Nature Journaling | Stay Motivated
‘How do I stay motivated in my Nature Journaling journey?’, is a question that a follower asked recently. What a great question, and an issue that I’m sure we all struggle with from time to time. I know I certainly do. Let’s jump right into the why’s and how’s of staying motivated.
Finding Your ‘Why’ Is Key to Staying Motivated in your Nature Journal
Finding your why — terminology coined by Simon Sinek, a motivational speaker/entrepreneur. Catch his TED talk on the topic at or read his book ‘Start With Why’. In a nutshell, dig deep and figure out why you want to keep a nature journal in the first place. Make sure it’s not just another thing to tic off of your, ‘I should do this’ list.
There are many ways to connect with nature besides Nature Journaling. Our brains balk at the ‘shoulds’ in our life. Your own personal ‘why’ will help keep you motivated naturally.
How A Growth Mindset Keeps You Motivated to Nature Journal
A fixed mindset is another way we ‘should’ ourselves.
I believe that we often underestimate the power of the words we speak to ourselves. Think about it for a minute. Words can be used to sell, to motivate, to inspire, to belittle, to degrade, to uplift, . . . and the list goes on.
How we speak to ourselves matters!
A ‘fixed mindset’ might say, ‘I should get out my Nature Journal and create a page. It’s been so long since I’ve done one.’ Notice the ‘should’? See the way that those words conjure up shame and guilt? That’s not motivating, and yet most of us speak to ourselves this way all the time. Shame and guilt are never going to motivate us to create that nature connection that we’re looking for.
A ‘growth mindset’, however, might say, ‘I get to go Nature Journal for a while’, or ‘Woohoo, I have time to work in my Nature Journal today!’ Just a few tiny little words, but what a difference in perspective and staying motivated in your Nature Journal!
Learn to use the power of words to your advantage to build yourself up rather than tear yourself down.
How Time of Day May Affect Motivation
Are you a morning person? Do you have a day job and come home too exhausted to do anything else, much less get out your Nature Journal? Have you really drained all your energy, or are you, perhaps, a morning person?
No matter what time of day you feel most energetic, that’s the time of day you can try to carve out a bit of time for Nature Journaling. That’s when you will find it much easier to get out and explore! Find times that work for you.
- Get up just a bit earlier in the morning.
- Carve out morning time on your days off.
- Are you a night owl? You can Nature Journal at night too! Sketch a star map or work on cut flowers and fruit at your kitchen table.
- Take your journal with you to work and slip in some sketching time during your lunch hour.
Baby Steps to Staying Motivated
‘An object in motion tends to stay in motion, while an object at rest tends to stay at rest.’ Newton’s first law of motion.
Most of us are probably familiar with that part of the law of motion. But do you know the rest of that statement? The rest of that law states: unless acted upon by an outside (unbalanced) force.
So what does this have to do with staying motivated with your Nature Journal?
It only takes a teeny, tiny change in motion to get you re-motivated. Start with a tiny commitment. Just 5 minutes. You can do anything for 5 minutes, right? Get out your journal and sketch something simple — an apple, for example. Set a timer. If, after that 5 minutes is up, you don’t feel like continuing, give yourself permission to put it away.
Keep those 5 minute appointments with yourself. You’ll be surprised at how often that 5 minutes turns into 10, 15, or 30 minutes.
Set out on a stroll. Take your Nature Journal along, but don’t plan to get it out. Just enjoy your stroll. Often for me, I’ll head out in a bad mood and as I stroll along, I find myself noticing the bird sounds. Pretty soon, my mood has lifted and I get my sketchbook out. I allow myself to just stroll and enjoy, however, without any expectation of Nature Journaling that day.
So much of the time, the goals we set are unrealistic. We are ambitious, which is a good thing; but when we fall short of our goals, we end up feeling like failures. We beat ourselves up. (Think New Year’s resolutions — and ‘the shoulds’.)
Expectations Can Block Your Nature Journaling Motivation
Do you expect a perfectly executed sketch or painting in your Nature Journal when you head out for the day? Does your finished page live up to your expectations — whether it’s the artwork, the lettering, how well you identified species?
Nature is unpredictable! So, it follows that predicting an outcome in your journal may also be unpredictable.
Go back to your why. Why do you want to keep a Nature Journal? If your why is to create beautiful works of art on your pages, then you need to adjust your journaling to accommodate that goal. That kind of page takes much more time, more tools, and more practice than say, a journal page that is more of a diary of your encounters along the way.
Make sure that you’re enjoying the journey of creating your pages — not just looking for that perfect end product. Don’t let BIG expectations steal your ability to stay motivated!
Partner Up
Accountability. It’s not the perfect word here, but stay with me for a second. Having Nature Journaling partners, keeps us motivated to get out there if for no other reason than we don’t want to disappoint or let others down.
There are times when I’ve committed to a Nature Journal outing with other people. Like most introverts, the day comes and I think to myself, ‘I really don’t feel like doing this today.’ Because I’ve let others know I’ll be there, I force myself to get it together and go. I am never sorry that I followed through! But left to my own devices, on those days, I guarantee I would not have gone by myself.
There are Nature Journal groups and clubs all over. Jack Laws has graciously created a page on his website where you can search for one near you. If there isn’t one, he also teaches you how to start one where you are.
Be Kind to Yourself
Be kind to yourself! We are literally living in unprecedented times — our brains are filled with the chaos and fear of what’s happening around us. It drains us of energy and focus. Although spending a bit of time connecting with nature through our NJ can help with that, ‘shoulding’ all over yourself will only add to your chaos!
Nature Journaling, done right, should be a relaxing, engaging hobby — don’t make it your job!
So there you have my take — 6 ways to increase your motivation to keep Nature Journaling; or doing almost anything else for that matter!
Please follow and like us:
Connecting With Nature: Without the Journal
‘Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike.’ ~ John Muir
Connecting with nature, without the journal — dare I say it? As much as I love journaling, sketching what I see, and connecting with nature via close observation; there are times when the journal can get in the way.
Much like having our phones constantly in our faces, technology always at the ready, there are times when the sketchbook becomes the reason for being out in nature. The sketchbook can become a wall of sorts that we hide behind. We sketch, we observe, but we’re never quite aware that we are actually a part of what is happening around us.
Here is a short account of what happened to me when I was too hot and tired to sketch, and just sat.
A spur of the moment Nature Journaling trip that ended with me spending 30 minutes that felt like only 5 ~ #inthemoment
A Hot Saturday in June
It was blazingly hot out on a recent Saturday; temperatures in the 90s, but the sun was out! Woohoo! After a week and a half of rain and the wettest spring on record here where I live, I decided to brave the heat for a much needed hike through the woods. I made the short drive to my favorite nearby park.
There were only a few other souls out and about, willing to brave the heat. I could hear myself think. I could hear the birds singing, and the water trickling in the creek — bliss! There is a very specific smell on hot days in the summer — damp and wet in the darkest areas of old growth forest; sunny and dry with a hint of green and grassy in the meadow.
Connecting with Nature Requires Learning to Tune-In
It always takes me a while to ‘tune in’ to the nature around me. Honestly, my mind was busy cataloging; ‘I need to add that bird to my list, I wonder what species of dragonfly that is, look at that interesting fungus on the fallen log, I should sketch that.‘ While there is nothing inherently wrong with any of this, I think what I really craved was simply a quiet connection.
After taking a short lunch break and re-hydrating, I thought I’d stay longer and hike another trail at this park, albeit a shorter one. As I knew that the bullfrog pond was not far into this trail; I continued on. But the heat started wearing on me, so I decided to sit on a bench in the shade at the pond. A school of bluegill, ever watchful for any movement that might indicate an easy snack, saw me sit; and congregated at the edge of the little boardwalk nearby.
At the Pond
Every time a slight breeze happened to drop a leaf into the water, there was a flurry of activity from the fish. We began to get into a little rhythm as we rested there together in the shade. I could sense their presence and their movements without watching so intently. After a few minutes of sitting quietly, the dragonflies determined that I was not a threat and began to skim the pond. Of course, every time they touched the water the bluegill hurried to capture them; once even jumping out of the water! Who knew little bluegill could jump?
Connecting With Nature– Becoming One
I almost gave up on the bullfrogs, assuming they were napping in the shade of the reeds, hoping to wait out the worst of the heat. I was wrong. They were simply waiting for the surety of safety as well, and began their loud, hoarse croaking from the far side of the pond. I sat there without agenda and was simply in the moment. I had a real sense that I had become a part of this idyllic little scene. Closing my eyes, listening; I became a part of that little pond ecosystem, if only for a little while.
This is the moment of connection with nature. This is a moment of magic and reverence.
Nature Journaling After the Experience
Journal page completed at home with picture references. OK, so I did end up with a journal page. My experience at the pond that day was so magical, I wanted to put it down on paper so that I could remember more clearly what it felt like. Once home, I grabbed my journal and wrote about my day, followed by sketching from photos to help enhance the memory. This is not ‘cheating’. There is nothing wrong with using photo references. This is your nature journal. This is your experience.
Oh and, . . . the act of telling you my story is another way to cement the experience into memory — simply journal about it with words!
While this article has focused on using other means to capture our nature experiences, I do believe that sketching can be a very valuable way to record our adventures. Think you can’t draw? I believe that anyone with a desire to draw can learn! It’s easier than you think to get started.
For even more help, check out our blog post on Overcoming Your Fear of the Sketchbook!
Please follow and like us:
Earthing: Making the Connection
Earthing is a modern-day term for reconnecting to the electrical systems inherent in the earth. In a nutshell, it’s getting (temporarily) rid of the things that keep us disconnected from the earth and its electrical charge. Making that connection with the earth is easier than you’d think!
Striving for balance
It’s no secret. We are surrounded by positive ions all day long indoors through our phones, computers, TVs, and other electronic devices. They’re in the air, in the form of WiFi.
OK, so why is this important? Without going into the complex science of ions, we’re talking about a matter of balance. If there is an imbalance between positive and negative ions, all those positive ions wander about looking for balance — robbing other materials of their negative ions to find that balance. If all those extra positive ions are inside our body, they rob body tissues of their negative ions. This process is called oxidation. In the outside world, we call this rust.
Oxidation can wreak havoc with our bodies, causing discomfort and chronic disease. Earthing is one easy and free thing we can do to help counteract this process and achieve better balance.
Modern Clothing Blocks Our Connection
Just spending time outdoors, while great for our mental health and making deeper connections with the nature all around us, does not automatically give us that electrical connection that we need to stay balanced.
Modern clothing is made from fibers that are insulators against electrical currents. The rubber soles of our sneakers and boots are designed to keep us from slipping. They are more shock absorbant when we’re walking and running. Rubber resists oils and stains. But they are also fantastic insulators! This is why we need to kick them off once in a while.
The clothing we wear on our bodies is also a problem. The vast majority of clothing is made wholly or in part of polyester, which is spun plastic. Plastic is also a great insulator! Walk down the electrical parts aisle of any home improvement store. Electrical connectors are made of plastic, wires are coated with plastic and rubber insulation, and hand tools all have rubber or plastic grips! All great things if we’re working with high voltage electricity — not so much when we’re talking about connecting with the low electricity that naturally flows through our body and the earth!
Earthing — Making the Barefoot Connection
Turns out, the soles of our feet are perfectly designed to make this necessary electrical connection with the earth. Plus, most of us enjoy going barefoot — we’ve just forgotten as we became responsible adults who wear shoes!
If you haven’t gone barefoot in a long time, it feels, . . . I don’t know – wrong, weird? I promise, though, kick your shoes off in a patch of soft grass or sand or mud. Once you get past the weirdness, it becomes delight!
Going barefoot is freeing — release your feet from those tight sock prisons! Dangle your tired tootsies in a creek or the ocean. Dig your toes into the sand or mud. Splash around in a puddle.
Go for a walk in the summer rain. Take a nap on the lawn.
But what if you aren’t in your own backyard? Wear your boots, but pack an extra pair of socks in your backpack. Sit down on a rock or fallen log, kick off your boots and socks, touch the earth, work in your nature journal, or just ‘be’. Put on a dry, clean pair of socks afterwards. You’ll find that dry socks will also make the rest of your hike better!
Best Places to Make the Earthing Connection
Ideally, we should look for places to go barefoot where we are not directly under power-lines, next to electrical towers, or near cell-phone towers. If possible, head to the beach or a wooded area where power-lines do not cross.
Honestly, we know that life is rarely ideal. So, the good news? You can still get the benefits from going barefoot wherever you happen to be. Concrete is not an insulator. You can walk barefoot on the sidewalk and get your daily dose of earth energy. If the only place you have to walk is under power lines, go for it! Every little bit helps. You can also make an effort to decrease your exposure to the extra positive ions from electronics in your home to help achieve that balance.
Wear natural fibers outdoors whenever you can. An all leather shoe with leather/hide soles will allow you to ground without going barefoot. Clothing made of cotton, bamboo, silk, linen, and wool are all natural and will not block you from the earth’s energy. What are you waiting for? Go make the connection, get earthing!
Spend your earthing time in an area with trees and you are also Forest Bathing at the same time! You’ll never want to leave!
Please follow and like us:
Forest Bathing: What, Why and How
Forest bathing, translated from the Japanese phrase shinrin-yoku, is the simple practice of spending time in nature — doing nothing in particular. I can’t think of a better place to begin your journey to reconnect with nature!
Forest Bathing: What It Is
Forest bathing is simple in concept. You go to a natural setting. A forest is ideal, but if you don’t live near one, any city park with a tree or two will work also.
A proper forest bath has no agenda, no direction, no goal. Turn off your phone! You are going to amble, wander, sit, explore, wonder, and experience whatever happens. Most people treat a hike in the forest as only exercise. ‘Let’s walk really fast and get some cardio in today!’ It can be that; but it is so much more.
Forest bathing is going to a park — you may follow a trail; you may not. Stop when you feel like stopping, move when you feel like moving. Engage your senses: feel the breeze on your skin, listen to the wind in the trees, take in the scents, touch rough bark, or dangle your feet in the stream. Sit under a tree and munch on the snack you brought. Follow a bird, or sit in the dirt and follow an ant. Talk to a tree. Just be.
Nothing New
What’s currently ‘trending’ comes and goes in cycles. Forest bathing is one of those things that feels new because it’s popping up everywhere you look at the moment. In spite of its trending status it is, in fact, a practice that has been around since the beginning of time.
Before the mass migration into urban and suburban areas after the industrial revolution, everyone everywhere lived in nature. It’s where the food was, and the community activities, the entertainment. It was where you could go to be alone for a while and gather your thoughts. It didn’t have a name, it was life.
Forest Bathing: The ‘Why’
Deadlines, to-do lists, work schedules, getting kids where they need to be on time, . . . need I say more? Current society seems to dictate our every waking minute. Many of us equate busyness and a full schedule with success. But is it?
Are we, as a people, stressed because of our jobs and to-do lists, or does the stress come from lack of connection to nature? I believe it is a bit of both. We need times of deadlines and schedules as much as we need time to ‘do nothing’.
- Decreases stress (decreases cortisol production)
- Reduces sleeplessness
- Reduces depression
- Decreases blood pressure
- Reduces anger
- Increases happiness
- Increases concentration
- Boosts immune system
- Increases the amount of NK (natural killer cells)
There is solid science behind these claims. Dr. Qing Li , an immunologist in Japan, has been conducting research for several years. For an overview of his science check out this YouTube video interview of Dr. Qing Li. He has also written a book: Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness.
Forest Bathing: How Often
In listening to Dr. Qing Li, we learned that he discovered that part of the secret is the volatile oils given off by the trees, so forest bathing must literally include trees! Further, spending time in an actual dense forest creates a much longer-lasting effect than an urban park.
His studies taught us that the effects of spending an hour or so in a real forest last from 2 weeks to one month. He states that once a week in an urban park with trees should be adequate to maintain the effects.
I believe, however, that once you begin to add forest bathing to your regular routine, you’ll want to spend as much time as you can out there–deepening your own special connection with nature!
For more information on just how being in nature can improve mental health, you might enjoy this article. You might also enjoy this article on Hiking for Mental Health.
Please follow and like us:
