The Journaling Guy Podcast

Sometimes You Just Need to Stop Before Deciding What's Next.

In the final episode of Season Five of The Journaling Guy Podcast, it's all about slowing down... a little. The timing feels right (for me) and I hope it resonates with you too.

Sometimes, before we ask what's next... perhaps we need to just stop for a bit.

Journaling doesn't always have to produce an answer. It can simply give us somewhere to be, somewhere to put the noise, somewhere to notice what comes up when we aren't actively trying to solve anything.

This weeks assignment

Open your Journal and write: WHAT COULD I STOP FOR A LITTLE WHILE?

If you wanted, there's room for another question: WHAT MIGHT THAT MAKE ROOM FOR?

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Don't forget, I've written a FREE five-day series called How Journaling Can Transform Your Life. Each day, I'll send you another part of the story and show you what I discovered about Journaling along the way.” https://www.mrmattyoung.com/free-course

It's my personal journey into Journaling, and I'd love to share that and inspire you at the same time.

Do get in touch with any questions you have and of course your feedback is really important too. Email me — [email protected]

Remember, there are loads more extras over on Substack for you, so you can really get into Journaling and begin to realise what a difference it can make to your life.

Please share this episode with someone who might need a bit of space to think. Plus, if you get a moment, please leave me a review, they matter so much for getting the podcast heard and seen.

As Always...

"Keep writing, keep noticing, and keep showing up for yourself."

Matt

This is Episode 9 of Season 5 of The Journaling Guy Podcast, and today it's all about what's next.

• Now, don't panic! We're not writing a five-year plan.
• There are NO S.M.A.R.T. goals
• There are NO Vision Boards

I want to explore a very different way of thinking about the future. I want you to get CURIOUS!

Maybe the clues are already there. Maybe something in already written in your Journal, but you haven't seen it or felt it just yet. That's why I want you to get curious.

This weeks mission:

Open your Journal and write: "I'M CURIOUS ABOUT... and then just see what happens.

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Don't forget, I've written a FREE five-day series called How Journaling Can Transform Your Life. Each day, I'll send you another part of the story and show you what I discovered about Journaling along the way.” https://www.mrmattyoung.com/free-course

It's my personal journey into Journaling, and I'd love to share that and inspire you at the same time.

Do get in touch with any questions you have and of course your feedback is really important too. Email me — [email protected]

Remember, there are loads more extras over on Substack for you, so you can really get into Journaling and begin to realise what a difference it can make to your life.

Please share this episode with someone who might need a bit of space to think. Plus, if you get a moment, please leave me a review, they matter so much for getting the podcast heard and seen.

As Always...

"Keep writing, keep noticing, and keep showing up for yourself."

Matt

This is Episode 8 of Season 5 of The Journaling Guy Podcast, and today it's all about Pride!

Ask yourself the question "What are YOU proud of?"

Your brain might immediately start searching for achievements.

Things like getting a Degree or an Award. Maybe it was a Business you started. Or you got a promotion at work. Maybe it was purely financial. Or you ran a Marathon!

Maybe instead we should be thinking of something else we're proud of. Like, how far you've come or how well you handled a certain situation.

This is a great episode and one that I'm REALLY PROUD of... funnily enough! Take a listen.

This weeks mission:

So this week, I want you to start with one sentence: I'M PROUD THAT I... and then write.

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Don't forget, I've written a FREE five-day series called How Journaling Can Transform Your Life. Each day, I'll send you another part of the story and show you what I discovered about Journaling along the way.” https://www.mrmattyoung.com/free-course

It's my personal journey into Journaling, and I'd love to share that and inspire you at the same time.

Do get in touch with any questions you have and of course your feedback is really important too. Email me — [email protected]

Remember, there are loads more extras over on Substack for you, so you can really get into Journaling and begin to realise what a difference it can make to your life.

Please share this episode with someone who might need a bit of space to think. Plus, if you get a moment, please leave me a review, they matter so much for getting the podcast heard and seen.

As Always...

"Keep writing, keep noticing, and keep showing up for yourself."

Matt

This is Episode 7 of Season 5 of The Journaling Guy Podcast, and today it's all about noticing the person you're becoming, right now... and you do that by looking back at the person you once were, in your old Journals.

Noticing BIG changes in your life is easy. A new job, a new car or even a new relation ship, they're all really important (in their own ways), but have you noticed the tiny changes that happen and how that is shaping the person you're becoming?

This weeks mission:

So, this week I want you to 'go back and read your Journal' then ask yourself these three questions:

1. What's different about me now?
2. THE PERSON I'M BECOMING...
3. Do I like the direction I'm heading in?

One thought to take away from today:

"Your Journal doesn't just record what happened in your life. It records who you were whilst it was happening!"

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Don't forget, I've written a FREE five-day series called How Journaling Can Transform Your Life. Each day, I'll send you another part of the story and show you what I discovered about Journaling along the way.” https://www.mrmattyoung.com/free-course

It's my personal journey into Journaling, and I'd love to share that and inspire you at the same time.

Do get in touch with any questions you have and of course your feedback is really important too. Email me — [email protected]

Remember, there are loads more extras over on Substack for you, so you can really get into Journaling and begin to realise what a difference it can make to your life.

Please share this episode with someone who might need a bit of space to think. Plus, if you get a moment, please leave me a review, they matter so much for getting the podcast heard and seen.

As Always...

"Keep writing, keep noticing, and keep showing up for yourself."

Matt

What Do You Actually Want? How Journaling Helps You Look Beyond Goals and To-Do Lists.

This is Episode 5 of Season 6 of The Journaling Guy Podcast, and today it's all about finding out what we ACTUALLY want!

• Not what SHOULD you want.
• Not what would look impressive.
• Not what your family thinks you should want.
• Not what someone your age, in your job, with your life is SUPPOSED to want.

What do YOU actually want?

This weeks mission:

So, this week I want you to write on two pages. On the first:

I WANT MORE OF...

On the second:

I WANT LESS OF...

Write whatever comes up.

Then when you've finished, I want you to answer one final question:

IF NOBODY ELSE'S OPINION MATTERED, WHAT WOULD I CHANGE?

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Don't forget, I've written a FREE five-day series called How Journaling Can Transform Your Life. Each day, I'll send you another part of the story and show you what I discovered about Journaling along the way.” https://www.mrmattyoung.com/free-course

It's my personal journey into Journaling, and I'd love to share that and inspire you at the same time.

Do get in touch with any questions you have and of course your feedback is really important too. Email me — [email protected]

Remember, there are loads more extras over on Substack for you, so you can really get into Journaling and begin to realise what a difference it can make to your life.

Please share this episode with someone who might need a bit of space to think. Plus, if you get a moment, please leave me a review, they matter so much for getting the podcast heard and seen.

As Always...

"Keep writing, keep noticing, and keep showing up for yourself."

Matt.

The Things You Keep Coming Back To: How Journaling Helps You Notice What Really Matters.

This is Episode 5 of Season 5 of The Journaling Guy Podcast, and today it's all about noticing what really matters to you, when writing in your Journal.

It's important to remember here... it's not necessarily about what we keep writing about directly, it's more about what that means when we dig a little bit deeper into it.

Repetition isn't always a bad thing. We mustn't keep making the same mistake or repeating a same bad habit. But what about those ideas, ambitions or interests that simply refuse to disappear?

REMEMBER; repetition might be evidence to ourselves, that something matters.

This weeks mission:

Go back through some old Journal entries; don't read every word. Just flick through and look for repetition.

• Ideas
• People
• Places
• Dreams

Then write: THIS KEEPS COMING BACK BECAUSE... and carry on.

Don't ask whether it's realistic. Don't make a plan. Don't Google how much flights cost. Just explore why it matters.

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Thanks for listening to The Journaling Guy Podcast.

Don't forget, I've written a FREE five-day series called How Journaling Can Transform Your Life. Each day, I'll send you another part of the story and show you what I discovered about Journaling along the way.” https://www.mrmattyoung.com/free-course

It's my personal journey into Journaling, and I'd love to share that and inspire you at the same time.

Do get in touch with any questions you have and of course your feedback is really important too. Email me — [email protected]

Remember, there are loads more extras over on Substack for you, so you can really get into Journaling and begin to realise what a difference it can make to your life.

Please share this episode with someone who might need a bit of space to think. Plus, if you get a moment, please leave me a review, they matter so much for getting the podcast heard and seen.

As Always...

"Keep writing, keep noticing, and keep showing up for yourself."

Matt.

How Journaling Helps You Understand Your Emotional Triggers so we can ask ourselves... "Why Did I React Like THAT?"

This is Episode 4 of Series 5 of The Journaling Guy Podcast, and today, I'm asking talking about Emotional Triggers and how we react to them.

For example, the moment when something happens and you react and then perhaps five minutes later, an hour later or even the following day, you think to yourself “Why the bloody hell did I react like THAT?”

So, this week, I want you to catch one reaction. Just one.

Then, when you’ve got a little bit of distance from it, open your Journal and write:

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED?

WHAT DID I FEEL?

WHAT DID I TELL MYSELF IT MEANT?

WHAT ELSE MIGHT BE TRUE?

And then stop. Don’t try to fix yourself. Don’t turn it into homework. Just read what you’ve written and ask: “What do I notice?”

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Thanks for listening to The Journaling Guy Podcast.

I’d like to share something quite special with you. I've written a FREE five-day series called How Journaling Can Transform Your Life.

Each day, I'll send you another part of the story and show you what I discovered about Journaling along the way.” https://www.mrmattyoung.com/free-course

I really think you'll love this, as it gives you a personal insight into a Journaling Journey, that has brought me to this point today.

Do get in touch with any questions you have and of course your feedback is really important too. Email me — [email protected]

Remember, there are loads more extras over on Substack for you, so you can really get into Journaling and begin to realise what a difference it can make to your life.

Please share this episode with someone who might need a bit of space to think. Plus, if you get a moment, please leave me a review, they matter so much for getting the podcast heard and seen.

As Always...

"Keep writing, keep noticing, and keep showing up for yourself."

Matt.

This is Episode 3 of Season 5 of The Journaling Guy Podcast, and today, I'm asking all about ENERGY.

I feel like we don’t pay enough attention to Energy. We tend to notice what EXHAUSTS us because exhaustion shouts LOUD. ENERGY is much quieter.

For the next seven days, I want you to start noticing your Energy. At the end of each day, draw two headings in your Journal:

GAVE ME ENERGY and TOOK MY ENERGY

That’s it. Don’t overthink it. Under GAVE ME ENERGY, write all the positive situations and scenarios that fed into that energy.

Then under TOOK MY ENERGY, write the things that seemed to drain you.

After seven days, read it, don’t judge it and most importantly, Don’t immediately try fix it!

-----------------------

Thanks for listening to The Journaling Guy Podcast.

I’d like to share something quite special with you. I've written a FREE five-day series called How Journaling Can Transform Your Life.

Each day, I'll send you another part of the story and show you what I discovered about Journaling along the way.” https://www.mrmattyoung.com/free-course

I really think you'll love this, as it gives you a personal insight into a Journaling Journey, that has brought me to this point today.

Do get in touch with any questions you have and of course your feedback is really important too. Email me — [email protected]

Remember, there are loads more extras over on Substack for you, so you can really get into Journaling and begin to realise what a difference it can make to your life.

Please share this episode with someone who might need a bit of space to think. Plus, if you get a moment, please leave me a review, they matter so much for getting the podcast heard and seen.

As Always...

"Keep writing, keep noticing, and keep showing up for yourself."

Matt.

This is episode 2 of Season 5 of The Journaling Guy Podcast, and today, I'm asking what sounds like a really simple question...

How well do you actually know yourself?

Last week, I spoke to former NFL player Jed Collins, who has been Journaling for more than 20 years. Jed talked about the incredible ability his journals give him to effectively travel through time. This enables him to go back and meet the earlier versions of himself, seeing what he was thinking and feeling, what he understood about himself and, perhaps even more importantly, what he didn't understand yet.

That got me thinking...

We spend an enormous amount of our lives trying to understand other people, our partners, children, friends, colleagues and bosses but how often do we turn that same curiosity back on ourselves?

Your Journal gives you somewhere to do exactly that. Somewhere you don't need to perform, impress anyone or even have all the answers.

This week, we're exploring Curiosity Journaling and why changing one simple question from "Why am I like this?" to "I wonder why I do that?" can completely change the conversation you have with yourself.

Because we're not looking for answers - We're looking for clues!

This week, choose one of these sentences and use it as the starting point for your Journal:

I feel most like myself when...

I lose track of time when...

The people who bring out the best in me are...

Something about myself I'm beginning to understand is...

If nobody else's opinion mattered, I would...

Don't try to answer all five at once. Pick one and see where your writing takes you. Most importantly, don't judge what comes out.

Be curious.

If you'd like more detail around this week's method, and some extra prompts to help you explore who you are when nobody's watching, pop over to The Journaling Guy Substack. There you'll find...

• Bonus audio that never made it into today's podcast 🎧
• The full mission, written down
• Bonus reflections too

This is all over on the Substack channel which you can find HERE.

The full link is available on The Journaling Guy Substack.

Do get in touch with any questions you have and of course your feedback is really important too. Email me — [email protected]

Remember, there are loads more extras over on Substack for you, so you can really get into Journaling and begin to realise what a difference it can make to your life.

Please share this episode with someone who might need a bit of space to think. Plus, if you get a moment, please leave me a review, they matter so much for getting the podcast heard and seen.

As Always...

"Keep writing, keep noticing, and keep showing up for yourself."

Matt.

This is a really special episode of The Journaling Guy Podcast. I got to sit down and interview Jed Collins, a former NFL Fullback who just so happens to have kept a Journal throughout his whole career

Jedidiah Collins - The Fullback of Finance. This is one of the best conversations I've ever had the pleasure of having, about Journaling.

Jed's Father instilled the practice in him from a young age and he used it through the latter part of his education and into his career to help him build resilience, learn about himself and to create a memoir which he's now turned into a book.

Jed's book "4th & Goal" - https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/1807047156

"Journaling isn't just a habit. It's a discipline. It's a competitive advantage. And this book is proof of what happens when someone has the courage to write it all down."

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Watch this episode over on YouTube - https://youtu.be/Dm_TZOvasjE?si=doMbcepAin5QaoDN

Do get in touch with any questions you have and of course your feedback is really important too. Email me - [email protected]

Remember, there are loads more extras over on Substack for you, so you can really get into Journaling and begin to realise what a difference it can make to your life.

Please share this episode with someone who might need a bit of space to think. Plus, if you get a moment, please leave me a review, they matter so much for getting the podcast heard and seen.

As Always... "keep writing, keep noticing, and keep showing up for yourself", Matt.