Are you interested in making some good, healthy choices for your life but feel stuck in a rut? Often it’s so hard just to start, to take those first steps. We have enough on our minds as adults in the real world; who wants to add more ‘stress’?

Even though committing to healthy choices is something you know will reduce stress, the idea of taking on a new practice can be scarier than anything else.

I suggest using the special magic of summer to overcome such hesitations. You might finally dive headfirst into the wonders of keeping a journal, for instance, even though that New Year’s resolution never amounted to anything so far.

Summer’s somehow easier, happier, calmer than other times of the year. The warmth helps, of course, and the general atmosphere of holidays. Nature bears copious fruit in this season, and so can we.

Here are a few suggestions for starting up a healing journaling practice as summer settles in.

1. During the hottest part of the day, find a cool place where you can sit to write. Spend a few minutes experiencing the relief of the coolness. Thinking about the contrast between where you are and how it feels outside in the heat, begin writing. Write from the free flowing stream of your thoughts for at least five minutes. If your pen pauses, return to the image of cool contrasted with heat and continue.

A vitally important but hard-to-grasp understanding in early journaling is that what you write is infinitely less important than keeping the pen moving. Your challenge is to go beyond thought, so you don’t want to remain slave to your brain. Your writing may become messy and nonsensical. This is perfectly fine.

2. Experiment with writing at different times of the day until you find one that particularly resonates. Do you most readily reach for your journal first thing in the morning, or after the kids have gone off to camp, or during the drowsy siesta hour, or maybe as the night wears on?

Regular journaling creates a new bond between you and your inner self. It becomes the time when you face your own truth most honestly and clearly. Consider the journaling time of day that feels best to you. What is your relationship to that hour and what makes it especially right for your journal writing?

3. Use journaling prompts to keep your writing momentum going, or tap into my 27 Days method of self-discovery journaling. Take liberal advantage of summer’s muses. Vacation travels, nature’s abundance, beach or camping or picnic fun, warmth vs. heat, and dreaming about a life of unbroken leisure are all rich sources and worthy topics.

Remember that your journaling for self-discovery is really not about the content you come up with on the page: it’s about increasing inner wealth and peace. Indulge yourself in all summer’s charms without limit: you’ll find they have much to reveal about You!

Mari L. McCarthy is The Journaling Therapy Specialist, founder of Create Write Now, the Personal Growth Journaling Place. Mari offers counseling and encouragement to journal writers through her many online journaling resources, as well as private consultations. Mari’s teachings and workbooks center around journaling for self-discovery, self-growth, and self-healing. Her most recent publication is Perfect Health: 7 Days Journaling Heal Your Body Challenge. A free chapter is available for download.

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