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The Moonshots Podcast goes behind the scenes of the world's greatest superstars, thinkers and entrepreneurs to discover the secrets to their success. We deconstruct their success from mindset to daily habits so that we can apply it to our lives. Join us as we 'learn out loud' from Elon Musk, Brene Brown to emerging talents like David Goggins.
00:00:05:18 - 00:00:18:25
Speaker 1
Hello and welcome to the Moonshot podcast. It's episode 239. I'm your co-host, Mike Parsons. And as always, I'm joined by the man himself, Mr. Mark, Jason Freeland. Good morning, Mark.
00:00:19:01 - 00:00:31:14
Speaker 2
Hey, good morning, Mike. Good morning, Listeners. Subscribers and viewers. Boy, oh, boy. Mike, Do we have an action packed edition into our brand new series on journaling today?
00:00:31:16 - 00:00:39:21
Speaker 1
One might say it's the most comprehensive argument for journaling that we have come across yet. Mark.
00:00:39:23 - 00:01:20:24
Speaker 2
That's right. Last week we were leaning into Julia Cameron's book, which was introducing Mike, the idea of morning pages and artist. It's really getting, I think, ourselves inspired around maybe some of the benefits around journaling, perhaps from a creative angle. Today we are leaning into a brand new topic journaling series with Sandy Grayson's journal, Lucian. And for those who have not perhaps read into Sandy's book on General Ocean before it is Mike, I would say a classic self-help book that helps us really understand maybe the spiritual and emotional element that we can benefit from when it comes to journaling.
00:01:21:00 - 00:01:42:24
Speaker 1
Yeah, And what Sandy touches upon is, first of all, clearing the monkey mind. Coming to terms with some of the emotions, some of the ups and downs you might experience, and in doing so, then using it for creativity, much like we spoke about last week. But then she goes a step further. She goes into the world of how to find your purpose.
00:01:43:00 - 00:02:10:00
Speaker 1
Had to kind of connect with the dreams that you have and make them come true. So this really is an end to end case being argued for journaling. And we have to tip the hat to Matthew McConaughey, who got us onto the whole journaling thing. Please hit mention start if you want to check out the archive show. It is absolutely priceless in making the case sort of the icebreaker on journaling for us, wasn't it?
00:02:10:02 - 00:02:31:15
Speaker 2
Yeah, it's one it's a topic that we've obviously covered for our regular listeners and viewers, something that we've been very, very passionate and forthright about in the past. But I think you're right, Mike. When we got into Matthew McConaughey and again, so for listeners and viewers, you can get back into moonshots dot IO, check out the archives to listen to that show again.
00:02:31:17 - 00:02:56:02
Speaker 2
That's the one that really I think got us over the crest of the wave in journaling. And it proved, I think, some of the benefits as well as provided inspiration when it comes to why all of us could benefit from journaling. Obviously, this series would dig in even deeper as to maybe some of the benefits, as well as the practical elements that all of us can put into practice day in, day out when it comes to journaling.
00:02:56:04 - 00:03:32:19
Speaker 2
And I think today with Sandy Grayson and Jen Lucian, we're really going to lean into that even further. Mike We're going to understand maybe as like an onion as we peel off some of those skins. I think Sandy is going to introduce us to another layer within journaling that I think can help that monkey mind, can help with that idea of confidence, maybe even quieting quieting any of your inner voices that perhaps are putting you off or maybe influencing you into directions that perhaps you don't want to go down, Perhaps it's things that you want to update or readjust.
00:03:32:21 - 00:03:46:03
Speaker 2
And I think Sandy's got a great lesson and a great pack of elements that we can lean into today that I think are going to be additional armories within our repertoire when it comes to journaling.
00:03:46:05 - 00:04:11:17
Speaker 1
Couldn't agree more. And I love the fact that today our journey starts with, you know, some of those challenging negative emotions that we might face. And the good news is that as we keep learning, great people face the same worries, fears, self-doubt, fear, failure. Just like Sandy did, she was feeling some negative energy. And this what took her on the journey to create the book journal Lucian Journalism.
00:04:11:20 - 00:04:31:09
Speaker 2
So Mike, I think we maybe pitched it. I think we've set it up correctly. But really, Mike, there's only one person who can do this even better than you and I, and I think that's going to be the author herself. So why don't we listen and get straight in and hear from Sandy Grayson? He's going to talk to us about how we can all get started.
00:04:31:11 - 00:04:50:15
Speaker 3
I really believe that we need journal. You begin to pay more attention to your life because we tend to just constantly focus on what's next, what's next. And many times we say to ourselves, when I make $1,000,000, then I'll be happy. Or when I become a published author, then I'll be happy when I get married. Then I'll be happy.
00:04:50:17 - 00:05:17:17
Speaker 3
And living a juicy life is about being in that moment. And when you journal, you pay attention. So one of the things that I tell people in my workshops to do is to make a list of things they love. And it could be things like massage or laying on a beach. But it can also be simple things like a really good cup of coffee in the morning or clouds or bubble bath.
00:05:17:21 - 00:05:37:11
Speaker 3
It can be simple things and when you have this list in the inside cover of your journal, you I always tell people, give yourself at least one thing from your list every week. Maybe you can't get a massage every week, but you could take a bubble bath or you'll have a nice cup of coffee and the next time you have that cup of coffee, you will pay attention.
00:05:37:11 - 00:05:53:18
Speaker 3
You'll appreciate it. They'll smell it, you'll be in the moment. And really, that's what a juicy life is, is paying attention and being in this moment fully not thinking about your to do list and everything you have to go back to. But really being here right now.
00:05:53:20 - 00:06:13:11
Speaker 1
Yeah. The the making time to make an inventory of what works for you. I think we you know I think in the business of the day, Mark, I actually think we sometimes forget what makes us happy.
00:06:13:13 - 00:06:38:25
Speaker 2
Yeah, for sure. I think that's that's very, very true, isn't it. It's something that we all I at least for myself, Mike Deprioritized Sometimes it's very easy to forget the things that get you going. And what I mean by that is inspiration. Yes. No, it's very hard to remember all of the because I suppose we all live in a in a world where it's possible to get that nice cup of coffee fairly easily.
00:06:39:01 - 00:07:01:10
Speaker 2
And what I think Sandy is reminding us there is when you start to really notice and maybe write down the things that you love, the things that you have gratitude for, it means exactly as we learned in the happiness series, it can be a muscle. So when you journal, when you write down the things that you want to get out of bed for, maybe a cup of coffee, maybe it's the clouds.
00:07:01:11 - 00:07:34:22
Speaker 2
The sun says maybe it's the smell of fresh air in the morning, maybe it's the sunshine. Whatever these small elements that fundamentally we probably run into each day. When you start to list them, when you start to and this was something that we actually heard from Julia Cameron as well, listing, you know, your top 25 ish loves, I think where Sandy's taking us in and extending from that lesson that we learned last week is actually to really notice them be present really think about those facets of life that kind of get you going.
00:07:34:22 - 00:07:51:13
Speaker 2
Similar to maybe the two states that I think Julia Cameron was probably introducing us to last time as well. And taking this step further, really having gratitude for those moments and then becoming, you know, maybe a little bit more focused, maybe a little bit more comfortable with what's going on.
00:07:51:15 - 00:08:20:13
Speaker 1
You know, the interesting thing is if you start to journaling about what you're like when you do those things, you actually take greater appreciation in them because you really subconsciously know this is something that you value and appreciate. So whether it's having like a bath on the weekend or whether it's taking a walk in your favorite park, if you've journaled about it, something crazy happens when you actually go and do those things which you are grateful for.
00:08:20:15 - 00:08:45:09
Speaker 1
When you spend time with the people that you are grateful for, all of a sudden you go, Oh, I journaled about this. Oh, this is something that really matters to me, and I'm prioritizing that for me. So a little bit on that self-care tip, it actually has this unfair advantage of actually making things even better, and you already were grateful for them.
00:08:45:09 - 00:09:22:11
Speaker 1
So they sort of launch into kind of hyperspace at that point. Yeah, You know what I also about as we take on more responsibility in life, you know, we have a job and maybe we get a house, then we get a pet and we get kids. Yeah. Once you've got all those layers of cake on you, I know many of our more seasoned listeners like myself who have all of those obligations, you can sometimes find yourself working a lot and then you kind of get to in the afternoon.
00:09:22:11 - 00:09:47:24
Speaker 1
And I have been sorting out the house, the the pet, the wife, the son that has been the mortgage. And you're like, Oh, okay, now we've got a half an hour for me. Okay, good. Well, jeez, what do I do with that? I think the reality, though, is prioritizing even the small things. It doesn't have to be the big stuff, like vacations.
00:09:48:01 - 00:10:28:18
Speaker 1
It can be walking in your favorite pie or listening to your favorite album. These can be things. So when you have journal on them and you treat yourself, you get like, I think it's like not only the gratification of the exercise, but it's almost something like the pride and the well-being for caring for yourself. Because I tell you what, when you do have all those responsibilities, if you want to be your best employee, mortgage owner, father, parent, husband, wife, whatever it is to be best at that, you got to be in your best place yourself.
00:10:28:20 - 00:11:05:23
Speaker 1
And I think journaling is so essential, so fundamental to getting there. I mean, I have found journaling through doing the show together with Uma, and I cannot even begin to imagine now a day where I don't journal like the clearing of the head alone is like home run. And then you're like, Well, you can actually think better. So you have like creative thinking, Oh my gosh, there's I'm runs and then three, maybe you get in touch with your purpose, maybe you get more in touch with your subconscious self.
00:11:05:23 - 00:11:20:09
Speaker 1
Become a little mini. Totally. You know like that's all in front of you if you journal and I think we're very, very fortunate that today that generation will actually show us how to do that.
00:11:20:11 - 00:11:52:10
Speaker 2
Yeah. Yeah. Fantastic, isn't it? And I think you're right, Mike. The same for me when I started getting into journaling again via the show, via moonshots, it has proven to me to be something that does have a practical benefit, you know, both from an emotional perspective. It's very beneficial to help me understand what are my priorities. And again, we're going to dive into lots of great tips and tricks today on how to really bring our journals to life and make them habits.
00:11:52:12 - 00:12:16:16
Speaker 2
But also it's helped me understand myself a little bit better, you know, Understand what are those things that I do enjoy? What are those things that really do repeat themselves when you know life gets tough? What are the classic behaviors or patterns that I might follow, which then, upon writing it down, journaling, I might start to subtly notice.
00:12:16:18 - 00:12:46:17
Speaker 2
I might start to understand, Oh, this is my typical behavior. Yeah, okay. A great benefit for me to learn how I react. Yes, It's much, much more difficult to live with a mirror in front of you and be able to look at your reactions every day. Journaling is one of those things that allows you to be able to start doing that so that when you do have family, when you do have commitments, it's going to be something that does help you stay more present and focus more balance.
00:12:46:19 - 00:12:52:09
Speaker 2
I think it just seems like such a beneficial part of your day, doesn't it?
00:12:52:11 - 00:12:57:24
Speaker 1
Yeah, absolutely right. And the other thing that helps you stay really balanced is being a member of the Moonshots podcast.
00:12:57:24 - 00:13:34:15
Speaker 2
But absolutely it does. So individuals who I know might are being the best version of themselves day in, day out R&D on moonshot members. So please, without further ado, welcome and Bob Margolin, Ken, Dietmar, Marjan, Connor, Rodrigo and Liza, said Mr. Bandura, Paul Bird, Kalman, Joe Christian and Sam Mueller, Barbara, Andre, Eric, Chris, Deborah. Let's say Steven Craig, Daniel, Andrew, Ravi and Evette, Karen, Raul, PJ and Nicole to all are our annual members.
00:13:34:20 - 00:14:03:12
Speaker 2
Alongside them include Ola and Ingram, Doug, Emily, Harry, Karthick, Venkat and Marco, Jet, Roger, Anna Roar McMillan and Diana, Christophe, Denise, Laura and Smitty. Kareem Bertrand, Daniella, Mike, Dan, Antonio, Vanessa, Zachary, Brian, Kasey, Austin and Fred. Thank you so much everybody for joining us as part of our moonshot members. Mike, as usual, I think they're all getting a lunar dose of good karma on.
00:14:03:12 - 00:14:24:16
Speaker 1
They spot on. They're getting that. They're getting the Moon Shots master series and they're getting all our love and our gratitude. We are totally in this moment of gratitude for them because they help us cover all of the costs for distributing, producing, editing, making, researching and generally getting this show out to all four corners of the planet. So thank you.
00:14:24:18 - 00:15:00:05
Speaker 1
We are very much in this moment. We'll have to journal about your very selves tomorrow morning. But in the meantime, we can really focus about this moment being together on the Moonshots podcast. And the great news is the next step in this journey is to hear from the author again about this idea of like being in the moment, which mark we have found through Eckhart totally and many other mindful gurus bringing yourself into the present, not in the past, where you're kind of dwelling and reliving all the misgivings of life and staying out of all the worry about the future because it actually hasn't happened.
00:15:00:05 - 00:15:10:06
Speaker 1
So you don't have to worry about it, right? Be in the moment. It's a huge moonshot theme and we're so lucky that this also has something for us on that to That's right.
00:15:10:07 - 00:15:17:21
Speaker 2
So let's hear now from Sandy, the author of Jen LuTiON talking to Lily Mace about how like to stay in that moment.
00:15:17:23 - 00:15:43:19
Speaker 4
Well, you know, I always say that journaling was the thing that really transformed my life, that I was searching for my passion and my purpose. And I had a lot of pain and anger inside of me. Like if you met me 20 years ago, you would say, Oh, she's so happy, she's so bubbly. But just below the surface, just underneath the facade, I was very unhappy.
00:15:43:19 - 00:16:08:14
Speaker 4
And if I got angry, I would slam doors and there was just like the stuff inside. And a therapist actually said to me, You need to go home and buy a journal and write a letter to your dad and that was when I was in my early twenties. I'm now 43 and I had never journal before. I was not a kid who kept journals and so it was a new thing.
00:16:08:14 - 00:16:33:02
Speaker 4
And I started writing these angry letters to my father who had left when I was seven and I had no relationship with him. And immediately I felt like a deep sigh, like, oh, you know, it just felt like the page was soaking up all of these emotions inside of me. And I just wrote everything I wrote. Why were you never there?
00:16:33:02 - 00:16:53:15
Speaker 4
How could you leave these three children? Never call that a card on my birthday. It's just this all of his anger poured out of me. And then very interestingly, right away, I started to hear this whisper. And it was my inner wisdom, this this whisper that I think we all have. But it's very hard to hear it when you're just going through your life.
00:16:53:15 - 00:17:15:14
Speaker 4
You know, there's so much noise, so much information coming at you, so many opinions from the television and your family and friends about who you should be. And journaling was this this very safe place where I began to hear my own wisdom and my own dreams. It just began to bubble up. And I think that's possible for everyone.
00:17:15:14 - 00:17:43:03
Speaker 4
I always say that becoming a published author was a process of overcoming extreme self-doubt, because every time I heard that whisper that said Write a book, the very next thing I heard was, You can't do that. What do you think you are? So I call this your inner wisdom and your inner critic. And I believe your inner wisdom whispers and your inner critic yells.
00:17:43:05 - 00:18:03:16
Speaker 4
And journaling helps me turn up the volume on my inner wisdom. My inner critic is still there even today after my book has been published. And and I make lots of money doing work I love and I get to do this passionate work with people. And I speak in front of hundreds of thousands of people, but I still have that voice inside of me that tells me I'm not good enough.
00:18:03:19 - 00:18:10:13
Speaker 4
And I think journaling is one of those things that helps you manage the self doubt.
00:18:10:15 - 00:18:27:23
Speaker 1
So this is fascinating. First of all, Mark, just want to point out that I've been talking about those little whispers that you remember on the show talk about we all have these little whispers of who we are meant to be, but they're so easy to ignore. Right? So, listen, you and I are on the same page. They're. Huh?
00:18:27:25 - 00:18:29:01
Speaker 2
Yeah. Slam dunk.
00:18:29:01 - 00:18:46:10
Speaker 1
They're both fairly connected. Oh, boy. And I think that what's interesting is something that we can all relate to is we all might from time to time or more regularly experience frustration, anger and disappointment. Right?
00:18:46:12 - 00:18:47:00
Speaker 2
Yeah.
00:18:47:02 - 00:19:23:03
Speaker 1
And what she's saying is pen to paper, ladies and gentlemen, Pen to paper. Here's what I felt. How did I feel it and why you have to face those feelings? Because to me, my personal experiences, if you don't let those out, they stay in you emotionally, but also physically, right? I'll never forget. And a friend of mine was going through a divorce and it was so traumatic for them that they actually were suffering this in cute back pain.
00:19:23:05 - 00:19:40:00
Speaker 1
Like really acute back pain where they couldn't actually even walk anymore. And it was a direct manifestation of the stress inside them. Right. That's very extreme. But it's that stuff you got to get out pen to paper because if you don't get it out there, it stays in, doesn't it?
00:19:40:02 - 00:20:06:20
Speaker 2
Yeah, I think that's an interesting build. There's certainly times when I've felt my, you know, body really reacting physically to emotional strains that, you know, I've gone through something else. There have been times even over the past couple of years that I might get sick from, you know, stress. And I think that's because your body is trying to physically kind of urge maybe maybe it's trying to get out of it.
00:20:06:20 - 00:20:51:03
Speaker 2
So, you know, you're tightness in your back. I get it personally in, you know, corner of my shoulder and those physical manifestations I think are eased when you do come to terms with and confront and maybe even look into those stresses more diligently. Yes. You know, I believe that the times when I felt that stress, that anxiety, the things that might be keeping me up at night, that, you know, eventually feel as though they're going to bubble over or eased, when you do write it down, when you do confront it, because it's actually, as we discussed on the show, when we've talked about mental models, when we've discussed about managing people even and leading, when
00:20:51:03 - 00:21:14:06
Speaker 2
you prepare and when you write down, maybe that's preparing an agenda, something as simple as that. When you put a plan into place, essentially putting pen to paper and you really think about something. Yeah, obviously in this case we're talking about ourselves with journaling on our own emotions, our own concerns, those inner voices that we were hearing from Sandy just there.
00:21:14:08 - 00:21:36:00
Speaker 2
I think by really confronting of it and coming on head to head with that item, with that concern, that question even maybe it's just one simple question that you can't seem to shake. What should I do? I think by writing it down as Sandy is encouraging us here, you do come to terms with and essentially have a conversation even with those inner voices.
00:21:36:05 - 00:22:08:02
Speaker 2
Now, as Sandy was pointing out, Mike, the inner voice can be positive. Yeah. Hey, I see you really like coffee, don't you? You know? Oh, you love going for a walk. Whatever it might be to find inspiration. But they can be negative, too. Yeah, I think that's the real benefit here, isn't it, that we're talking about with journaling, you can almost have a conversation with yourself and work out and work through those physical knots, work them through, relax them, kind of like going into a massage, but a massage for your brain while journaling.
00:22:08:05 - 00:22:41:05
Speaker 1
Yeah, it's I think it's really important with more of us working from home with more communication happening as the digital devices, I think it's almost a must do to ramp up the journaling. And I think what we've discovered here is hold on to those captured, those moments that you have those feelings and really get after it and resolve them through journaling because you can't resolve them just in a monologue in your brain, right?
00:22:41:07 - 00:23:03:21
Speaker 1
Because journaling gives you a chance to see the thought written and then you can kind of you said it. No, I need to improve that a little bit. Well, yes, that's it. You can do the classic ask why Five times I felt like that. Why? Why, why, why? Get to the source of it? A lot of healing comes from asking why a lot and getting to the, you know, causality of a lot of our emotions.
00:23:03:23 - 00:23:29:03
Speaker 1
But I think on the other side of things, we talked about gratitude. That's only the beginning. Mark. It's only the beginning of what you can journal about. And the one thing I want to mention here is that this, you know, we've really kind of got you interested in journaling. You can go to Moonshot Studio, you can look up all of the shows that we've done around mindfulness and journaling.
00:23:29:05 - 00:23:57:18
Speaker 1
I would definitely get you to go and have a listen to the previous show, the Matthew McConaughey show, but also a lot of mindfulness that we've done with Eckhart Tolle, also Dan Millman, The Way of the Peaceful Warrior. These are all related adjacent books and experts that will help you kind of bring some wellness to your mind, your body and your soul, so that when you do that, you can do amazing things.
00:23:57:18 - 00:24:03:12
Speaker 1
So that's moonshots, dot i io and if that doesn't tickle your fancy, you can always leave us a review.
00:24:03:13 - 00:24:28:13
Speaker 2
Gamer Oh yeah. We love hearing from our listeners and our members, so it's very, very easy. It's getting easier almost by the day with all of our podcasting channels that are out there and platforms, you can leave us a rating and review via Apple Podcasts. You can now actually get in touch with us via Spotify as well. Or if you want to just get in touch and leave us a recommendation, you can email us.
00:24:28:13 - 00:24:51:12
Speaker 2
Mike at Hello at Moonshots Dot IO, we get every single message and we love hearing from all listeners. But please, if you're listening to us and you think you know what these guys they're bringing to light some pretty interesting stuff about journaling, I better give them a bit of a writing review. We please do so because it's a great way of helping the Moonshots podcast get out into those four corners of the globe.
00:24:51:15 - 00:25:07:24
Speaker 1
Mark I've got a great journal prompt. I will go to YouTube and leave a constructive comment in the YouTube for Mark and Mike on the Moonshot podcast. I mean, how about that journaling on that? That's got to do the job.
00:25:08:00 - 00:25:10:00
Speaker 2
Yeah, that's going to do the job.
00:25:10:02 - 00:25:10:19
Speaker 1
I hope.
00:25:10:19 - 00:25:11:19
Speaker 2
Over to YouTube.
00:25:11:19 - 00:25:33:12
Speaker 1
Everyone the Moonshot podcast now now that you've all gone into your apps given us, are writing a review now, you've all done that, your mind is clear, you're calm now, you're ready to go after the big stuff. You're going to go ride up the mountain of Maslow's hierarchy of human needs. You're going to go up to self-actualization and purpose and direction.
00:25:33:18 - 00:25:36:02
Speaker 1
And Mark, I think we've got something there, too.
00:25:36:04 - 00:26:01:20
Speaker 2
And that's where I look. And we've talked about this benefit, I think, around journaling already, but now we're really getting into the details. Mike. We're now getting into the core elements, the DNA. If you were of why we should journal, how we're going to go out and do it. So let's hear again from Sandy talking to Lila this time a little bit more specifically around guidance and also helping us find our purpose in life.
00:26:01:22 - 00:26:27:00
Speaker 3
Part of really being fulfilled in life and being in the flow is also by creating those goals and writing it down. In a journal, for example, you already said you're already set or certain like a tune and context. So when it comes in reality and when it manifests itself, then you can truly write, appreciate it and really be in the moment.
00:26:27:04 - 00:26:51:20
Speaker 3
Exactly. And having a written vision for your life really keeps you on purpose because many times opportunities will come to you and they seem like great opportunities. But if you're not aligned with who you are, maybe you're doing it for the wrong reasons and so having that, that big vision for your life helps you when you're in those moments of self-doubt or when you're faced with a tough decision.
00:26:51:22 - 00:27:11:06
Speaker 3
Having this grander picture of this is who I am and this is what my life is about, to guide you. And in everything you do every day and and the journal is just one place for you to get clear. You could write it on your computer or, you know, put it on your bathroom mirror, put it in your car.
00:27:11:06 - 00:27:35:07
Speaker 3
I say, once you have a vision that makes you your belly on fire, makes you excited, then I think you should put it everywhere and read it every day. But then the question is, you know, how do you actually create your vision? How do you go about creating those dreams? Journaling can be a tool to actually find out what is, what is what do I really want out of life?
00:27:35:09 - 00:28:01:03
Speaker 3
You know how, but what kind of questions should I should we ask ourselves Once in front of that piece of paper on the computer, I hear that a lot of people say when I finally sit down to journal and I'm space with a blank page, I don't know where to start. I don't know where to begin. Yeah. So the book my book has 47 journaling prompts and a prompt is anything just it could be something as simple as I remember, just something to get you going.
00:28:01:10 - 00:28:28:05
Speaker 3
But I also have very deep journaling prompts where you visualize someone who you feel is very wise and you have a conversation with them or a conversation with yourself. When you're 99 years old. Or one of the prompts is simply, My soul wants go, go for 10 minutes and just let yourself write anything and everything inside. Should it be good, bad, good, bad, beautiful, ugly.
00:28:28:05 - 00:28:41:19
Speaker 3
It's all there. Living and breathing on the pages of your journal. Everything that you can think of, every whisper, every fabulous vision that appears to you is possible.
00:28:41:21 - 00:29:12:14
Speaker 1
Oh, preaching to the choir. My guide is somebody who loves a good journal from. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. So where to begin? There. Oh, boy. Look, I know I spoke a lot about the prompts in our last show, so I won't get too much into repeating that. But I think the key thing about having some prompts, just to remind you what we're talking about, you could have at the beginning of your journal this question or this kind of prompt.
00:29:12:16 - 00:29:43:19
Speaker 1
What's going on to me right now is and then you finish the sentence or if you're struggling even on iTunes, you can say, I feel and just answer with one word. And then tomorrow try to think. The key thing is if you expand on this, you can have journals for love, relationships, work, self-reflection, uncomfortable feelings, your purpose of being your best life growth and stretch goals.
00:29:43:21 - 00:30:12:10
Speaker 1
So much stuff. I one thing I want to point out that was covered there is if you really are struggling to find your purpose, you should listen to our Ikigai show Head over the moon should stay in check that out that we deal specifically with that and check out our Simon Sinek show. We also do that, Mark. But I think the key thing here is one technique really simple is write your legacy statement.
00:30:12:12 - 00:30:33:07
Speaker 1
How do you want to be remembered? You know, the thing that Sandy spoke about there is like, you know what? What's your legacy at 99? Great starting. What do you want that to be? And from there you'll be able to unpack who you want to become when you ask how you wish to be remembered, what will you leave when you are physically gone from this world?
00:30:33:07 - 00:31:05:14
Speaker 1
What will be left? What will be your mark? That is a great starting point. Mark I love prompts. I love this as a way to get started. I even Mark I even now have this huge list of prompts that I was just scanning to share. Some of those with you. But what I was, what I found is when you get into the habit of journaling daily and you have those prompts, they become very effective as a sort of a list to scan and you go through them until you find one that creates some sort of emotional response.
00:31:05:16 - 00:31:14:00
Speaker 1
Like you literally read the question and you're like, Oh, I had some response to that, then you need to write on.
00:31:14:02 - 00:31:32:23
Speaker 2
So. So Mike, help us understand that layer deeper so you have a series of prompts, let's say ten or so, and you'll just go through them maybe on the morning. Then you're doing your morning pages to use Julie Cameron's work and you read until one of them get to you going. I think that's a great idea. That's a great build.
00:31:32:25 - 00:31:40:17
Speaker 1
So let's let's do it out loud together. Let's get super in the weeds on prompts. Right? You want to go there?
00:31:40:19 - 00:31:41:21
Speaker 2
Oh, yeah, I want to go.
00:31:41:25 - 00:32:04:22
Speaker 1
All right, let's go. Okay, so I've got this list that I found on the net, and it's a list of journaling prompts for this Brené Brown. She'd be so proud of this right now. Uncomfortable emotions. Okay, Nice. What complex thoughts are emotions come up most frequently for you? That's prompt number one, right? That's good. Here's another one. Describe a choice you regret.
00:32:05:02 - 00:32:31:22
Speaker 1
What did you learn from it? What parts of daily life caused stress, frustration or sadness? What can you do to change those? What do you fear most? You have your fears changed throughout life. What coping strategies help you get through an emotional, physical pain? Oh, so you can get into those and listen, even as I read those, I can see some that I have like more emotional resonance with it.
00:32:31:22 - 00:32:52:19
Speaker 1
Like, am I? Oh, maybe I should help others. I'm like, Oh, I'm good, good, good. That. But at this moment, that one was feeling something, right? So if I look at those and I think a choice to regret, a choice that I regret, I think that one I had a bit of reaction to. So I'll I'll pick that up tomorrow and see what comes out against that.
00:32:53:00 - 00:33:20:03
Speaker 2
Yeah, it's funny. Me too. You know, here hearing those prompts, I was thinking, okay, well, this is very orientated. On reflection, this is great. You know, all of these would help me analyze my, my behaviors. But you're right. The idea of a decision that I regret because it's not something that we ordinarily would want to poke at or prompt enable us to on.
00:33:20:06 - 00:33:54:21
Speaker 2
Yeah. And challenge ourselves. You know, I think one of the key lessons that we're probably learning about journaling, Mike, is that it shouldn't just be an it can be of course you can tell your life story in your journal if you want. But importantly, like those prompts are encouraging us to do, we're thinking analytically. You're thinking about your decision making, maybe even you're putting yourself on the spot to expose those moments of discomfort, you know, as we've probably found out, and certainly within the Matthew McConaughey show, he also illustrated this.
00:33:54:23 - 00:34:17:09
Speaker 2
You shouldn't just try and journal when you're in a good sorry when you're in a bad headspace. You should also journal when it's good because then you're able to identify and notice and reflect upon the good stuff as well as the bad. For me, my first getting into journaling, I did have a habit of only doing it when I had a problem I was trying to work through.
00:34:17:10 - 00:34:43:13
Speaker 2
You know, maybe there was emotional not but I did want to kind of work out. Yeah, but actually, again, I think do I think Julia was highlighting this for us last week? I think Sandy is telling us again here and I think your prompts that you've just taken us through reiterated again that it is something that we should put into our habits even when the gun is good and the sun is shining, everything's easy because we're able to notice it.
00:34:43:16 - 00:34:47:19
Speaker 2
We're able to see that that perhaps quiet time.
00:34:47:21 - 00:35:05:11
Speaker 1
All right, let me do a bill for you. So when I reread my journal a la Matthew McConaughey tip that I noticed so many times I started with, I had a good sleep.
00:35:05:13 - 00:35:07:04
Speaker 2
Ah.
00:35:07:06 - 00:35:28:24
Speaker 1
So here's the interesting thing. I only really notice that I that I mention this when I reread my journals that were like a year out right? The journal entries. But then Mark, I was turning the pages on my Oh my God, here he goes again. Bloody hell, he's had another good time. All right, already we get the picture.
00:35:29:00 - 00:36:11:04
Speaker 1
So I got the aura ring, but it even goes further. I now have a mantra that I say every day that I will make sleep Priority one. Because what I do when I read my journal, I'm, like, noticing that I'm, you know, feeling a bit knackered or yes, I was a bit sluggish, I was feeling tired. I just noticed it was such a theme that I would observe in myself that I then actually the manifesting passion, the visualizing, the being better the next day meant.
00:36:11:05 - 00:36:44:00
Speaker 1
And I actually now say I will make sleep priority number one. This is something that I repeat daily. So you know what I've noticed that is interesting and I'm really getting into journaling. I'm really off to the races for this. I notice I have very little trouble being in bed before 10 p.m.. Right? And I know a lot of this struggle because it's busy days in different time zones and hey, you want to watch some Netflix?
00:36:44:02 - 00:37:09:01
Speaker 1
But I have had situations where my favorite football team is playing at the time. I need to be getting into bed. 930 10 p.m. and I do not watch it. That's a big deal for me. The point that I'm making here is that I realize the gravity and importance of sleep for me, that there is nothing more important.
00:37:09:03 - 00:37:28:03
Speaker 1
So for example, I'm recording here in Atlanta, USA, and it's going to be late when I finish. So I bought my dinner so I can have dinner before 730. So there's going to be I'm like, I'm really going to stop recording and I'm going to eat my dinner so that I don't eat it late. Because when I eat dinner late, I have a bad sleep.
00:37:28:03 - 00:37:51:24
Speaker 1
And I know I write about that in my journal and I'm just being a little bit bonkers here, talking about this thing about sleep and how everything oscillates around it. But I cannot emphasize it was through the journaling that I was like I literally, without fail, every two or three days mention my sleep in my journal. And that's that told me I'm like, this is a huge deal for me.
00:37:52:00 - 00:37:55:00
Speaker 1
This obviously has a huge impact.
00:37:55:02 - 00:38:36:09
Speaker 2
I think that's such a powerful reminder and demonstration, Mike, of the value that I think somebody like Sandy is really reiterating and trying to help us understand. You know, as we know from Journal and again, just to give us the the exciting subtitle, journaling to awaken your inner voice, hear your life and manifest your dreams. What you just described this idea of, you know, intentionality when you can notice and reflect on your patterns, the patterns that perhaps involve that inner voice or the patterns perhaps when you keep your journal, you might reflect on a dream that you've had by writing it down.
00:38:36:09 - 00:39:10:16
Speaker 2
You're able to remember it. You're able to compartmentalize the things that you've gone through based physically in your day, so maybe could sleep as well as emotionally. And by taking ownership of those patterns, ownership of notice, those things, you can then start to lean into the things that are extra good. You know, you can utilize, you know, the work of James Claire with atomic habits, but only by reflecting, I think, and understanding the things that you do that work and then you're able to do them again.
00:39:10:17 - 00:39:13:08
Speaker 2
Yeah. Isn't it great intentionality. Yes.
00:39:13:10 - 00:39:44:24
Speaker 1
I've got another random one for you. So we were doing this really big workshop the last two days and the night before a group of the participants invited me out to dinner and the dinner was going to be quite late and I said, No thanks. And I had a salad in my hotel room because I wanted to eat very well and I wanted to eat early because I had such a big day facilitating an event.
00:39:45:00 - 00:40:05:11
Speaker 1
We had like 120 people. So I wanted to be at my best. And again I've noticed that if I want to be my best, I want to do a bunch of stuff in the morning. So I work out. I have a really good fresh, clear head. I love to arrive at the venue nice and early, make sure everything's done correctly.
00:40:05:11 - 00:40:25:22
Speaker 1
I don't want to be like hectic before a big event like that. And so I was able to and are lovely people and dinner would have been great. And you know what? They had this big, rich Atlanta, Georgia dinner with like steaks and wings and it sounded like fantastic, but like, I would have eaten at it, I would have had a bad sleep.
00:40:25:22 - 00:40:46:23
Speaker 1
And then, no, no, I wanted to be on my game. So it was easy to say so, Hey, guys, love you guys, but you go for it. I'm going have a quiet one. And that I think I have found that if I wasn't generally if you had asked that question of me four years ago, I just would have been yay, Mike along for the phone, you know, and then gone, Oh my gosh, I can't believe I've got to get out of bed.
00:40:46:23 - 00:40:52:05
Speaker 1
The event's on. I need like another hour sleep at least.
00:40:52:07 - 00:41:20:08
Speaker 2
But what a value that we can get from journaling then. Yeah, because it helps us stay on top of the behaviors. Right. As well. So not only are we, I think, illustrating here the value that you can get from clarity, but also from just getting good habits, behaviors in place that then enable you to be the best version of yourself because you're able to notice those things that work for you.
00:41:20:13 - 00:41:26:01
Speaker 1
Have you got time? If you got time for one more thing, I want to share with you what I.
00:41:26:01 - 00:41:26:19
Speaker 2
Can always do.
00:41:26:21 - 00:41:44:09
Speaker 1
Here we go. So here's how it works. The other about journaling is, you know, when there are certain things that you don't control which frustrate you. Mm hmm. What I have found is if you journal about them and practice, I mean, it's not quite gratitude, but acceptance.
00:41:44:11 - 00:41:45:12
Speaker 2
Yes.
00:41:45:14 - 00:42:15:05
Speaker 1
So let's say this someone who's really annoying and it's really frustrating you to move beyond that. I find journaling on the things that cause friction and frustration enable you to go in your journaling. You say, I accepted it is as it is, and I if it's about a person, I forgive them. If it's about something else that is in your life or in your geography or whatever, that's annoying.
00:42:15:05 - 00:42:36:12
Speaker 1
Let's say you got a noisy construction site. I accepted. It is as it is. Yeah. Detach from the judgment because you know, like when you're judging everything, you're just spilling out all these emotions. Yeah, go beyond that. Don't just say I'm frustrated, but I accept this is a situation that I can't change. I accept it for what it is.
00:42:36:14 - 00:42:51:08
Speaker 1
I accept that there are motivations that I might not see if it's an individual or there are. The building doesn't get finished for another year. It just is what it is. And I defer. I will stop all judgment. It just is and I'll move beyond it.
00:42:51:10 - 00:43:17:04
Speaker 2
Yeah. How what what a great case in appreciating the things that you can let go of. Yeah. You know, we've spoken about email bombs and so on before and the importance of trying to remember the other person's point of view. Yeah, you know, you have the capability of perhaps interpreting things incorrectly, had a behavior of one individual may not be in fact what they even meant to say or do.
00:43:17:06 - 00:43:48:25
Speaker 2
So I think your on my by practicing journal I supposed patients you know reflecting and understanding what is the behavior that that individual let's say has done not only can you process forgiveness but even along the way you might even understand their point of view better. Yeah. So by exploring that and their reaction to a certain situation, you are able just to get a little bit more clarity again around how might they be reacting, Have they interpreted something I've done incorrectly?
00:43:49:04 - 00:43:57:13
Speaker 2
Maybe that's an opportunity for me to reach out to them and offer my condolences or maybe offer myself to do it a little bit better next time to check.
00:43:57:13 - 00:44:20:09
Speaker 1
This is a great you can even remind yourself of I need to stop judging. I need to detach. And then you can remind yourself of the argument because there's nothing to gain. By being frustrated or angry, you actually have to go through those. It is what it is. There's nothing to gain from being angry. I accept that's how I felt.
00:44:20:09 - 00:44:38:04
Speaker 1
But I let it go. And that was something very much that we learned with Brené Brown. You can get some of that from the totally episode, but we've riffed with we've taken great inspiration from Sandy. But she actually she's I think she's got one more thought for us, right?
00:44:38:06 - 00:44:56:23
Speaker 2
She really, really does. I mean, as you can tell, Mike, we got so much to learn from Sandy and it seems like the topic of journaling and Journal Ocean is something that we're going to run into many, many times. So this is fantastic, fantastic meet for us to sink our teeth into. But you're right, Mike, There is actually just one more clip that we're going to dive into today.
00:44:56:25 - 00:45:12:13
Speaker 2
And this speaks again, I think, to this idea of prompts and helping us understand and benefit and utilize our journals. So let's hear from Sandy one more time on today's show. He's going to give us a bit of a call to action on how we can connect.
00:45:12:15 - 00:45:32:12
Speaker 4
It's different for everyone. I'm a I'm not a big fan of rules. I say in my book, I don't think you have to do it every day. And most of the time when I journal, it's because I'm upset there's there's a problem or I'm angry about something. And I know that if I write about it in my journal, events, usually the answer will come.
00:45:32:14 - 00:45:52:16
Speaker 4
And so there there are 47 journaling prompts in the book, and they're all designed to help you connect to your wisdom. I don't think I am a guru. I don't think I have your answers, but I think you have your answers. And journaling is one of those places where you can find your own answers.
00:45:52:18 - 00:45:52:22
Speaker 3
To.
00:45:52:22 - 00:46:17:10
Speaker 4
What I'm sure. Yeah. I mean, but sometimes we're just So a prompt would be like, okay, so here's the I think this is the best journaling prompt ever. If you really, really want to get to the heart of what's going on in your life right now, use this prompt. So set a timer for 10 minutes. Maybe, you know, turn off your phone, close the door down just for 10 minutes.
00:46:17:10 - 00:46:25:06
Speaker 4
Only 10 minutes. And right at the top of a blank page I don't want to write about.
00:46:25:08 - 00:46:28:16
Speaker 3
Go. Yeah and.
00:46:28:18 - 00:46:51:16
Speaker 4
And just go. And the trick is really not editing. Don't worry about your handwriting or your grammar or if you're typing, just type as fast as you can. Just just dump everything in complete sentences. Just get it out on the page. And what will happen in those 10 minutes? Usually right as the timer is going off, is is all of this creativity, all of these new ideas will start pouring out of you.
00:46:51:16 - 00:47:05:10
Speaker 4
I think there's something magical about the timer and allowing yourself to write anything and everything that pops into your mind and you can throw it away when you're done. But almost always something surprising will show up.
00:47:05:12 - 00:47:29:12
Speaker 1
Oh, there you go. I mean, talk about going after the things you fear, the things that are making you uncomfortable. And the beauty is like it's actually pretty safe. Like it's easier than even talking to a friend or your partner. You can just write about it and discover where you're a bit uncomfortable. And what I think we all find is when we get things off our chests, Oh my gosh, how much better do we feel now?
00:47:29:14 - 00:47:58:05
Speaker 2
I honestly, it's something that I think I really only started to understand, adding, I think we are I think all of our listeners and viewers can listen to you and I talk about journaling apparently till the cows come home. But The true benefit for me has been that awareness of myself, as well as the processing of information, much like we heard with Atul Gawande, that the human mind is not a great computer.
00:47:58:07 - 00:48:18:09
Speaker 2
So when we have many, many things going on, not only practical To-Do lists, you know, I've got deadlines or KPIs to try and meet. I've got a dog who maybe needs to go to the vet. I've got a child who's starting a New Year school. All all of these practical things. At the same time. I'm feeling very insecure about that deliverable.
00:48:18:11 - 00:48:41:11
Speaker 2
I'm a bit nervous about what people think of me. There's a lot going on in the human mind, and I think where Sandy is taking us there and that's a great tip. I think a great prompt that adds into the repertoire. Mike Of the ones that you were giving us earlier, the insecurities that you have, just get them out, get them on paper, get them into your word processor, whatever it might be.
00:48:41:13 - 00:49:05:19
Speaker 2
Maybe it's a voice note. As we were discussing last week, whatever it might be, that just helps you begin to process as we as well as to bring in to expel a lot of that noise. I would call it Mike. When I say we're a little bit overwhelmed and the times that I'll be reaching to the journal maybe earlier than usual will be when I've got loads of stuff going on and I feel a little bit confused.
00:49:05:21 - 00:49:31:17
Speaker 2
I can't really see the wood from the trees and instead the act of getting it out, those things that are keeping me up, they might be anxieties, they might be small frustrations, they might be irritating things such as, I don't know, you need to get a new pair of running shoes, whatever it might be. There will be every end of the scale and every end of the spectrum here, but just getting it out and starting to process and work through it is the only way.
00:49:31:17 - 00:49:53:13
Speaker 2
I think, for myself to have seen what the clarity can look like and then identify, okay, this is where my mind is as I can see and hear, listen and be present. Well, this is because I've managed to get a lot of noise out of there. I've let the water bowell out and now I have a clean slate again.
00:49:53:19 - 00:50:06:11
Speaker 2
I mean that's, that's a pretty valuable piece for me. That's certainly how it benefits me when I want to try and just find, you know, what inspires me, what gets me going. I need to clear everything out first.
00:50:06:11 - 00:50:13:12
Speaker 1
And would you say that's your big homework assignment from this episode is to continue clearing and decluttering the monkey mind?
00:50:13:14 - 00:50:29:07
Speaker 2
Yeah, I like the idea of the timer. I haven't necessarily limited myself before, apart from, you know, maybe trying to journal before a particular deadline. In my own life, I've never sat there with a timer specifically, so I think I'm going to give Fatica what amazed me.
00:50:29:09 - 00:50:53:13
Speaker 1
I think that's really funny actually, because it's constrained to like, Well, I better hurry up, get it all out because the time is moving. Yeah, look, I really for me, this is a reminder, as I've even talked about it, of how what a huge role Jennings played in my life and how I should prioritize it. Like my sleep.
00:50:53:15 - 00:51:16:10
Speaker 1
If sleep is priority number one, I think I know what priority number two is. That's it. Yeah. Mark, listen, I want to say a big thank you to you for being here with me to talk about journaling. And I want to say a big thank you to our members, to our viewers, to our listeners joining us here today for show 239.
00:51:16:10 - 00:51:42:21
Speaker 1
Q That's a lot of shows and today it was all about journal Lucian by Sandy Grayson And you know what it was all about getting started starting with a thought, with an idea, with one word he even put on the timer to and use that to help yourself stay in the moment and to tackle the things that are on your mind or to envisage how you can be creative and think differently.
00:51:42:23 - 00:52:02:03
Speaker 1
But it didn't stop there because we felt and we learned that you could discover your bigger purpose in life. Why are you here on the planet and what your special power really can be? And as we do this every single day, as we make it a habit, find a prompt that helps you connect to your self and to your potential.
00:52:02:05 - 00:52:10:18
Speaker 1
And come join us here. Learn out loud to be the best version of yourself. That is what it is all about here on the Moonshots podcast. That's a wrap.