📓 Bullet. Journal. Post.
Hey, y’all. I’ve recently received questions over my bullet journal and I want to share a few learnings from it.
I’ve been keeping a bullet journal since January 3rd. So about a month and a half now and it’s been amazing to see some of the progress I’ve made between my health, design, and reading. It’s also, more importantly; made me write in a physical journal which I enjoy more than an online platform like Day One or Penzu. One reason is that it's raw writing. The journal catches all my mistakes, and it makes it easier to adjust the overall structure if needed. Something I wouldn’t get from a templated bullet journal.
Another reason is that it keeps me accountable. I don’t forget to write every day and I don’t forget to work out every day. When I start to fall behind, I can see it visibly in my journal and adjust my days as necessary. I highly recommend it. It’s helping me form better habits while also scrapbooking my life week by week.
✍️ Quote of the week:
The upside of habits is that we can do things without thinking. The downside is that we stop paying attention to little errors.
- Lao Tzu
🎶 Song of the week:
Skinny Dip by Deepend, Philip Strand
📖 What I’m reading:
12 Rules for Life by James Peterson - I’m a few chapters in and although I love the content, it’s hard to follow. I originally picked this book up because I love how Jordan Peterson structures a thought or an argument. This book does contain those good anecdotes but sometimes the idea can get lost in the endless dribble he uses to convey his message. It comes across as “I am very smart” which is sad because it masks a really good message.
🧠 Top 3 learnings:
✅ Habit tracking - As I said before, I’ve recently been keeping up with a bullet journal since the beginning of the year. It takes a lot of time to draw out the habit boxes, write out each question I want to ask myself each week, and print pictures to add to it every week. Although printing pictures has made this become more of a scrapbook which in return makes my bullet journal more engaging. I'll also ask myself at the end of every week if I was challenged. If I was then I’ll keep the habits the same. If I wasn’t I’ll increase one of the habits; which could mean writing more, reading more, lifting more weights, or spending more time with family.
This habit tracking has become so effective for me I start to feel off and anxious when I’m halfway through my day and I haven’t completed anything. It’s like my own personal manager that’s always keeping me accountable.
🔥 Burn out and an injury - I rarely know my limits. I’ve always known the mind will give up far before your body does. So every time that voice in your head is telling you to stop it’s just the resistance of your mind that wants that comfort. Well, this week I was wrong and my body got the best of me. I tried breaking a personal record run and injured my left leg to the point I couldn’t move it. Reaching your limits is hard but it's a healthy way to know where that line is. Habits are an amazing way to start doing things on autopilot but it disregards small things your body is telling you to stop. So learn to rest.
📚 Not finishing a book - I put down a book last week because I couldn’t get past the headspace it put me in. Sometimes a book just doesn’t sit right with me and that’s ok. This is why I can’t watch scary movies. I have so much empathy for people whether it’s fictional or non-fictional and although I know the world is a lot darker than I myself see it, that doesn’t mean I need to be exposed to it to make sense of it. Life is too short to feel sad or angry all the time and seeking those things whether in movies, books, or music is something I don’t have the mindset or heart for.
🤑 Crypto:
I think we’re going to have a bullish weekend. As the weeks pass by things will start to be more volatile. But as long as the scary swings happen upward we’ll be fine. Again, nothing is guaranteed. In fact, I thought we had strong support at $40.7k for BTC and we broke below that. Now the next support level is at 37.7k (yikes). In the long run, the bears are getting tired and I can see that on the weekly chart. There are lots of talks about Russia and Ukraine that are influencing the market but I'm more concerned with what's going on in Canada right now.
Fun fact: In the battle between bears and bulls; people discovered that bears swipe their claws downward while bulls headbutt their horns in an upward position. These are where we get the terms for bullish, and bearish.
🎲 2 things I’ve been enjoying this week:
Avocados - Since they won’t be around for long. 🥑🥑🥑
Joe Rogan podcast with David Goggins - this made me put the book Can’t Hurt Me on my reading list for next week. It’s a really motivating talk and I think it can build on someone's identity.
👴 Dad thoughts
Sacrifice - I want to say as fathers we tend to sacrifice a lot for the safety and success of our family. Mothers feel this too but I’ll leave that commentary for the moms out there. I'm sure for both parents there's an equal sacrifice but I do sense that each partner has different ideologies when it comes to what they sacrifice. For me, some days are rewarding and some days are not. Especially on those days when you’ve given so much of yourself for almost nothing in return. The days where you’ve made breakfast only for them to say they’re not hungry. The days where you need a hug and your kid tells you they need space.
You see, there are internal battles that dads face that sacrifice time, money, and energy for the happiness that our kids need. Some days we would rather be golfing than watch Frozen 2 for the 334th 335th time, some days we would rather buy a new car than pay for a private school, and other days I'd rather spend time with just my wife and talk about things that have been on our minds.
I say all this to mean if you’re a dad out there, then I want to say that you’re doing a great job (whatever your idea of great might be) and the hard work that you put into being a father will pay out greatly for generations to come.
Have a great week!
📬 PS: Please do reply to this email if you have anything to add / any questions. I quite enjoy replying to comments/emails as a source of procrastination from revision.
📬 PPS: Please hit the <reply> button and let me know what you thought of this email if you have a spare few seconds. I'd love to hear your thoughts on what was useful about it and what could be changed. Thanks <3
