Hello! I am sorry to be a bother, but I was wondering.. what keeps you motivated and Inspired to continue journaling? I personally love writing, journaling, etc. but some days, I lack the motivation and energy to do so. I want to journal everyday, but I fail to do so because my anxiety drowns me. I'm so anxious that my handwriting won't be good enough, my journal won't be "perfect", the things I put in and write aren't good enough, etc.
Hey there @http-xwonderlxndx! You are most certainly not a bother! This is something I get asked all the time, and I think it is one of the biggest problems people have with journaling. As a closet perfectionist (and diagnosed OCD), it took me years to overcome this anxiety and really start to journal regularly, but even still, I find myself in slumps (especially lately). I don’t know what works for everyone else, but for me, I started writing in simple composition notebooks to ease my anxiety about perfection and help me to let go of the notion that I was potentially ruining a work of art. I found that by writing in something less intimidating, I was much more comfortable and able to let go of my inhibitions, and journaling became a lot like talking to a friend every day. The awesome thing about journals is that they are an extension of you, and along with that comes beauty in imperfection. Let yourself make mistakes and embrace them! With the same token, it’s totally normal to not have the energy or motivation to write every day. Life tends to be quite mundane sometimes and therefore it can be hard to draw inspiration from. I recently spoke to someone else who came to me with the same problem, and I told them that I don’t know what works for everyone else, but for me, since my journals are more for documentation, I try to find at least one thing a day that’s worth remembering. Like sometimes I’ll eat a really yummy sandwich and glue the receipt in my journal, or draw/take a picture of something and put it in. Also, if I have a song in my head or am deep in thought about something I just write it like a stream of consciousness. It’s kind of fun sometimes to write without thinking and go back and read it later. You learn a lot about yourself, and it’s a great way to let go of that writing anxiety!  Sometimes looking at pictures of other people’s journals or watching journal videos on YouTube also tend to get me in the mood to write, even if I’m just writing about having trouble writing! I’m sorry this is so long, but I really hope this helps even a little!! Happy Journaling!
