★★★☆☆ | Writing | Digital | Borrow | StoryGraph | Goodreads
Having heard about bullet journaling for years, I decided to finally read Ryder Carroll’s well-regarded book. I didn’t expect to adopt the practice. I have a well-established journaling habit, both in a physical notebook in the mornings and in a digital journal app at night. However, I did pick up some interesting tips on ways I could make my notebook scribbles more accessible after the fact.
What surprised me was how well Carroll writes about the benefits of journaling for work and personal fulfillment, particularly how daily reflection can help you make time for those important but not necessarily urgent things in life.
This was a worthwhile read, no matter your stance on bullet journaling.
Highlights
“The palest ink is better than the best memory.”
—Chinese Proverb
Impact Bias: “the tendency for people to overestimate the length or the intensity of future feeling states.”
A common misconception about meditation is that it’s about getting rid of thoughts. Rather, mindfulness helps distance yourself from them. A helpful metaphor shared by one of my teachers was that if thoughts were cars, meditation helps us stand on the side of the road rather than getting stuck in traffic.
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.”
—Reinhold Niebuhr
Self-compassion can start by asking yourself a simple question: What would I tell a friend in this situation?
“The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything, but they make the most of everything.”
— Sam Cawthorn
Form should never obscure function.