3 Simple Questions to Ask Yourself Each Morning
A small investment each day will repay dividends that accumulate across your life. I think this might be my breakthrough journaling moment - time will tell!
In Never Stop Learning this week I will be covering the following 1-2-3:
One Big Thing - Start the day with three questions that could change how you think.
Two Recommendations - A podcast and a YouTube video to get you started.
My Top 3 articles of the week
Enjoy.
One Big Thing: 3 Questions to Ask Yourself Each Morning
I know so many people who have started journaling and stopped before it could make a difference.
I was one of those people.
I read articles and listened to podcasts on the benefits. It would revolutionise my life, they said. It would enable me to focus on what’s important. It sounded amazing.
I even bought a brand new note book just for this task.
The articles said that if you buy a journal that you love the look and feel of you will be many times more likely to persevere. You would find joy in opening that journal every day.
But I could never stick to it. I’d do the usual thing of keeping at it for a few days but I could never build it into a habit. It never become something I would stick at and get the benefits from.
Until now that is. What’s changed?
The thing with my previous approach was the blank page. I found it intimidating. I couldn’t gather myself to write. I was trying to force out the words but it felt aimless, pointless even. This was never going to work.
For those who don’t follow him, Rangan Chatterjee is a doctor, author and podcaster that often takes a slightly different approach to health. In his own words:
I am a medical doctor with over 20 years experience who treats you as an individual. I take a 360° approach to health by focusing on my 4 pillars of health: Food, Movement, Sleep and Relaxation.
My goal is to empower you to become the architect of your own health. I believe that when we are healthier, we are happier because when we feel better, we live more.
I stumbled on his journaling article and haven’t looked back in terms of my journaling. And then a recent podcast (see link below) nudged me into writing this post.
He recommends taking tiny steps towards your journaling and focusing on three very simple questions each morning. This simplistic approach has triggered something in me - it’s finally working!
The big questions you need to start your day
What is the most important thing I need to do today?
With this one we are focusing on the big thing that is important to you. We all have huge to-do lists and we’re often worried about the day ahead.
How will we get everything done? Well, most of the time we don’t. We simply feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of “stuff” to do.
So in this question we are forced to boil it down to the one thing that will move the dial for us on that day.
What am I grateful for in my life?
The person we talk to the most in our lives? Yes, its ourselves!
So make sure you are talking to yourself in a positive way. There’s always something positive we are write here even if everything else is going down the toilet. It could be really small such as you have some food in the fridge for your breakfast.
It doesn’t really matter what it is.
The point is you shift your mind away from the potential spiral and into something positive. Good stuff can grow from that.
What quality do you want to show the world today?
As with the above question, this is about getting you into the right mindset for the day and showing yourself that you have control over how you put yourself out there.
It’s not always easy to answer this one. If we are having a tough time we can find it difficult to think positively.
On Wednesday this week I answered like this:
“I’d like to show I’m a positive person but I’m really struggling today”
Wednesday was tough for no particular reason but I was struggling. I’m pleased I set out a positive intention but I think it was also important to note how I was feeling.
Looking back on this really helps as I know now that I moved on from that position and got through that day.
So those three questions should get your day off to a good start. After doing this for a few weeks you will start to get into the swing of it and see patterns in your writing.
The key is to be specific as possible in what you write
So for things you are grateful for you could say “I am grateful for how my fridge has my favourite yogurt which I love to have with honey each morning as it tastes so sweet”
So how should you close out your day?
Well, here are three bonus questions that can help you there too.
What went well today?
Now then, you can always find something. It could be that you filled in your journal!
What did I do for someone else today?
This gets us thinking about what we gave the world.
It’s amazing when we think back through our day that we can start to piece together how we made a positive impact on other people. This immediately gives us meaning beyond ourselves.
Again, it could be really small. Maybe you bought someone a coffee. Or helped them talk through a tricky problem at work.
What can I do differently tomorrow?
And finally, we have tomorrow to be better still.
Setting that intention as we end our day can set us up to be better people. There’s a saying that we shouldn’t compare ourselves to others but we should seek to improve on ourselves compared to yesterday.
This is our chance to set that out.
Happy journaling!
Two Recommendations - what to consume this week
1. How to make 2024 your best year - Live Better, Live More
This is the podcast that prompted me to write this post and talk about my journaling habit.
2. How to *actually* build a journalling habit in 2024
For those who read my posts regularly you will know how much of a fan I am of this YouTube channel. Brilliantly edited and presented.
Top 3 articles of the week
Finding great articles on Substack can be difficult. Fear not, I have been digging deep into the discovery areas of the platform so you don’t have to.
Here are my top three posts to read this week:
Substack is a Buffet, Pace Yourself by
ofLife on Purpose. Or, at the very least, a newsletter with one. by
ofHow I Write: 18 Thoughts On Writing | #253 by
ofSubstack Recommendations
A big part of this newsletter is the community we are building. Never Stop Learning recommends these Substacks that I suggest you check out.
Last week’s post
In case you missed it:
Plus, catch up on my recent post covering the Substack platform:
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Thank you for reading and see you next week.
Yeah, it's important that every day we look for the positive in life as well as talk to ourselves in a positive way. This is a good daily habit to inculcate.
Thanks Martin this is helpful! I haven't had a chance to listen to this particular Chatterjee podcast yet so it's a great reminder to do so. If you haven't heard it yet Huberman has an excellent one about a different journaling technique that is backed by approx 200 studies! Very powerful.
I appreciate the links you've shared.