How To Capture Three Stories Every Day

Find the magic of small moments, and discover stories that only you can tell.

Something strange happens when you start noting down the small, inconsequential moments that make up a day.

You realise they aren’t inconsequential at all.
They are little pockets of life.

A lesson, a reminder, a surprise. They are the jigsaw puzzle pieces that, when carefully assembled and viewed in their entirety, make you who you are.

Three Moments, Three Stories

One of my favourite ways to create content is to capture these moments as they happen. I do this in the form of three simple daily notes:

One in the morning.
One in the afternoon.
One in the evening.

When I am ready to write, I revisit these notes, and try to find the story within each one. I call this collection of notes a Storylog.

Here are the notes I took today, and the stories I might turn them into.

Morning
Loud bang around 7.30am
Power went out

Afternoon
Haircut
AI conversation with my barber

Evening
Watching find404 on Youtube

Morning

Loud bang around 7.30am
Power went out

Morning Story Idea

This morning around 7.30am, I heard a loud bang in the distance, and we lost power.

I had a freezing cold shower for about 28 seconds, and then got myself to a nearby cafe (with power) and got to work.

I could write about how having a very clear vision means little speedbumps along the way don’t slow me down at all, and how the key is to remind myself daily of what I’m working towards, and why.

Or I could write about how my temporary discomfort reminded me of the ​​TED talk titled “Why Comfort Will Ruin Your Life” by Bill Eckstrom.

Eckstrom argues that discomfort is an essential ingredient to growth, and that we should not only welcome discomfort when it happens, but actually seek it out.

Afternoon

Haircut
AI conversation with my barber

Afternoon Story Idea

I got a haircut. My barber and I discussed AI. He said that today alone, he’s had AI conversations with three other clients.

They aren’t AI specialists. They’re just ordinary people whose lives have been impacted, for better or worse, by AI.

I could write about how I’m incorporating AI into my own life, and the approach I’m taking to ensure I am not left behind by the AI revolution.

Or I could write about how to keep your soul while everyone else is outsourcing theirs to the machines. Or I could write about how barbers will never be replaced by AI.

Evening

Watching find404 on Youtube

Evening Story Idea

David Jin Young Park is a Youtuber known as find404.

A year ago, he decided to follow the exercise regime of David Goggins for 100 days, in spite of being unfit and out of shape.

This brutal workout required him to, among other things, run 12 miles a day.

And he did - very slowly and unhappily on day one, and then with great ease much later.

He began doing daily 12 mile runs, then a marathon, and then an Ultramarathon, and then an Ironman. All in 100 days.

I could write about the power of sharing your journey on social media, and how doing so can have a very real and significant impact on the lives of other people.

Or I could write about how much we love following the story of someone striving for greatness.

I could compare David Jin Young Park’s journey to the classic hero’s journey, and show how creating a series of posts that follow this arc is a powerful way to share your story.

The Magic of Small Moments

The point isn’t which of these stories are the best.

The point is that wonderful stories and cautionary tales and timely reminders about life and love and everything else are right there, all the time.

We’re living them.

Our job isn’t to conjure them up out of thin air, or try and force something profound onto the page every time we sit down to write.

We really just need to live our lives, and capture the magic of small moments when they happen.

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