Day 10: On Progress
Our First Annual Lunar New Year Journaling Challenge
Hello lovely people!
Welcome to the last day of our Lunar New Year journaling challenge! I’m so happy you’re here. I hope you’ve found value in this challenge, whether you’ve fully committed to your journaling or you’ve used this time to simply pause and reflect.
This morning while I was procrastinating while reading - the best kind of procrastination in my opinion - I came across a post on Substack titled low-energy habits that improved my mental health.
As someone who has always operated from a low-energy reserve, I appreciated the post’s gentle yet practical reminder of the small changes we can make in our daily lives to improve how we feel.
It was also a serendipitous read as I prepared to write today’s journaling prompt.
I mentioned early in our challenge that rather than reaching for major, drastic shifts in our lives, what if we could strive for small but significant changes instead?
In a time when the world and all of its happenings often feel dreadful and overwhelming, how can we find minor but meaningful ways to seek and nurture hope in our days?
In considering this, I was reminded of an essay I came across by writer Zadie Smith many years ago.
In an award acceptance speech in Germany which Smith delivered just two days after Donald Trump was elected as president for his first term in the 2016 U.S. Presidential race, Zadie spoke on the ever-shifting tides of political environments and the impacts they make on humanity.
In her speech, Zmith offered these words which served as a reminder on the impermanence of not only political conditions, but also the human experience that exists within them.
While considering this on a macro scale, I also pondered on what it means for us as individuals and our own singular evolution. To live is to be in perpetual progress.
We endure multiple transformations throughout our lives and navigate several iterations of ourselves, all within changing worldly landscapes. Upon initially considering Smith’s words, I felt a tinge of despair. But as I sat with them and reflected more deeply, a subtle hope began to emerge. Nothing is permanent, not our progress, nor the times we are living in.
And if we are to survive, we must find a way to stay hopeful.
Perhaps for the first time it finally dawned upon me the essence of words my father has uttered to me countlessly throughout my adult life in the face of illness, or disappointment and loss, and more recently in the face of genocide this past year.
“Losing hope is never an option.”
To stay hopeful, no matter how grim the reality around us is, might be our only means of survival.
With these words in mind, I invite you to our tenth and final day of journaling together.
Day Ten Lunar New Year Journaling Prompt:
Progress can be a movement toward a goal, an improvement from where you once were, or a deeper understanding of yourself and the world. It doesn’t always look like big achievements or external success—it can be as simple as changing a habit, shifting a mindset, or becoming more patient with yourself.
Sometimes, progress is slow and subtle. It can feel like two steps forward, one step back. But even setbacks can be a form of growth because they teach resilience, self-awareness, and adaptability.
Ultimately, progress is personal. It’s not about comparison but about becoming a little better, a little wiser, or a little more aligned with who you want to be.
✨ Reflect & Write:
What does progress in this moment in your own world mean to you?
What is a hope you have about progress in your own life?
Close your eyes, take a few deep breathes and envision yourself in one year from now. What progress have you made? Write down whatever comes to mind.
Writing to you certainly feels like a progression towards returning to hope, my beloved readers. I hope you find and cling to all the ways you can stay hopeful in the battles you face in both your individual worlds and the one we all inhabit together.
Hopefully yours,
Summer