YOU HAVE TO JOURNAL, DAWG

Journaling, like fitness, is a requirement for healthy living. If you do not exercise, you experience a lot of problems. If you do not journal, if you do not practice mindfulness with your thought life, you’re dead in the water regarding controlling your mindset. The end.

But really, while I don’t post on here as often as I’d like to (I’m spending more time on Substack, as blogs are kind of a sinking ship these days) I do a ton of writing internally. I use four different journals: one for mental health/thought life, one for career/skillset progress, one that is guided for gratitude and sorting sh*t out, and one for tracking workouts. I easily do thousands of days, and have ONE page left in my thought life journal. I notice a significant difference from when I am journaling, versus not. I try to journal at least each evening. If I don’t journal for a number of days, I feel like I’m holding in a sneeze. The answer is literally always journaling for me. Pairing that with self-improvement reading is a bingo.

I also really try to focus on positive journaling, instead of writing in a way that condemns me for backsliding or not reaching milestones in timely manners. Instead of “I’m going to stop doing this,” I go for “I am going to start doing this and become a hard motherf*cker.” This is mental laundry for me, and gives me serious control over my thoughts and behavior. The more you journal, the more you sort out what is causing what. It’s a version of self-induced therapy wherein the paper is the therapist. Your thoughts push the pen, and the silence produces the conclusions.

I will say this to you: if you’re feeling like you’re a victim of impulsive behavior, impulsive thoughts, and unable to maintain fluid control—you have to journal. Do that before you pay $100/hr to a therapist.