24. Resolving to stay curious

Regardless of how you feel about the whole “new year, new you” vibe, January is the ultimate case study of goal-setting in the wider cultural zeitgeist. Maybe you’ve tried the often-hyped approach of choosing a word to act as a mantra or touchstone to guide you over the course of the year.

Tools like a word of the year can be powerful reminders of the ways you want to feel and act along the path toward your ideals – but only if they also help you stay curious about that path, and about your actual life, as it exists right now.

This year, what if we all chose questions rather than words? A question is a reminder to keep going deeper, to explore how our ideals are emerging and evolving in the moment.

And for storytellers, the art of asking good questions is maybe the most important gift we give ourselves and others, even more than the art of pretty words.

Tune in for some support and solidarity to nurture your creative potential in the months ahead (regardless of how all those goals turn out).

Writing praxis tip

If you’re curious about formulating a few guiding questions of your own, I’ve put together some prompts to help you dig into it, both for specific projects and for your creative practice as a whole.

Remember, you can go about this from either direction – practice first, or projects first! The prompts for projects are more concrete, and the prompts for creative practice are a bit more abstract. By approaching your guiding questions from multiple angles, you can unlock things that might surprise you.