Do This For Your Future Self

The musician, producer, circus performer, entrepreneur, TED speaker, and author, Derek Sivers, recently wrote an article that began, “You know those people whose lives are transformed by meditation or yoga or something like that? For me, it’s writing in my diary and journals. It’s made all the difference in the world for my learning, reflecting, and peace of mind.”He’s kept a journaling habit for over 20 years. Every night, he takes just a couple minutes to jot down a few sentences to recap his day, how he felt, and thoughts he had. What’s so transformational about that? As Sivers explains:“We so often make big decisions in life based on predictions of how we think we’ll feel in the future, or what we’ll want. Your past self is your best indicator of how you actually felt in similar situations. So it helps to have an accurate picture of your past. You can’t trust distant memories, but you can trust your daily diary. It’s the best indicator to your future self (and maybe descendants) of what was really going on in your life at this time. If you’re feeling you don’t have the time or it’s not interesting enough, remember: You’re doing this for your future self. Future you will want to look back at this time in your life, and find out what you were actually doing, day-to-day, and how you really felt back then. It will help you make better decisions.”Compare that to Seneca:“I will keep constant watch over myself and—most usefully—will put each day up for review. For this is what makes us evil—that none of us looks back upon our own lives. We reflect upon only that which we are about to do. And yet our plans for the future descend from the past.”How often do you consult your past self to make decisions? Could you do so even if you wanted to? Or have most days, most experiences, most feelings, most thoughts vanished from memory? Journaling is a memory bank with unlimited storage. It’s an archive, a reference manual, an unmatched tool for learning from today to inform tomorrow. That’s why journaling is so transformational. If you still haven’t, start journaling today. Start compiling your archive. Do it for your future self. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. 📢 Share | ⚙️ Manage Subscription

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:06Ryan Holiday?

  Welcome to The Daily Stoic, where each day we read a short passage designed to help you cultivate the strength, insight, wisdom necessary for living the good life. Each one of these passages is based on the 2,000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. For more, you can visit us at dailystoic.com. Do This for Your Future Self The musician, producer, circus performer, entrepreneur, TED speaker, and author Derek Sivers recently wrote an article that began, "You know those people whose lives are transformed by meditation, or yoga, or something like that? For me, it's writing in my diary and

• 0:47Ryan Holiday?

  journals. It's made all the difference in the world for my learning, reflecting, and peace of mind." Derek kept a journaling habit for over 20 years. Every night, he takes just a couple minutes to jot down a few sentences to recap his day, how he felt, thoughts he had. What's so transformational about that? As Sivers explains, "We so often make big decisions in life based on predictions of how we think we'll feel in the future, or what we'll want. Your past self is your best indicator of how you actually felt in similar situations. So it helps to have an accurate picture of your past. You can't trust distant memories, but you can trust your daily diary.

• 1:31Ryan Holiday?

  It's the best indicator to your future self, and maybe descendants, of what's really going on in your life at this time. If you're feeling you don't have time, or it's not interesting enough, remember, you're doing this for your future self. Future you will want to look back at this time in your life, and find out what you were actually doing day to day, and how you really felt back then. It will help you make better decisions." Now compare that to Seneca. He said, "I will keep constant watch over myself, and, most usefully, will put up each day for review. For this is what makes us evil, that none of us looks back upon our own lives. We reflect upon only that which we are about to do,

• 2:16Ryan Holiday?

  and yet our plans for the future descend from the past." How often do you consult your past self to make decisions? Could you do so even if you wanted to? Or have most days, most experiences, most feelings, most thoughts vanished from memory? Journaling is a memory bank with unlimited storage. It's an archive, a reference manual, an unmatched tool for learning from today to inform tomorrow. That's why journaling is so transformational. If you haven't started, start journaling today. Start compiling your archive. Do it for your future self. If you like this email, I hope you'll check out The Daily Stoic Journal, which is the

• 3:01Ryan Holiday?

  journal we designed based on Seneca's exercises and based on one from Marcus Aurelius and one from Epictetus that gives you a prompt to reflect on each morning and then to review each evening. I think you'll love it. You can get it anywhere books are sold. Definitely get it on Amazon. The Daily Stoic Journal goes along a page per day with The Daily Stoic book as well. So, check it out. I do it every morning. I think you'll love it. Give it a shot.