding to hold on

00:46:42.200 to a little

00:46:42.560 deeper introspection

00:46:43.720 into your adulthood

00:46:44.800 as well

00:46:45.220 you know

00:46:45.520 trying to

00:46:46.040 think about those

00:46:46.920 big questions too

00:46:47.820 so a lot of people

00:46:48.820 love the idea

00:46:49.400 of journaling

00:46:49.920 right

00:46:50.200 they

00:46:50.400 I think it's

00:46:51.340 this thing

00:46:51.760 it's like

00:46:51.960 oh man

00:46:52.360 just seems so cool

00:46:53.460 and they start it

00:46:54.180 but they find

00:46:54.760 they can't stick

00:46:55.460 with it consistently

00:46:56.340 do you have any

00:46:57.240 advice on how to

00:46:57.980 make it a regular

00:46:58.600 part of one's

00:46:59.520 daily routine

00:47:00.160 and then stay

00:47:00.880 with it

00:47:01.300 yeah

00:47:01.940 yeah yeah

00:47:02.460 so two

00:47:03.360 things

00:47:04.120 if you are

00:47:05.060 struggling

00:47:05.340 with consistency

00:47:05.960 in it

00:47:06.380 firstly

00:47:06.880 lower the barrier

00:47:07.960 to entry

00:47:08.560 so if

00:47:09.380 right now

00:47:10.060 you feel like

00:47:10.560 journaling

00:47:10.980 has to be

00:47:11.680 pomp and circumstance

00:47:12.780 where you open

00:47:13.520 some sort of

00:47:14.300 notebook

00:47:14.840 and light a candle

00:47:15.920 it really doesn't

00:47:17.000 have to be

00:47:17.380 if you're thinking

00:47:17.980 oh journaling

00:47:18.640 is only when I

00:47:19.660 write three pages

00:47:20.520 it totally doesn't

00:47:21.340 have to be

00:47:21.780 I think that's why

00:47:22.500 a lot of people

00:47:23.500 resonated with the

00:47:24.140 micro journaling video

00:47:24.980 because they're like

00:47:25.440 oh it only has to be

00:47:26.460 a sentence

00:47:26.780 so lower the barrier

00:47:28.240 to entry

00:47:28.660 I'd say is the first

00:47:29.440 one

00:47:29.740 and then the second

00:47:30.640 one is

00:47:31.500 try attach it

00:47:33.260 to something

00:47:34.260 that you already

00:47:34.860 do

00:47:35.340 that is in

00:47:36.720 I guess

00:47:37.120 like a similar

00:47:37.700 context

00:47:38.260 so if you

00:47:39.260 do write out

00:47:40.020 a to-do list

00:47:40.580 every day

00:47:41.000 which a lot

00:47:42.000 of people do

00:47:42.540 add a little bit

00:47:43.440 of journaling

00:47:43.800 on the front

00:47:44.260 doesn't have to be much

00:47:44.960 put on a timer

00:47:45.560 for like five minutes

00:47:46.280 just get a few

00:47:46.820 thoughts down

00:47:47.320 then write the

00:47:47.860 to-do list

00:47:48.360 or other way

00:47:49.120 around

00:47:49.320 whatever works

00:47:50.160 for you

00:47:50.480 so yeah

00:47:51.160 lower the barrier

00:47:52.400 and stack it

00:47:53.340 with something

00:47:53.600 you already do

00:47:54.200 well Cam

00:47:55.020 this has been

00:47:55.280 a great conversation

00:47:56.100 where can people

00:47:56.720 go to learn

00:47:57.120 more about the

00:47:57.620 book and your

00:47:58.100 work

00:47:58.440 yeah

00:47:59.160 your head is

00:47:59.680 a houseboat

00:48:00.060 it's the book

00:48:00.580 and Struthless

00:48:01.500 is my YouTube

00:48:02.760 channel

00:48:03.080 so check that out

00:48:03.960 well hey Cam Walker

00:48:04.940 thanks for your time

00:48:05.400 it's been a pleasure

00:48:05.880 thanks so much Brett

00:48:06.900 really appreciated it

00:48:07.920 my guest today

00:48:09.020 was Cam Walker

00:48:09.700 he's the author

00:48:10.320 of the book

00:48:10.700 your head is a houseboat

00:48:11.700 it's available

00:48:12.060 on amazon.com

00:48:12.960 you can find him

00:48:13.800 on all social media

00:48:14.560 platforms

00:48:15.040 at at Struthless

00:48:16.240 also check out

00:48:17.160 our show notes

00:48:17.520 at aom.is

00:48:18.400 slash journaling

00:48:19.100 where you find

00:48:19.580 links to resources

00:48:20.400 where you delve

00:48:20.800 deeper into this topic

00:48:21.760 well that wraps up

00:48:30.100 another edition

00:48:30.780 of the AOM podcast

00:48:31.700 make sure to check

00:48:32.480 out our website

00:48:32.980 at artofmanlios.com

00:48:34.100 where you find

00:48:34.420 our podcast archives

00:48:35.480 as well as

00:48:36.200 thousands of articles

00:48:36.960 written over the years

00:48:37.480 about pretty much

00:48:38.100 anything you think of

00:48:39.120 and if you'd like

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00:48:42.980 head over to

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00:48:44.840 sign up

00:48:45.260 use code

00:48:45.660 manly as a checkout

00:48:46.480 for a free month trial

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00:48:54.320 I'd appreciate

00:48:54.760 if you take one minute

00:48:55.600 to give us your view

00:48:56.120 on Apple Podcast

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00:48:57.260 helps out a lot

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00:49:03.180 out of it

00:49:03.700 as always

00:49:04.580 thank you for the

00:49:05.080 continued support

00:49:05.660 until next time

00:49:06.200 I'm Brett McKay

00:49:06.840 reminding you

00:49:07.720 on the Listenin' Women

00:49:08.220 podcast

00:49:08.700 to put what you've

00:49:09.660 heard into action

The Art of Manliness - January 04, 2023

7 Journaling Techniques That Can Change Your Life

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