Spring journaling tips: short story journaling. Writing tips for new beginnings
- Alexandra Morrisroe (Dip Hyp CS)
- Mar 4
- 4 min read
Spring brings a natural invitation to refresh your mindset and embrace new starts. The season’s energy encourages growth, change, and reflection. Yet it can be daunting to take action on this feeling. Journaling during this spring can harness the invitation for change and guide your personal journey toward renewal. Here are some easy spring journaling prompts designed to inspire fresh perspectives and meaningful new beginnings.
Step 1. Reflect on what you want to leave behind
We've all heard of spring cleaning, but how many of us spring clean our lives? It all begins with mental clarity. Start by clearing mental space, take some time to get quiet and reflect on your life. Write down the habits, thoughts, behaviours and situations that are troubling you. Be honest and specific. For example:
"I dislike how my friends belittle me"
"I want to go to bed earlier"
"I'm tired of biting my nails"
"I want to socialise more"
"My job is draining me"
Now that you have reflected, consider these questions.
What would need to happen for these situations, habits, thoughts and behaviours to change?
What feelings or fears hold you back from change?
Is changing this my responsibility? If so, how so? (How does this question make you feel?)
Can you think of a character in a movie, novel, or myth that has encountered the same problem? How did they solve it or make it worse?
What do you think you will lose through change and therefore need to allow grieving space for?
This reflection helps you identify what to release, making room for a change in perspective and highlighting any resistance to change you may have. Just be gentle with yourself, and remember, everyone has resistance to change. Change is daunting, even positive change. To the subconscious, making changes means admitting we were getting something wrong or doing something that was not in our best interest, which can trouble our pride and sense of self. Being humbled by past behaviour and belief systems is a sign of growth, strength and resilience. In the long run, admitting we were wrong and making changes builds character and a healthier self-perception.
Step 2. Imagine your ideal new beginning
Imagine your life after making the changes you have recognised. Picture your ideal day, mindset, or environment. Use vivid details to bring this vision to life. Consider:
What does your morning routine look like?
How do you feel emotionally and physically?
What new skills or habits have you developed?
Write down this new version of yourself and your life. By doing this, you will be able to recognise when you have reached your goal. Many people try to change their lives without understanding what life will feel like once they do. It is not enough to say "I just want to be happy" as happiness is transient and varies day to day. Imagining your new life after changes from morning until evening gives your subconscious mind (which thinks in images, not language) a roadmap of what you want your life to look like. Once it has the roadmap, it is easier to travel there and easier for you to notice when you arrive. Be clear and specific, but make it an average, mundane day. Our lives are not lived in big events but in the day-to-day.
Step 3. Short story journaling
Once your subconscious mind can see where you want to go, it can help you get there. You can do this by writing a short story about a character wanting the same changes that you do. Break the story into easy-to-write sections. Let's look deeper at how to structure this reflection.
The beginning: Write out your situation through the eyes of a fictional character. Give them a different name only, and make everything else the same (if you are married, they are married, etc.). Now write down the situation they are in, and how they want it to change.
The invitation: Now, your main character must realise that she must take action to make this change. How does she feel? What does she try first to improve her situation?
Chain reactions: What happens next? How does her first attempt go? Does she need to try other ways, too? Explore all the ways your main character has to change in order to reach her goal.
Outcome: Your main character has been successful! What does her life look like? Write it down, enjoy her success knowing it will be yours one day.
Re-read: Put your story away for a day or two and then re-read - make a bullet point list of how your character achieved her goal. You now have a simple roadmap.
Short story journaling goes beyond goal-setting; it allows your subconscious mind to problem-solve as only it can, while engaged in imaginative play. Story journaling also helps you empathise with everyone involved by seeing the situation from every angle as it pans out.
Step 4. Take the invitation
Now it is time to take one step your character took toward change. After doing so, document it in your journal. Remember to include:
How did it feel?
What do you need to adapt next time (if anything)
Congratulate yourself for taking the first step towards change.
You did it! You took the first step towards the life you want. That takes courage and determination, you can feel pleased with your progress even if it's not fully transformed your life yet. And, you guessed it, you can now take your second step, third and fourth... until the changes you want are embodied into everyday living.
Step 5. Track your growth and challenges
Once you feel the change is embedded, continue journaling to note your progress and any obstacles. Celebrate small wins and analyse any setbacks without judgment. For example:
What new habits are sticking?
When do you feel most challenged?
How do you overcome difficulties?
This ongoing reflection builds resilience and deepens self-awareness. It also makes it easier to make other changes next spring, when the invitation will open once more, encouraging us to step through into an improved way of thinking, feeling and being.
Happy springtime changes!
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