The Journalling Techniques that Changed My Life

Key wellness & self-care strategies from the video (journalling-focused)

Journalling for mental clarity (“mind dump”)

• Write out every thought as it comes:
  • Either in one sitting, or
  • By keeping a notebook and adding new thoughts when they arise.
• The goal: make thoughts feel less scary once they’re on the page.

Journalling for breaking obsessive/anxious thought loops (“mindset breaking”)

• Use whimsy: imagine six impossible things (Lewis Carroll-style) to shift out of fixation.
• Switch from self-focus to care: ask, “How can I make someone else happy right now?”
• Force attention to the present: ask, “What’s something in my immediate environment I’ve never noticed?”

Journalling for daily reflections (self-awareness + course correction)

Use a consistent set of prompts:

• What excited me?
• What drained me of energy?
• What did I learn?
• 10 things I’m grateful for?
• How did I push the needle forward?

Track patterns over time to identify what needs to change (e.g., alcohol and social media as repeat energy drains).

Journalling for habits & lifestyle audit (identity-based accountability)

Create a harsh-but-motivating 3-column page:

• Column 1: what you did (food, work, who you hung out with, etc.)
• Column 2: “worst version of myself” (score negatives for behaviors that align with it)
• Column 3: “best possible version of myself” (score positives for behaviors that align with it)

Add up points to see which “identity direction” your behavior is currently moving toward.

Journalling for when bad things happen (CBT-like reframing + self-compassion)

Ask:

• What happened objectively?
• What did I make it mean?
• How would I comfort a friend if this happened to them?
• How is this the best thing that has ever happened to me? (named as the favorite)

Separate the event from the meaning you assign to reduce cognitive distortions and self-criticism. Also note: reframing doesn’t deny that it sucked—it changes how you think about it.

Journalling for anxieties (fear → strategy → realistic outcome)

Use a 3-column structure:

• Fears: dissect the anxiety into specific worries
• Fixes: write basic, actionable strategies for each fear
• Outcome you’d bet on: reduce catastrophizing with realistic probabilities

Example: if worried about negative feedback, write a step like limiting exposure (e.g., turning off comments until a milestone).

Journalling for to-do list & direction

• Start messy, then refine using prioritization questions:
  • What’s non-negotiable vs. exciting?
  • What would make everything else easier if done?
  • What opportunity would you fight to get back if it were taken away?
  • Pareto-style: “What 20% of activities produce 80% of results?”
• Condense the list to under ~15 items.

Journalling for decision-making

• Define the decision/problem clearly (“a problem well-defined is half solved”).
• List mutually exclusive options.
• Use fast commitment:
  • If you had to decide in 60 seconds, what would you choose? (timer included)
• Check regret/acceptance:
  • “Could I live with this outcome?”
• Add perspective:
  • “What would this look like if it were easy?”

Journalling for life direction (future-based “two-point” thinking)

Think like plotting points on a graph:

• 1 point = unclear direction
• 2+ points = clearer direction

Prompts:

• What did I want 5 years ago?
• What do I want now?
• What do I think I want in 5 years time?

Final guiding question:

• If you knew you couldn’t fail, what would you do?

---

Presenter / sources mentioned

• Joshua Ginsberg (book author; described as “the most important and accessible mental health book in a generation”)
• Lewis Carroll (cited for the “imagine six impossible things” exercise)
• Tom Bilyeu (cited as the source of the question “How is this the best thing that has ever happened to me?”)
• Hamlet (Shakespeare) (reference to: “There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.”)
• Tim Ferriss (cited for several decision/prioritization questions and prompts)
• Author of the book mentioned with “houseboat” metaphor (not named in the subtitles excerpt)