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Journaling prompt: Arriving at yourself
Montaigne wrote, “Every man rushes elsewhere into the future, because no man has arrived at himself.” It’s a line that cuts through the noise. Because isn’t that what so many of us are doing? Always moving toward the next milestone; the next job, the next home, the next “version” of ourselves we imagine will finally…
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Journaling to create your personal mission statement
Your personal mission statement is your unique declaration of who you are, what you stand for, where you’re going and how you intend to get there. It is not simply a slogan or a motivational quote, or something you write once and then forget about. It is a foundation for your decisions, habits and the…
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Journaling prompt: Holding up a hero
“The imaginative ability to hold up a hero in his mind to copy in all appropriate ways, to let him serve as a standard by which to judge himself.”– David Brooks, The Road to Character We all have people we admire. Historical figures. Mentors. Characters from books, or even people we’ve never met. And sometimes,…
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How to use your journal to define your personal values
If someone was to ask you today, what are your personal values? How do you think you would respond? Do you have clearly defined values or are they more vague notions that you’ve never fully fleshed out? Or would you struggle to answer, having never fully given it much thought? Wherever you are in your…
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Journaling prompt: To be human
Terry Pratchett once wrote: “Humans need fantasy to be human. To be the place where the falling angel meets the rising ape.” I love that imagery, it’s beautiful and really captures the inherent struggle that we are simultaneoulsy divine and animalistic. And it’s so true. We’re animals, after all; driven by instinct, hunger, emotion. But…
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Building a personal philosophy
If you’re ready to take ownership of the purpose and direction of your life, to put the work in to define your value and belief systems, to forge your life mission statement and to deeply understand your personal philosophy, then your journal is the perfect place to do that. In today’s post, I share 100…
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Journaling prompt: I’m going to be a dad
There’s a book on the shelf in my office called You’re Going to Be a Dad. I bought it before my daughter was born, trying to prepare myself for fatherhood in any way I could (what a naive sentiment that feels like now). The book walked me through every stage of pregnancy: what my wife…
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Journal through adversity: a man’s guide to overcoming challenges
“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, many are strong at the broken places.” — Ernest Hemingway We all face unexpected challenges in life. My wife and I have been trying for a second child for nearly two years now, to no success. Before our first child, we suffered through chemical pregnancies and early miscarriages and…
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Journaling prompt: The characters we play
Back when I was doing stand-up comedy, I quickly became obsessed. I devoured interviews, books, podcasts. Anything that might help me figure out how to be better. A theme came up again and again. New comedians often start out completely raw. No script, no character, just themselves. On the stage. Honest. Exposed. Then comes the…
