Jemma Spike

Okay, we're going to take a short break, but then we will be right back with more of our list items.

I think we're up to number six.

This is one of the most important ones and practical ones that I think I have on this list, which is find a way to document your life that resonates with you.

Whether that is a podcast like this one, a private Instagram, a yearly scrapbook, journaling, junk journaling, photo albums.

And this is so deeply important.

When I was in my early 20s, I used to do this thing called One Second Every Day.

I don't know if you guys have heard about this.

It's this app that had this major, huge moment, maybe in 2017, 2018, where you would record one second every day.

And then at the end of the year, all of you and your friends would upload them to YouTube.

Maybe this is just a unique experience.

And the reason why documenting life is so essential for our psychology and for our mental health is...

because of the role it plays in narrative psychology.

Narrative psychology is such a buzzword on this podcast.

I think it's one of our most used phrases and most related to concepts.

But essentially what narrative psychology says is that if you don't have a story that is running through the center of your life, if you don't have a story that you are telling yourself about your life, if your experiences are not connected, if you cannot remember them,

you will really struggle to know who you are and you will really struggle to get the lessons you need out of life, get the joy you need out of life because part of the joy of life is really being appreciative of the journey and part of the joy of life is hindsight.

is the hindsight of getting to look back at who you were at 21 and 23 and 24, see images, see remnants of that life through scrapbooks or through junk journaling, and just kind of see how far you've come.

And especially in our 20s, like,

this decade is like this rich oil field of experiences.

And it's just like such fertile soil for learning and discovering and for identity.