Podcast Summary

Podcast: ReThinking with Adam Grant
Episode: Living Each Day Like It’s Your First with Suleika Jaouad
Date: November 11, 2025
Host: Adam Grant
Guest: Suleika Jaouad – Author of "Between Two Kingdoms" and "The Book of Alchemy"

Overview

In this episode, Adam Grant sits down with Suleika Jaouad—a writer and cancer survivor known for her insightful memoirs and creative journaling practices—to explore the radical idea of "living each day like it’s your first" instead of your last. Their lively conversation delves into what it really means to balance presence with planning, the role of journaling in self-discovery and relationships, and the importance of awe, curiosity, and humor in coping with uncertainty and hardship.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Rethinking Survival: Living Each Day Like It’s Your First

• Rejecting the 'Live Each Day Like It's Your Last' Philosophy
  • Adam shares his aversion to the cliché advice, stating it leads to impracticality and burnout.
    • "Nothing meaningful would ever get accomplished." (Adam Grant, 03:00)
  • Suleika agrees, calling it "the worst advice" and explaining that it adds immense, unrealistic pressure, especially during her cancer recurrence.
    • "It's so much pressure. I'm trying to make every dinner as meaningful as possible... And that is just a spiritually exhausting way to move through life." (Suleika Jaouad, 04:28)
• Embracing the 'First Day' Mentality
  • Suleika describes an alternative: waking up with curiosity, playfulness, and awe, like a child seeing the world anew.
    • "Instead, I'm trying to live every day as if it's my first—to wake up with a sense of curiosity and playfulness and wonder that a little kid might." (Suleika Jaouad, 05:09)
  • This approach fosters both present-mindedness and hope for the future (Adam Grant, 05:54).

Journaling as a Tool for Self-Discovery and Resilience

• Journaling in Many Forms
  • Journals can be anything—paintings, lists, snatches of thoughts, or structured morning pages.
    • "Sometimes my journal looks like a painting, sometimes it looks like one sentence or a grocery list..." (Suleika Jaouad, 02:25)
• Transformation Through Illness
  • Suleika recounts how cancer forced her to confront uncertainty, give up rigid life plans, and appreciate both the moment and the unknown.
  • She describes losing her ability to journal by hand during treatment and pivoting to watercolor painting as a new creative outlet:
    • "Having my life upturned... has taught me you really have to surf the waves of uncertainty... I pivoted... and every day, I started making these watercolors of what was appearing in my dreams." (Suleika Jaouad, 11:34)

The Power of Shared Journaling and Letters

• Shared Journaling with John Batiste
  • Suleika and her husband, musician John Batiste, use shared, handwritten journals—writing each other letters as a daily ritual, even when apart.
    • "We'd write our letters, snap a photo, and text them to each other... We had some of the richest, deepest conversations in those letters." (Suleika Jaouad, 13:29)
• Journaling as Private Space and Springboard for Connection
  • Suleika values her journals as private, unedited ground for self-exploration, but sharing their insights can deepen relationships.
    • "It's where I get to show up for myself without expectation... and just see what happens." (Suleika Jaouad, 15:02)

Journaling Prompts as Creative Catalysts

• Moving Past Resistance to Prompts
  • Both Adam and Suleika originally disliked prompts but now recognize how they can unlock fresh perspectives and break habitual thought patterns.
    • "A prompt allows you to twist the chamber ever so slightly so the light falls differently..." (Suleika Jaouad, 31:48)
• Journaling as Call and Response
  • Prompts offer opportunities to be in dialogue with others' ideas, treating writing as an ongoing conversation with thinkers, loved ones, or even oneself across time.

Contributions vs. Gratitude: Reframing Journaling Outcomes (33:59)

• Contribution Journals
  • Adam shares research that writing about one's active contributions creates more meaning and agency than simply listing things for which one is grateful.
    • "When they wrote about their contributions, it created an active sense of 'I matter. I have something to give.'" (Adam Grant, 34:32)
  • Suleika echoes that reflecting on her own meaningful actions each day keeps her purposeful, even during illness.

Playfulness and Levity as Essential Coping Tools

• Fun Age: Balancing Depth with Delight (38:46–43:41)
  • Both Suleika and John maintain dual "fun ages"—8 and 80—cherishing both deep reflection and childlike play, from prank calls to board games.
    • "When I was getting my bone marrow transplant, we would entertain ourselves by making prank calls... and I've never laughed harder in my entire life." (Suleika Jaouad, 40:52)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Living First, Not Last:
  "When I'm living every day as if it's my last, it's so much pressure... Instead, I'm trying to live every day as if it's my first."
  – Suleika Jaouad (04:07)

• On Creativity Emerging from Uncertainty:
  "Having my life upturned... has taught me you really have to surf the waves of uncertainty without trying to direct or control what's happening."
  – Suleika Jaouad (11:34)

• On Shared Journaling:
  "There's a way in which when you're on the road, you might check in ... but you're not really getting to the deeper grist. ... In those letters, we had some of the richest, deepest conversations."
  – Suleika Jaouad (13:19)

• On the Value of Journaling Prompts:
  "A prompt allows you to twist the chamber ever so slightly so the light falls differently."
  – Suleika Jaouad (31:48)

• On Contribution Journaling:
  "When people kept contribution journals, it was in some ways better... than keeping gratitude journals... it created an active sense of 'I matter, I have something to give.'"
  – Adam Grant (34:32)

• On Fun and Levity:
  "For both John and me, our fun age is both 80 and 8... We're also little kids. We try to tap into that sense of not just childlike wonder, but complete absurdity and hilarity."
  – Suleika Jaouad (40:10)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Living Each Day as Your First vs. Last: 03:34 – 05:54
• Journaling Practices and Lessons: 13:09 – 16:17
• Shared Journaling with Partner: 13:19 – 14:54
• On Prompts and Dialogue: 30:59 – 33:59
• Contribution vs. Gratitude Journals: 33:59 – 36:34
• Fun Age and Levity: 38:46 – 43:41
• Lightning Round & Personal Insights: 43:45 – 46:50

Takeaways

• Permission to Reimagine Living:
  The “first day” mindset offers a gentler, more sustainable way to approach life than the “last day” mindset, privileging curiosity, awe, and openness.
• Journaling is Versatile:
  Boundaries between lists, drawings, and letters are unnecessary—creative reflection can take any form.
• Prompts Break Ruts:
  Writing (and dialoguing) to prompts can reveal hidden thoughts and nurture connection—with others and with oneself.
• Play is Serious Medicine:
  Humor and playfulness remain essential, even in (and especially amid) adversity.

Final Thoughts

The episode is an inspiring, heartfelt exploration of how to navigate uncertainty, savor daily joys, and foster both self-understanding and genuine connection. Through Suleika Jaouad’s vulnerable stories and Adam Grant's thoughtful questioning, listeners are invited to rethink not just how to survive—but how to truly live, learn, and laugh, one “first day” at a time.