INTRO: Happy New Year and Hello Ambition! This is a time of year where motivation is high and goal setting is common. New Year’s Resolutions are usually a way to carry out routines that help you get closer to the person you want to be. This sounds good, doesn’t it?
However, along with all of the optimism that surrounds this time, people are vulnerable, and sometimes just as desperate as they are ambitious. It’s easy to be tricked into believing that there’s only one right way, or a best way, to achieve your goals; it usually involves ordering a miracle product or two. Not this time. This year, the miracle is you!
A while ago, I wanted to be a person who wrote for fun and for personal fulfillment rather than just for work. I became that person. Not by journaling one page every single day at the exact same time. That doesn’t sound promising to me. That sort of demand is intimidating. I know if I followed rules like that, I’d fail quickly. Instead, I made journaling a welcoming activity that would eventually fall naturally into a routine rather than forcing it into one. Whatever New Year’s Resolution you’re buying into, buy into yourself first and redefine your approach to your goal.
Journaling is a space: Think of journaling as a place you go when you want to share something with yourself. Wherever you may be writing from, the connection between you and your journaling tool should form a safe space that you find yourself wanting to go back to. Think of it as a time-out corner, but in a good way.
Open 24/7, 365: Sometimes we set constraints in our minds, when in reality we can do whatever it is we want to do. Don’t forget this. It’s 3 AM? Journal if you want, even if it is only for a minute. In the lobby at the hotel? Waiting at the doctor’s office? You get the point. Journaling is not 9-5. Anytime, anywhere, find yourself in the pages and meet yourself where you need to be.
It’s not going anywhere: Don’t rush yourself by giving yourself a page limit each day, because usually you’ll have more or less to say each time than you anticipate. Don’t even try to finish a journal in a set amount of time. Not because you can’t handle that pressure, but because by making it a task, journaling will quickly turn into a chore rather than a retreat.
Reflect on all parts of your life: If you use journaling to let out those inner negative thoughts, you better start to practice letting out good thoughts or affirmations too. Journaling should be a safe place to go in any setting, and if you only write when you need a therapy session, it can be hard to celebrate life this way. Record it all, and make sure to write down what makes you happy in life.
One page, one line, who cares: If you want to journal one line, that is just as valuable as ten pages. Expressing yourself is different each time.
Forget about formatting: Similar to what was just mentioned, let your journaling be messy if you want, or pretty. Draw, or don’t. Bullet, or don’t. These pages are for you! Let it be your playground.
OUTRO: Flexibility and forgiveness are important in welcoming a new habit into your life. Make it something you find yourself wanting to do, rather than it being just another bullet point on your to-do list. Don’t let loving yourself and your life be a chore. Good luck!