Journal to your potential
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We meet a lot of people through the year. Are we meeting ourselves enough? In a world that is getting hyperconnected through devices, people are getting lonelier and lonelier. Not only are they losing touch with the people around them but the devices are coming in the way of people connecting with themselves in many instances.
Hundreds of scientific studies have shown that Journaling provides profound mental, emotional, and physical health benefits by serving as a private, judgment-free space to externalise and process what is going on in you and around you. Over the years, people ranging across Marcus Aurelius, Leonardo Da Vinci and Mahatma Gandhi have used journaling to process the inner and the outer worlds around them.
Journaling is like meditation in many ways: universally praised, widely avoided, and completely terrifying without instructions. You ask people to journal on a blank page and very often they freeze like a deer in front of headlights.
In this podcast episode of Connecting the dots on Journaling, I build on the wisdom gleaned from the various accomplished podcast guests and discuss the various ways in which we could use journaling to enhance our life (managing the chatter in our head, processing complexity around us, behavioral change, building gratitude and deliberate practice just to name a few).
We then move to the “How of journaling” and speak about what it takes to be non-judgmental in the way we approach it and the nuance in the way we frame our journaling prompts.
In the episode, we feature insights on journaling from a range of people including Jim Collins, Narasimha Rao, Bill Burnett (Design your Life - Stanford), Neeraj Aggarwal (Former APAC Head of BCG) and more.
Crafting a Full Life - A year long companion!
On a related note, I am excited to announce a much improved 2nd version of the journal / workbook / playbook - Crafting a Full Life. If you are looking to get started on journaling and want to get exposed to a range of prompts that will help you take stock of life and design it in a holistic way, consider getting this for yourself or gifting it to a friend or colleague/ your team. Some context in the video below.
Whether you are navigating the pulls and pressures of mid-life, dealing with burnout, transitioning contexts, trying to reinvent your career or just looking to evolve into an improved version of yourself, this journal will handhold you through the journey.
Several leadership teams have found the ideas here useful in the context of their leaders finding a sustainable pace and play the long game with vitality, purpose and joy. In some of those instances, I also have facilitated short sessions exploring the ideas of a full life with a small curated group (~15-30 people). People engaging with each other with their full selves brings them closer and deepens trust and intimacy at the top. The journal is then given at the end of the session for people to build on it when they go back to their busy lives.
We had come out with a short print run around Dec 2025 that we gave to a few people. Based on the feedback received from many of the first wave, we have crafted this improved version that we hope you will like and find useful.
This summer break, don't just spend quality time with your family—use the opportunity to reconnect with yourself with this journal!
Best wishes,
Deepak Jayaraman
* Currently available only in India. For bulk orders, please email akash@playtopotential.com.