How to use drawing as a tool for self-reflection

Plus another Date Your Sketchbook challenge...

Hi all, it’s great to have you here! For the new people who have found me recently, welcome!

If you are new around here and are interested in illustrated journals, check out this post as it might give you some inspiration to start a journal yourself:

Now let’s jump right in to today’s subject.

I’m the kind of person who is very into examining herself. It might look like navel-gazing to some, but I can’t help it, I’m just wired this way. My best friend is the same, and she is a therapist, so there you go.

Why would you even WANT to use drawings for self-reflection? What’s the point?

A journal has always been a tool for record keeping and self-reflection, I mean, it’s the primary purpose for having a journal, right? You write down your thoughts, feelings, the events in your life, and you reflect on them, think about them, digest them, and then move on.

Drawings take this one step further. By adding illustrations, you create a visual story which makes everything on the page more tangible. You can also easily show how things relate to each other, draw your hopes and wishes, etc…

I drew this page back in September 2024. I was unsure, unmotivated, lost. I wanted to get excited, learn something new and I wanted a change but I had no idea what it would be. Fast forward a few months, I started this substack and signed a book deal. I mean, what?!

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If you want to give this a try, here is a simple question to ask:

What’s going on with me right now?

Whenever I feel like my head is full and I almost can’t think, I give this a go, and most often, it’s a way to find calm and to let go.

Here are a few more questions that help me get into this kind of journaling:

• How am I feeling?

• What’s a big change that is happening? Where am I on this journey right now?

• What’s a goal I’m working towards?

If this doesn’t seem like your jam right now, no pressure. But if things seem a bit much and you need a creative outlet, you might wanna give this a try.

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One intense example of drawing this way is something that I made during covid. When everything got super hard and way too much, I made a drawing of ALL MY FEELINGS. It looks like a chaotic jumble, and that’s how it felt too. But after putting everything down on the page (which took many days), I felt lighter, and somehow hopeful, like, this is just one page, and there will be more pages to come.

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In today’s date your sketchbook challenge, I’d like to build on this concept a bit more.

Many years ago, I heard a commencement address from Steve Jobs that was going around on the internet. In it, he spoke about how it’s only by looking back and “connecting the dots” that we might understand and appreciate our story.

So this is what I invite you to do this week. I propose that you look back at the significant moments in your life and visualise how all of them have led to where you are now. Look for the turning points on your journey, the moments when there was a big change or when something unexpected happened.

This is a complex challenge but one that can be very meaningful, if you let it. I hope you’ll have fun! If you decide to draw this, feel free to tag me or send it to me via a DM, I would love to see it.

Finally, a poll, because I love polls! For the next newsletter, what would you prefer?

Happy drawing!