When the plan breaks, make a path (Gift Inside 🎁))
Published 5 days ago • 2 min read
The Journal Muse Issue 10: Reflective Goal Setting
Dear Reader,
I used to feel like setting goals was like building a delicate tower out of playing cards. One gust of wind—a crisis, a change, something I couldn’t control—and everything collapsed.
So I stopped building towers.
Instead, I began creating pathways. Multiple ones. Winding ones. Ones with side exits and quiet resting places. I stopped asking, “How do I get there?” and started asking, “What’s the next step if this path gets blocked?”
In a world where life can turn upside down in a moment, this way of creative, reflective goal setting, became my anchor. Not a rigid structure, but a practice of keeping my dreams alive—no matter what.
Your Art Journaling Challenge: Reflective Goal Mapping
This week, we’ll skip the rigid goals and lean into something more human: What matters most to me right now? Where do I want to grow, explore, or bloom? What are three paths to get there—and what if none of them are straight?
Here’s how to begin:
1️⃣ Choose a Dream Not a “goal” you feel you should set but something you long for. Something alive.
2️⃣ Paint It Abstractly Use colours, lines, and shapes to express the feeling of that dream. What does it look like in motion? What would it sound like, taste like, feel like if it were already real?
3️⃣ Map the Multipaths Draw three paths on the same page:
Path A: If everything goes well
Path B: If life gets chaotic
Path C: The unexpected door (something you don’t see yet, but trust will appear)
You don’t need all the answers. Just possibilities. Your journal becomes the place where dreams stay alive, no matter how many times the world changes course.
Journal Prompts:
What dream still feels important to me, even if I’ve had to pause it?
When things fall apart, what do I reach for next?
How have I already succeeded in ways I once dreamed about—but didn’t even realize?
What would my future self thank me for doing now?
A New Kind of Goal
Let’s forget “achievable metrics” and focus on something deeper: How do I want to feel this season? What small ritual will support that feeling? What can I make space for, even if I can’t control the outcome?
Your goals don’t have to look like straight lines or perfect plans. They can look like a painting—layered, evolving, messy, radiant.
Literature Thought: A Different Kind of Hope
"Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come." — Anne Lamott
Some dreams need time. Some paths loop around. But if we keep showing up—with our brush, our words, our heart—the light finds us.
Cheering on You,
Beata
🎉 We made it to Issue #10! Thank you for reading, journaling, and being part of this creative journey.
And if you’d like to play with something new... ✨ Try out the Journaling Muse GPT—your personal prompt guide and creative spark. (You'll need a GPT Plus subscription to use it.) 👉 Give it a try here.
I can’t wait to hear what you think—just hit reply and let me know! 💛
