Your old journal is more interesting than you think

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"It is perfectly true, as the philosophers say, that life must be understood backwards. But they forget the other proposition, that it must be lived forwards."

— Søren Kierkegaard, Journals (1843)

Dear Life Noters,

25% of the journal entries written in Life Note are now over a year old.

So I want to ask us all: when did you last read one?

Most of us write and move on.

Writing becomes the "work", and reading back feels like something for later.

But here's a Harvard Business School study that might change your mind:

1. People wrote about an ordinary conversation they'd just had, and guessed how interesting it would be to reread someday. On average: about 3 out of 7.
2. Seven months later, they rated it nearly 5 out of 7, far more interesting than they had predicted. And... the more ordinary the moment, the more they underestimated it.

Ordinary moments hold tremendous wonder, and we can only discover them in our journals. That's why we built Since then, a way for you to add notes to your past entries.

It has truly changed how I reread my old entries. I now naturally add my current perspectives, and reading them back makes me feel that I'm changing all the time, and that change is possible.

And knowing change is possible matters, because we tend to underestimate how much we'll still change, and that belief can make us less open to new experiences and options.

So while Since then is a quiet feature, I believe it makes Life Note more aligned with its purpose: creating a space for meaningful inner dialogue.

Update to the latest app, or open Life Note on the web, and try rereading an entry. I'd love to hear what you think.

Also new in Life Note

Here's everything new to Life Note since September

1. A simpler mobile & web app: easier to navigate, less cognitive load, while maintaining the same depth
2. Do more in web chat: you can now read your entries or work on your goals while chatting with mentors
3. Life Note now fully supports Russian
4. The people in your story: Life Note now gathers the people you write about, you can tap anyone to see every entry they're in
5. Download your entries and mentor responses as pdf to read offline.
6. More voices of wisdom: Nine new mentors, including Louisa May Alcott, L.M. Montgomery, Ramani Durvasula and Thomas Jefferson.
7. New gifting experience: Give it to someone you love. A month or a year of Life Note, at mylifenote.ai/gift.

That's it for now. Until next time : )

Namaste,

Daniel W. Chen | Founder of Life Note

P.S. We're now sharing content on inner peace, self-mastery and self-understanding on Instagram. Come follow along and support us. It's also where we'll announce any giveaways first!

你的舊日記，比你想的更有趣

「哲學家說得一點也沒錯：人生必須回頭看，才能被理解。但他們忘了另一個命題：人生必須向前活。」

— 齊克果，《日記》（1843）

Dear Life Noters，

Life Note 裡有 25% 的日記，已經是一年多前寫下的了。

所以我想問問大家：你上一次重讀舊日記，是什麼時候？

我們大多數人，寫完就往前走了。

書寫變成了「功課」，而重讀，總覺得是以後的事。

但這個哈佛商學院的研究，也許會改變你的想法：

1. 研究者請大家寫下一段剛發生的日常對話，並猜猜看，未來某天重讀時會有多有趣。平均答案：7 分裡大約 3 分。
2. 七個月後，他們實際重讀時給了將近 5 分，遠比自己預期的有趣。而且⋯⋯越是平凡的時刻，越被低估。

平凡的時刻裡藏著巨大的驚奇，而我們只能在日記裡發現它們。所以我們打造了新功能「那之後」，讓你可以在過去的日記上，寫下現在的補記。

它真的改變了我重讀舊日記的方式。我現在會很自然地寫下當下的想法，而重讀日記時，會感覺到自己其實一直在改變，而改變是可能的。

知道改變是可能的，這件事很重要。

因為我們往往低估自己未來還會改變多少，而這種想法，會讓我們對新的經驗和選擇變得不那麼開放。

所以，雖然「那之後」是個安靜的功能，我相信它讓 Life Note 更貼近它的初衷：創造一個能進行深刻並有意義的內在對話空間。

更新到最新版的 App，或打開 Life Note 網頁版，試著重讀一篇日記吧。很想聽聽你的想法。

Life Note 其他新功能

以下是九月以來 Life Note 的所有新功能：

1. 更簡單的手機與網頁版：更好上手、更少認知負擔，一樣的深度。
2. 在網頁聊天裡做更多事：和導師聊天的同時，可以閱讀你的日記，或修改目標。
3. Life Note 現在完整支援俄文。
4. 你故事裡的人：Life Note 現在會整理出你常寫到的人，點一下任何一位，就能看到他們出現過的每一篇日記。
5. 把你的日記和導師的回覆下載成 PDF，讓你能印出來好好享讀。
6. 更多智慧的聲音：九位新導師，包括露意莎·梅·奧爾柯特、露西·莫德·蒙哥馬利、拉瑪妮．杜瓦蘇拉與湯瑪斯·傑佛遜。
7. 全新的送禮體驗：送給你愛的人。一個月或一年的 Life Note，請到 mylifenote.ai/gift。

這次就先分享到這裡。下次見 : )

向你致敬,

Daniel W. Chen | Life Note 創辦人

P.S. 我們現在會在 Instagram 分享關於內在平靜、自我修練與認識自己的內容。歡迎追蹤、支持我們！之後如果有任何贈品活動，也會最先在那裡公布。