December 28th
The last few days of the year are a kind of limbo – this year gone but not quite over, next year not quite begun. There is still time to finish things in this year and also to plan things for next year.
So here are a few journal prompts for reviewing the past year before we embark on the new year:
When I think about 2015, some things rise first in my memory: the 1st World Congress in Existential Therapy in May in London, the publication of Expressive Writing: counseling and healthcare (Eds Thompson & Adams), the Expressive Arts Summit in New York in November, other travels to Taiwan and India.
I could call these some of the steppingstones of 2015; these are big picture items. Other threads spin off these – people I’ve met, books I’ve read, conversation and experiences I’ve had.
When reviewing in this way we can look at different existential dimensions – physical, social, personal, spiritual. Each one offers us a different set of steppingstones. Steppingstones are ways of structuring our experience and memory.
Journal prompt: Steppingstones for the past year
Either choose a theme for your Stepping Stones or simply think back over the past year. See what memories rise to the surface, make a note of each one as it occurs, just a word or a phrase (no continuous prose!) Don’t inquire why it has come to you or what it means.
When you have a list of 6-8 things, number them in chronological order. Read them out loud in that order, see if one of them stands out with more substance or arouses more interest in you.
Write about this one in the present tense, include all things you can remember and the associations that come to mind.
Journal prompt: The Incompletes
Make a list of unfinished business, tasks, projects, conversations. Decide which ones you want to carry over into 2016 and which ones you want to drop (making a conscious decision not to finish something is very different from simply letting something languish – see what it feels like).
Journal prompt: The Satisfactions
Make a list of things you have done in 2015 which have brought you satisfaction (simply completing even simple tasks can bring a sense of satisfaction that is often overlooked) or a sense of achievement.Include professional and personal acts, emotional or physical developments, doing and being.What are you grateful for?

Hi Kate! Finally getting around to writing at this transition time. Your prompts were perfect. And I agree–H Is for Hawk was the best book ever!
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In Lapidus , Julia Denise said: Thanks, Kate. Some great ideas here. I’m just finishing ‘H is for Hawk’ myself.
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Thanks Kate. That’s very generous. I am sure many people will find this extremely helpful as a starting point for reflection. I shall check out the book you recommend! Mine would possibly be: Matt Haig’s Reasons to Stay Alive.
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Hi Emmy – thanks for this book recommendation. I’ll get hold of it as soon as I can. Always good to have more books which are interesting on different levels. Sounds like this one would be good to recommend to some of my clients.
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Good post! I will try following the prompts as I review the past year.
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