A Therapist recommends...

Welcome to “A Therapist recommends…”, my new blog post series in which I share books and all sorts of things that I have found helpful along the way, in the hope that you might find something in these posts that helps you too or at the very least that resonates with you.

Welcome to the first of these posts in 2026 and a very happy New Year to you! I hope that Christmas and New Year was everything you wanted and needed it to be ❤️

Usually at this time of year there can be a lot of noise around New Year’s resolutions, changes and being the best version of yourself you can possibly be. Social media is full of lifestyle hacks and adverts are screaming at us to buy the latest tech or all sorts of things to optimise our lives and wellbeing.

This is not one of those posts.

Take a deep breath. Take a moment to settle in. Maybe get yourself a cup of tea or coffee. There is no pressure here, no sales pitch, no talk about what you should or shouldn’t be doing.

Welcome!

The recommendation I have for you today is a gentle one. It is called a personal growth journal. If the term “personal growth” doesn’t resonate with you, that’s absolutely fine. You can call it whatever you like but first let me explain what I mean by a personal growth journal.

Picture by Jess Baily, Unsplash

It is a very simple concept and one I first came across in a book called “Grow your Private Practice” by Jane Travis. She recommends making a note every time you do something or achieve something that you find difficult, didn’t think you could do, found challenging, that maybe other people find difficult, you did on your own and so forth. It can be anything.

Examples of mine for 2025 include: took my cat to the vet on my own, put a big wasp outside (it really was massive!), went to a bookshop event on my own, was honest about how I felt when a friend asked me how I am, said yes to being on a podcast and talking about pet bereavement and my experience of losing my cat Charlie.

What I like about a personal growth journal - first of all it’s an excuse to get out a notebook or treat yourself to a new one, you could even make your own if you want to. Writing down a line and dating it doesn’t take very long but it also means you take notice in that moment of your achievement which gives you a little boost.

Picture by Kelly Sikkema, Unsplash

If you keep it up throughout the year, you can look back over your journal and all the things you did and achieved and marvel because let’s be honest, most of the time we tend to focus on all the things we didn’t do, couldn’t accomplish or failed at and all the little wins go unnoticed. This is one way of creating a bit of balance and giving our self esteem a little boost.

It doesn’t matter how big or small, some things might seem insignificant to you but write them down anyway. They all add up and can be a reminder when things get difficult or you are feeling particularly down, that you can do things, that you can cope, that you can ask for help, that you can make decisions and that you might not be as useless or hopeless as you think you are.

Sometimes it's the small changes that make a big difference to our wellbeing.

#personalgrowth #selfcare #personalgrowthjournal #newyear #resolutions #selfcompassion #selfesteem #emotionalwellbeing #mentalhealth #counselling #therapy

References

Travis, Jane (2019). Grow your Private Practice