Three Journaling Game Changers for 2024
A letter from your future self, January Journaling Challenge, and the Thrive Hive
My letter just arrived in my inbox:
“I am so proud of you. Oh my gosh, I am SO proud of you.”
It’s from me.
I wrote it on October first, the start of this last quarter, but stated, “It’s December 31” and scheduled it to send today.
I do this every quarter: I take myself imaginatively to its close and describe everything I hope to have accomplished as though it were already done. I pour my heart into appreciating what has, in that future, transpired.
“You are now a seasoned workshop leader,” I wrote, prior to delivering ten workshops in two months. “You know your material, you have honed it, it gets better every time but it's solid, like your yoga classes, like your writing, like your travel packing list. It's part of your repertoire. You can format an International Standard, you can bike for hours on hilly miles, you can clean the kitchen, you can make a vision board, and you can lead an effective grant training workshop.”
The October 1 woman who wrote the letter was sick with nerves and self-consciousness. My career had, until this year, been very much behind the scenes. I was comfortable with invisibility.
But my desire to share my strategies had grown painful in its persistence, and some kind and generous colleagues were willing to help me experiment. At the time of writing, the stress of the expansion was almost intolerable. Yet I promised myself in my letter:
“You didn’t die, Butterfly. You emerged.”
In writing, I believed; and in believing, I proceeded. And here I am, the seasoned workshop leader the letter foretold. Before the end of this coming quarter, I will have delivered five more workshops, including at least one in England, edging ever closer to my London dreams. The experience has been phenomenal. I have never known such professional fulfillment.
Tomorrow, March 31 Elisabeth will address the woman I am to become. She has capabilities I don’t yet possess — I am taking on still more dizzyingly new professional challenges — but I know, from experience, that I can trust her prospective retrospective perspective.
Will you join me in writing a letter from your March 31 self?
I promise it will be magic.
If you need guidance in getting started with journaling, read on …
Journal with me in the January Journaling Challenge
The January Journaling Challenge is my signature 21-Day course to establish a journaling habit. All you need is 15 minutes a day, a pen, and a notebook. Here’s what I hear from course participants:
"I was quite surprised about the insights and new perspective I gained."
- Patricia F.
"I am amazed to (re)discover the grounding and perspective-altering power of journaling."
- Yvette P.
"The prompts were extremely helpful, much more than I expected."
- Sylvia V.
"My biggest take-away is how different journaling is with prompts than the stream-of-consciousness, 'morning pages' style of journaling I've done most of my life. It's helped me get more specific in reflection and the specificity has led to clarity on a number of issues."
- Kerry Ann R.
This year I am teaming up with licensed therapist Erin Starkey, LCSW to offer the January Journaling course within The Thrive Hive, her private membership space that provides consistent, effective, year-round goal setting and accountability support. I cannot say enough good things about Erin and the value of this community, which builds on the outstanding work of Kerry Ann Rockquemore and her Annual Clarity Retreat.
I am offering the January Journaling course as a gift to my sister members to express my gratitude for the space. Doors are closing tomorrow, January 1, for new Thrive Hive members. There are still a few spots left for Erin’s special pricing for an entire year of planning and accountability support, including the January Journaling Challenge.
If you’ve been looking for a diverse, supportive, thoughtful community of creative women, here it is. We’ve been waiting for you.
What a beautiful image to represent the Thrive Hive 🐝🍯💛
So excited for you, Elizabeth! And looking forward to the challenge. I would call myself a "reluctant journaler" and so your guidance will be gold! ✨️