Springtime is when I start to witness the strongest longings for change – in myself, and in my clients.
Coming out of Winter – which is when I feel and hear the most about fatigue, a desire for rest, and a desire to go quiet and hibernate – the longer days and the sunlight serve as a kind of activation. Do you notice this in yourself as well?
With Spring comes a longing and desire to create, to plant some seeds, to move into action. With this longing, though, can come some frustration. Especially this year – where we’ve experienced a certain level of collective monotony. I’ve been hearing a lot of the following:
“Something needs to change”
“If feel something brewing, but I don’t quite know what”
“I know something needs to change, but I don’t know where to start”
These comments are coming from my individual coaching clients as they contemplate personal change, as well as my corporate clients as they contemplate their teams and workforce and decision-making around virtual and in-person work.
I’d like to highlight “something” as the operative word. The elusiveness of that “something” is part of what makes change so frustrating: wanting things to be different but not knowing what, specifically, you want to change, or where to begin to find the answers. You can feel stuck. Halted. It’s part of what makes change so darn hard. (And this is before you get to the part of actually MAKING the change).
I believe that a journal – and journaling – is one of the most powerful change-making, change-supporting, tools.
A journal – and the habit of journaling – is a powerful change making tool
If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ll know I’m a big proponent of journaling. If you’re looking to make a change, and feel stuck, here are 3 questions I’d like you to ask yourself and journal about (note for workplaces and teams: pose these questions at your team meeting, give everyone a few minutes to journal their answers, and share your insights as a team):
- What do you want more of?
- What do you want less of?
- How does this inform your next steps?
Let yourself free-write the answers to these questions, for 5-20 minutes, without censoring yourself and without over-thinking your answers. Try to keep writing, stream of consciousness, for the full amount of time you’ve allocated for yourself. Then re-read your responses – highlight and underline for yourself the key words and feelings. Your answers will serve up insight, information and clues and can help guide your next steps – so that you’re taking informed, conscious action.
Keep those pens and pencils moving – happy journaling!
Did you know? I send out a week’s worth of journal prompts every Sunday evening, directly to your inbox. If you’ve been looking to start, or strengthen, your journaling habit, sign up to become an Insider at Agency II Change to receive the weekly prompts!
