Michael Phelps journals to find the ‘best version’ of himself. When I tried it, the results surprised me

In Phelps’ world of journaling, there are two rules.

The first: No limits.

No prompts, no planning, just riffing.

Phelps established this as a first-time journaler, and it’s been his style since.

“It was my way of just getting all the thoughts and feelings and emotions on paper,” he said. “To where I wasn’t really carrying them as excess weight around ... See more

He first started viewing his life as a puzzle during his swimming career. There were parts of him, or rather pieces, that didn’t quite fit. Some he couldn’t understand. Unexpected “s—head moods” and “hating who he was” when looking in the mirror. Each one confusing him when holding them up to the rest of the pieces of his life.

I continued to write, elaborating on why that excited me, which led me to my first surprise. Those friends are some of my best friends from college. I used to see them every day. Now we live hundreds of miles away from each other and instead of walking to each other’s apartment, hanging out requires a flight or long drive. I didn’t know where exact... See more