It's my guess that you're facing challenges of one description or another, no matter what season of life you're in.
You may be a young person wondering what the 2025/2026 schoolyear holds in store.
A 20-something just getting started with your adult life. So many decisions to make!
Maybe you're in your 30s, 40s, or 50s, deep in the weeds of "adulting." (I wasn't sure about that word when I first heard it either, but it's grown on me.)
And then, there are those of us in our 60s and 70s and beyond, facing the fall and winter seasons of life.
Whatever our age or our situation, there is one thing that will help us all process our thoughts and feelings.
And that's...
Writing.
Of course you may be writing for "the public." Books. Articles. Blog posts.
But there are several types of writing we can do that others will never see, not if we don't want them to.
Julia Cameron developed the idea of "morning pages," three pages of uncensored, unedited streams of consciousness put to paper before we officially begin our day. Because there is a psychological difference between writing by hand and writing on the computer, she encourages readers to use pen and paper. I did so for awhile and found it super helpful. I may have to return to the practice.
I'm currently making a brief entry in my journal at the end of most days. I first heard about line-a-day diaries from podcaster and author Kendra Adachi. This is perfect for recording 1-4 sentences that sum up each day. No matter how tired we are or how unmotivated we feel, most of us can bring ourselves to complete this exercise.
And then there's what I call "rambling until we stumble upon truth." I haven't done this type of journaling in several years, but I found it a great way to process my thoughts and feelings while encouraging my inner editor to take a break. Sometimes, I was surprised at what ended up on the paper.
These are only a handful of the ways we can process where we're at in our particular season of life.
I made a number of false starts to this post because I'm currently processing my way through imminent changes and those that I anticipate will occur within the next year or so. How much should I share? Would I just be filling the page? Would it actually benefit readers?
I decided to save those rambling thoughts for my personal journal.
You may find it helpful to work through the challenges you're facing in the same way. And those thoughts just may motivate you to share with others who are facing the same challenges.
Steph Beth Nickel is the former Editor of FellowScript and the current InScribe Contest Coordinator. Steph is an editor and author and plans to relocate to Saskatchewan from Ontario to be close to family in 2026. (Headshot Photo Credit: Jaime Mellor Photography)
