Journal Writing and Year-End Reflection
By Susan Knight | Time passes quickly and memory isn’t always reliable. Journal writing serves as a valuable tool to address both issues.
Written by Susan Knight | Seeking Veritas Columnist | Sankarsingh-Gonsalves Productions
As we welcome in the New Year, many will spend some time reflecting on the year gone by. Were resolutions kept and goals achieved, or did well-intentioned plans fall by the wayside after a few weeks? Was it a year filled with exciting opportunities, special moments, and meaningful accomplishments? Was it a year beset with difficulties and setbacks? Can you even remember what the past year was really like?
That last question is a relevant one, given how memory works in such a funny way. By the time year-end rolls around, the image in our mind of how the past 12 months unfolded often becomes quite skewed in terms of what we clearly remember, what we’ve completely forgotten, what has been distorted, and what stands out to dominate our perception. Hence why maintaining a journal is so useful. Beyond all the benefits derived at the time of writing, there’s the added benefit of revisiting all those writings in future. A lot transpires over the course of a year, much of which is forgotten as time passes. Reading old journal entries can be an eye-opening, enlightening, and sometimes entertaining experience.
Every December, I like to write a journal entry listing highlights from the past year. I don’t limit myself to big events or major achievements, nor do I take a lot of time with it or think too hard about what I’m going to write. Instead, I try to make it more of an intuitive, feelings-based exercise. My aim is to relax and allow anything I genuinely find special, meaningful, or enjoyable to float up to the surface. What I find interesting about this exercise is the way themes and patterns tend to emerge as I list whatever comes to mind. I discover things about myself, and going through the process never fails to elicit feelings of happiness and gratitude.
This exercise enables you to set aside the usual preoccupation with what “should” be considered important based on all the external messaging we receive, and instead gain clarity on what you truly deem important. For instance, as I look over my list of highlights from 2024, I’m struck by how so many little things are mixed in with bigger things, with many of those little things coming to mind first. High on my list (highlight #3) was an encounter I had during the summer in the grocery store. A toddler had spontaneously started waving at me, which led to her mother and I chatting briefly. As I walked away, the mother called out to me, “Look, she’s blowing kisses at you!” I turned around and sure enough, the little girl was joyfully blowing kisses at me. There was so much beauty and innocence in her actions, it felt like she had somehow blown a blessing onto me along with all those kisses.
Writing about this event months later provided a wonderful opportunity to relive it all over again, and also served as a powerful reminder of how much I appreciate the simple, little things in life. Day after day, those simple, little things give life so much of its meaning, such that seemingly ordinary events can wind up becoming special memories we’ll cherish long afterwards.
It’s a bit of a cliché to say the years fly by more quickly as we get older, but it constantly gets repeated because everyone can relate to its truth. At some point, everyone notices how quickly time passes. Along with asking where the time went, you also find yourself asking what happened because the days went by in a blur. Even though 2024 was a great year for me, it feels like it sped by; in many ways it now seems like a blur. I’m glad I can go to my journal and be reminded of all that took place, replacing that blur with detailed recollections that touch my heart and put a smile on my face.
About the author: Susan Knight | SGP Featured Writer | Contact the author: @ http://skfreelance.com
Susan is certified health and wellness coach with a focus on personal growth and inner wellness. She was a regular contributor to Social Work Today Magazine and is a featured Health & Wellness Columnist for SGP.
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