Listening Within: Taylor Elyse Morrison

journaling as ritual and radical self-care

Why do you journal? Recently I’ve been asking other journalers what motivates them to keep up this most solitary of habits. Answers have ranged from getting problems outside one’s head to identifying personal triggers.

Today’s installment jumps into Taylor Elyse Morrison’s world, revealing how this self-described “portfolio careerist” — named one of Fortune’s 10 Innovators Shaping the Future of Health — uses journaling to support her own wellness.

---

The idea of “self-care” can often seem, to the overwhelmed person, like yet another category of guilt-inducing expectations. In her book Inner Workout, Taylor Elyse Morrison upends this notion in the best definition of self-care I’ve encountered:

SELF-CARE: “Listening within and responding in the most loving way possible.”

I love how this framing reaches past products, trends, and “should” pressure to get straight to the heart of a caring relationship.

Its essence is paying attention, as we would with any loved one: What’s going on with this person who is so dear to me? What is she feeling in this moment? What is she expressing? And: How can I respond to that with utmost tenderness?

Taylor and I spoke about how journaling supports this self-care approach and fits into her broader work as a facilitator, meditation guide, and PhD student in the field of Change Leadership.

Navel Gazette: Why do you journal?

Taylor Elyse Morrison: Oh, I have such a fraught relationship with journaling!

Maybe that's an exaggeration, but I have like a push-and-pull relationship with journaling. I know that it can be so good for me. And sometimes when it feels like I have to journal, I have to find the sweet spot for me to be ready.

What will happen is I'll avoid it for a while and then it will be just flowing out of me, everything that was pent up.

At what age did you first start journaling?

I have a journal going back to fourth grade! We found it in storage. That one was very, “Dear Diary, here’s exactly what happened today.”

But in adulthood, journaling is more focused on, “How am I feeling about this thing? What am I struggling with? What do I want?”

It’s where I get to be in conversation with myself.

Do you have a specific journaling style or approach?

Lately, I've been doing a version of Morning Pages. Not exactly how [Artist’s Way author Julia Cameron] talks about it, but there’s something about connecting with my own words and thoughts first thing in the morning.

I’m curious about what comes up with resistance you mentioned — the push-and-pull. What does the reluctance look like?

That’s a good question. It’s a more general pattern. Like, I know moving my body before my day begins is also very good for me. But sometimes I don’t feel like doing this thing that I know is good for me. Another element is time pressure.

Also, I’m neurodivergent, and I can feel like, “Are we really just going to sit here and write on this page again? Are we really going to do this same thing?”

It can feel like it’s going to be boring, even though — whether it’s movement or journaling — it’s never exactly the same. Even if you’re writing on the same prompt! But my brain doesn’t always catch onto that.

Right, the fear of boredom, which can also be a fear of wasting time. It’s also tricky that first thing in morning seems to be the right time for everything. Do you find yourself picking up your journal at different times of day, when you feel that pent-up need, or does it work best as routine?

I think about this a lot with self-care. When do we need rituals and routines? And when do we need to have practices that are more responsive: I know when I’m feeling X, I can do Y.

For me, it’s always shifting and changing. I live in the Midwest and tend to wake up with the sun, so it’s a lot easier for me to have an extended morning practice in the warmer months. In the winter my morning routine is more condensed without that natural impetus of waking up early.

Working with natural cycles really interests me as well. Does your hormonal cycle factor into your journaling or self-care routine?

Yes, that has been so profound for me as someone who likes to be in tune. There is something about being connected to “this is what my body naturally wants to do at these times” versus acting like every day is the same.

That connects beautifully to your definition of self-care as “listening within.” What else can we learn about ourselves by listening within?

Right now, the water that I’m swimming in as a PhD student is identity work and identity play. I am really interested in how we try on different identities. How are we making decisions about how we want to make sense to other people — or how we don’t want to make sense to other people?

It has been really revelatory, both in terms of what I want for myself, and also what I don’t want to participate in.

Do you incorporate journaling into your coaching practice?

It depends. If I’m coaching someone on a continual basis, I might say “here’s a really good prompt for you to reflect on.” But most of the people I work with are already very self-reflective. So they don’t necessarily need more “heady” work of being in their brain. They need to start taking action, and then maybe that action leads to journaling.

But I’ve also led “Journaling Jam Sessions,” where we try maybe five different methodologies for journaling.

What have you learned from leading journaling sessions?

Maybe you’ve found this, too: People tend to have strong feelings about journaling either positively or negatively. Some come in thinking, “I love this,” and some, “It doesn’t work for me.”

So part of my work at the beginning was looking at the definition I used for journaling. I think of it as a written way to process your thoughts and emotions.

Mine is “writing for your eyes only.”

Oh, I like that.

So I realized I could explain at the beginning of the workshop, “You’re not going to like all of these, but I’m hoping you can find one that works for you.” And I’d have them do a brain dump, and show them it could be a list, or just random words, or more expanded writing.

After that, some of them said, “Oh, I already do that, I just didn’t think of it as journaling.”

I think that helped to show it’s just a container to get things out of your head where you can see them.

For more on Taylor’s coaching and training, check out taylorelyse.com or connect with her on LinkedIn.

---

🖊️ Curious about what journaling can do for you?

Enrollment for my Summer Journaling course opens in June. Join the waitlist to be notified when doors open and get a free guide to my favorite journaling exercise.