#72 - What I journal about

Hans Chan -

What I’m Watching

It sometimes feels like the boxing world has been taken over by this new generation of YouTuber exhibition bouts which often generate more interest than traditional fights which can be frustrating for the purists. So it was almost a breath of fresh air to watch Naoya Inoue’s championship bout against Fulton, who is now regarded as the #1 p4p fighter in the world. It was a sublime fight, breathtaking to see the amount of power Inoue is able to generate combined with his agility and accuracy.

Resource of the week

It’s no secret that mortgage rates have absolutely skyrocketed compared to just 12 months ago with some investors seeing their costs double which can be a huge strain. We’ve had yet another base rate rise this week. So it’s more important than ever to save costs where possible to protect yields. If you’re not completely happy with your lettings agent (which has been a constant struggle for me), I’d highly recommend checking out rentago which is a fully managed lettings service. They only charge 8%, which is already a great saving but the best thing is there are zero fees, so no letting fees, marketing fees, photography, or anything which is I've not heard of elsewhere and can add to up hundreds.

Full disclaimer, they did sponsor a recent video of mine which goes through a BTL rental profit comparison. I’d never recommend something I wouldn’t use myself and after my due diligence checks have found them to be a great team who are also members of the NRLA. What’s more, if you use code HANS23, in addition to everything you get 3 months absolutely zero fees for the first 100 people who signup. Make sure you check it out!

Quote

“The difference between great people and everyone else is that great people create their lives actively, while everyone else is created by their lives, passively waiting to see where life takes them next. The difference between the two is living fully and just existing.”

Gerber Michael E., The E-myth Revisited

Thoughts

I’ve been journaling in some form or another since I was a child and to this day, I don’t have a clear answer when someone asks me what I write about. Now that I’m flicking through one of my journals, I think the answer is probably 90% mundane stuff. But that doesn’t mean it’s not valuable to note down these things, on the contrary, I think.

I remember from reading the book Storyworthy, the author Matthew Dicks, who is a champion storyteller shares that the best stories aren’t the most outlandish, unlikely things that have happened to him but stories that are relatable. He draws these from observations made from everyday moments that might otherwise have been missed, things like having breakfast with his family or walking his dog in the rain, feeling lonely waiting in the hospital only to have his friends surprise him.

So while a lot of it is mundane I love going back and reading about small moments that seemed insignificant at the time, particularly with the people I love.

On a more productive level, it helps me see trends for example habits that continually crop up that I need to make changes to. For example, if I’ve spent too much time on TikTok over the last few weeks. It’s also an invaluable way to keep track of what I am feeling on a day-to-day basis over time.

I read somewhere that the brain is very good at remembering significant events that have happened to us in the past, in a high level of detail. However, on the contrary, we are very bad at remembering past states of emotion associated with those events. How many times have people gone through a lot of pain running a marathon say ‘never again’ but the next day totally forget about it and start itching for the next one. Or shortly after achieving something big, forget how important it once was to them, instead of drawing upon it in moments when we are feeling unsure of ourselves.

So for me, if I am struggling with something, it’s useful to look back and see that I was just as stressed or pressured or unsure as before but still managed to overcome it.

Another one is clarity. I know this gets used a lot in journaling but while I jot down mundane things about what I did, and how I felt that day, I’ll occasionally have small moments of clarity or perhaps that’s a bit dramatic, probably a new way to look at things; an updated mental model of the world if you will.

An example that helped me stay consistent with going to the gym is understanding that sometimes I didn't feel like going to the gym but I never once regretted going and always feel good afterwards. So I realised I don't go to the gym because I feel good or energetic that day, but I feel good because I go to the gym. So even on my worse days, I'll want to go.

Another one is not having a victim mentality, blaming my failures on the economy, people whatever. Understanding that it’s all part of life, people with far worse situations and struggles than me have overcome them and achieved great things.

Another use I like is in the evening to write down what I’m going to do first thing in the morning. I feel like if I procrastinate or get sidetracked in the morning that compounds throughout the day and is worse than doing it later on.

A good way to get into journaling is something Matthew Dicks recommends, which is just one sentence every day on a ‘storyworthy moment’ that happened to you. Doesn’t take much time and over time it builds up.

Hope you give that a try! Have a good week! Hit reply if you have any thoughts or feedback.

Hans