Writing things down is an effective way to process emotions and understand where you might be getting stuck. I don’t care if you are a terrible writer, if your handwriting is illegible and your grammar is questionable. If you find yourself writing below your standards, lower your standards. No one else ever needs to read what you write. Set a timer for five, ten, twenty minutes — whatever feels reasonable, and free write with zero judgment.

Writing prompt:

• Write a thank you letter to a person who has positively impacted you. Send it, or don't.

• Which one of this poem’s chapters are you currently in? Do you feel like you have certain habitual holes you tend to fall into? What are the patterns of behavior that are no longer serving you? Which mental habits are detrimental? Which relationships are no longer working? What would it look like to climb out of that hole? How would you do it? Even if it feels impossible to find a ladder tall enough to make it out, imagine what it would be to step into the light. What tools could help you get out more quickly next time you fall?

• When we are stuck, it is often because our inner critic is winning. What is that voice telling you about what you should or should not do? Can you write about that inner critic in a way that reminds you that it’s actually just based in fear and not reality?

• Make a list of five things you can do TODAY to get unstuck. Maybe it’s just taking a shower or a walk to clear your head. Think small. Pick one. Do it.

This writing prompt originally appeared with the article entitled Don’t Fall in the Hole in the Sidewalk.