It’s now or never.
I have spent so much of my life supporting other people’s dreams and agendas that I don’t think that I ever thought about what I really wanted for myself. And even if I did, whatever dreams I may have had were left gathering dust for decades.
As some of you already know, 2022 was an extremely sh*tty year for a number of reasons.
But it has made me realize, more than ever, that my time on earth is limited and that I need to start chasing some…
JOY.
It only hit me the other day that “joy” has often eluded me and that is quite sad.
As a kid, journaling was a great way to figure stuff out but I stopped when my privacy was invaded more than once.
And even today as a seasoned woman, the thought of journaling still triggers me a bit because I remember how mortified I felt at having my personal thoughts stolen.
But I’ve decided that I will start journaling again because I truly think that it will be the key to figuring things out and finding my joy.
Getting things out of my head and onto paper. Like therapy without a therapist.
I have chosen 12 words to serve as inspiration for the next 12 months, starting in January 2023.
And I am sharing them with you here (not in order):
So yeah, starting in January 2023, 12 words for 12 months to free flow write about anything, everything and sometimes nothing.
My first theme word will be “ORDER” which I think is fitting for the first month of the year.
No, I won’t be journaling online.
But I will share some thoughts along the way about the experience and post some photos of things related to my themes on my Instagram with a #mynext12 tag.
Would you like to join in with your own free flow writing experiment?
Perhaps use these same order of words for your own posts in 2023, do some of your own self-reflection on your blog or offline? Or choose your own set words to guide you through 2023?
I am ready to make myself a priority. Are you?
If so, drop me a note in the comments.
I will post again about this because I will be looking for a handful of people interested in using the same order as me so that we can exchange and support each other.
Bisous,
M xoxo
Marquessa 
I’d love to join in on this! I think it’s great to invest in yourself, and this is a great way to do it!
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Fantastic! Let’s do this! 🙂
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I journal/diarise every day on my computer and have done for some years, particularly after reading Natalie Goldberg’s “Writing Down The Bones”. I find it clears my mind of a lot of “trivia” and I always feel a bit freer after writing. I have also just finished a book by Mark Nepo which has got me thinking about the subject and you might find it useful see https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36416597-things-that-join-the-sea-and-the-sky
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I will definitely have look this up! Thank you, Do you feel that using a computer changes your “flow” versus writing by hand?
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No, I am more at home typing than handwriting strange as that might sound. I think I am an exception to this norm given my history. As I wrote in one of my posts: “Finally an easy one. Writing on a device definitely. I have heard the theories about the connections created by handwriting but the main reason that has kept me from writing all these years was my experience in high school and the difficulty I had in creating a clean essay or composition without multiple crossings out and rewrites. I am also a product of my age having learnt to type in my first job and this continued through my years as a communications operator in the Air Force and then as a computer programmer. Typing is second nature to me to the extent that I find it difficult to actually write by hand.”
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I understand. The great thing is that you write regularly!
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I like your idea and have expanded it a little to come up with topics that match the month:
– [ ] January – Joy
– [ ] February – Freedom
– [ ] March – Miracle
– [ ] April – Anxiety
– [ ] May – Mercy
– [ ] June – Justice
– [ ] July – Junk
– [ ] August – Adulation
– [ ] September – Sincerity
– [ ] October – Optimism
– [ ] November – Nearly
– [ ] December – Decisions
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Excellent! A lot of the words I chose can fit a bunch of the same ones you expanded. January for me will be decluttering under which word I now forget! 🙂
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Swap for July’s – Junk 😂 I also might change Septembers to synchronicity which is what I thought of originally but then couldn’t remember when it came to writing them down. Old age strikes again 🤪
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Lol. I’m old too! 🙂 I have to start with decluttering in January otherwise i won’t find my way to February!🤣
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Pingback: Words for 2023 | J R Vincente
Thanks for sharing this! I will actually be posting about this again soon since I will be looking for a distinct small group who would like to follow a specific order with me too. 💜
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