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It’s the first day of Fall and I’ve got some exciting news! I’m releasing a new edition of my very first guided journal, The 52 Lists Project. I was craving something a little more minimal and illustrative for the cover so here’s a side by side so you can compare the two vibes.
The Original 52 Lists Project journal | The new edition of The 52 Lists Project
How did this new edition come about?
I’ve needed a reset, a starting over and prompting to begin again without completely ditching the good things from the past. Apparently, this is what life is: Lots and lots of do-overs. Over the last almost 3 years of this pandemic I’ve found myself in some dark places with incessant negative thoughts. My mind has been filled with stories that make me feel trapped within emotional spirals. I’ve been overwhelmed by the news, the state of the world, climate crisis, politics, the pervasive injustice that rules so much of popular culture and higher institutions in America and the world. I’ve crumbled and gone inward, hid myself from others as I cycle through self shame and worry that nothing I do matters. I’ve only recently realized how bad my obsessive compulsive and ADHD nature has gotten. I start things and then shame spiral myself out of creating because I’m so scared of adding any more useless garbage to the world.
I want what I make to matter. I want to make a difference. Cynicism, Pessimism and Fear have become the loud inner bullies I need to face, not with anger, but compassion and kindness. God, they’ve been loud. And if you’ve had to live through the same culture as me within the last few years/life, I’m sure your personal fear narrative has risen and become kind of obnoxious to live with too. I feel you, and it sucks. And here’s how I’ve been challenging those thoughts with curiosity and compassion as of the last week or two:
good enough is enough.
superficial fluff exists to balance out the profound. Let it be soft padding between the rattling glass of reality.
keep returning to the present, the past will always be there and the future isn’t yours to manage.
breathe through your nose.
let the chaos be.
I structured my 52 Lists Project journal around the seasons and the emotions that parallel our yearly cycles. Surprise, surprise, it’s like I put hundreds of hours of work into distilling down research on mental health and cyclical thoughts to then create super simple list prompts that would help my brain and yours!
This Week’s List: List 38
List the ways you can love yourself more
I’m letting you read my inner thoughts, eeee-yikes. Vulnerability, ya’ll. It once was my jam and I’m bringing back. This time, partnered with it’s good pal boundaries. You only get so much ; )
Seeing your inner stuff outside of your mind and on a page is so good for your mental health. I feel a little less dumb and a little more wise as I read my own scribbles. Is the “take action” suggestion simple and basic? Yea, no shit. Like I said before, “superficial fluff exists to balance out the profound. Let it be soft padding between the rattling glass of reality.” Life is HARD. Give yourself a goddamn break and risk being sweet and loving towards yourself in a basic way.
Are you too cool to care for yourself? Too mature to be sweet? Too edgy to do something simple and silly? Is making a list as an act of self care just like soooooo cheesy and you’re soooo above that? Hmm, I sense some defensive thoughts and behavior. And I get it. I’ve been a snooty little brat while hiding behind fear the last year or two too. But for real, just fill out the list and see how you feel.
I read a negative review of this journal, my very first published work, on Amazon yesterday:
I hear ya loud and clear, the prompts are simple. Yes, that was the intention. Could you create 52 Lists for yourself to answer and ditch my journal, sure! But did you? Nope. I kept the list prompts in The 52 Lists Project simple for a reason:
When a person is dealing with stress, worry, fear, or trauma, they usually don’t have the brain space to take on profoundly challenging prompts each week for a year. Moms with children that scream all day, can I get an Amen? My LGBTQIA+ community, anyone with any mental health diagnoses, all marginalized people groups, especially women of color, I see you, and thank you for just existing in a world that is so hostile towards you. Feeling tired is an understatement and I want my journals to be a resource for ease.
I’m not trying to turn you into a super human who never struggles with your mental health ever again …Would love to, but shit’s always going to keep coming up. Welcome to being human. And I can promise you, no one outside of yourself can cultivate your own resiliency. No matter how much money you spend on gadgets and gizmos galore, It’s up to YOU to do the work. OOf, both humbling and brutal. I’m sorry <3 Here’s my goal with my simple, some say basic guided journals: it is to give you space to explore your personal narrative kindly, calmly, with gentleness and compassion so that over time, you start to see how your inner narrative speaks to you. Every simple thought holds deeper meaning if your take the time to be curious.
Lists like # 40 ask you to “List Your Top 20 Mood Boosting Songs.” Super simple, sure! And once you list them out, now you’ve got a playlist that is go to every time you need a boost. It’s a little upfront list work that leads to a forever available source of comfort.
Lists like # 2 ask, “List your favorite characters from books, movies, etc.” Again, a simple list. It’s data you’ve got stored somewhere deep inside that just needs to be gathered. But it’s in the analyzation of your list where things get profound and maybe even mind-blowing if you choose. When you look at that list of characters, are there any common toxic traits that you find yourself drawn towards? When you compare yourself to some of these characters, do you find yourself feeling empowered or ashamed in comparison? I am encouraging you to THINK deeper and feel into what you place on a page. It’s a simple list. Yes. And I want to gently push you to use that simple list to help you wake up to yourself and grow in a direction that you will be proud of.
The journal is a resource. A simple and accessible one. You’re busy. You’re managing a lot. You’ve got valid stressors in your life. I want this journal to help you, support you and get you to see your own magic scribbled on each page. I want to see you create a guide book of YOUR own wisdom that you can refer back to whenever you need a boost. I’m not expecting to BLOW YOUR MIIIIIIND (insert Dj air horn sound here) I am just excited to hear how you use list making as a tool for your well being. And I want this newsletter to serve as inspiration and accountability. Yea that’s right, one cheesy and sincere word “inspiration” and one scary and serious word “accountability.” :)
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