The Journey Behind Creating the Honor & Bloom Self-Discovery Journal

When I first began creating Honor & Bloom and this self-discovery journal, it was an idea I had carried for a long time. It came from a deep feeling that I should be doing something connected to my own journey and what I was living through. Even in the hardest moments, I sensed that something meaningful would eventually grow from those experiences.

It has been 11 years now since I began this journey of going inward to get to know myself better. In that time there have been many ups and downs. Call it a dark night of the soul, an awakening, or simply the process of learning more about myself and growing through every experience each day. It is also about recognising when I need to make changes, seeing things from a different perspective, and shifting my behaviours or reactions. I am learning to rely on myself more, to trust myself more, and to love myself more.

In 2015 I began writing down what I was feeling, and it became a way to release my thoughts onto paper, to connect with my emotions, and to notice patterns in myself I hadn’t seen before. Over time, journaling gave insights into my inner world and a place to process my feelings, and even led me into writing poetry. That is why when the time came to create something to share with others, it felt right that it would be a self-discovery journal, because it was the very practice that helped me on my own journey.

Looking back, I am grateful I did not try to create this sooner, as there was still much healing and growth I needed before I could bring it to life.

 

The First Poem

In 2016 I wrote my first poem. I had sat down to write about my feelings and what I was going through, and to my surprise it came out as a poem. I felt it was important enough to keep, so I typed it into the notes app on my phone. Two years later I even emailed it to myself so I would not lose it. I always thought I might do something with it, but I never expected to write more.

In 2020, I dabbled with writing a few more poems. But beginning in January 2025, a steady flow of poems started coming to me regularly over the course of several months. I would be sitting at my desk working on this journal and a word or phrase would spark a memory of something I had felt before, and from there a poem would flow. They are never planned and I do not think about what I am writing. They simply come from a thought, a word, or a feeling, and they bring me healing and a release of past emotions.

If you had asked me at the start of this year, I would never have said I would be writing more poems, let alone putting them out into the world. I would not have believed it, yet it shows how much can change in just a few months.

By the time I launched the Honor & Bloom social media channels in June, I knew the poems were not only for me. Deep down I felt a strong pull to share them. Someone who read them once told me they say what others are afraid to say out loud. That is why I share them: to show others they are not alone in their feelings, their thoughts, or their journey, and to offer a way to connect.

 

Why I Created a Self-Discovery Journal & Honor & Bloom

My whole reason for doing this is to guide others on their own journeys inward, to offer the support, guidance, and tools I did not have. I started Honor & Bloom to encourage people to look within and understand themselves more deeply. When we begin to know our inner world, we become more in tune with our emotional wellbeing and more aware of how to care for ourselves.

We are living in a world of endless distractions, constant scrolling, comparison, and pressure to change ourselves in unrealistic ways that leave us feeling we are never enough. Through Honor & Bloom I want to remind people to return to the basics, to the simple things in life that bring calm, joy, and connection, while knowing they are already enough as they are.

This is why I created a self-discovery journal. It is the kind of support I wish I had when I was trying to understand myself.

From Vision to Creation

I visualised the end result long before I knew how I was going to get there. From the very beginning I could see the finished journal in my mind. I pictured the cover, the pages, the feel of it in someone’s hands, even the gift box it would sit in. I could see it standing upright, complete, as if it already existed somewhere. Holding on to that vision helped me keep going.

Once I had that clear vision, it was no longer a question of if I would create it, but how. The path was not straightforward and I had no idea of the challenges ahead, yet the picture of the finished journal kept me going. Every time doubt or delay crept in, I returned to that vision and reminded myself that all I needed to do was take the next step, one piece at a time, until what I imagined became real.

Creating the journal itself became a practice in presence, teaching me to take things step by step, the same way it now invites others to do.

 

Revisions, Patience, and Finishing

While working on this journal I was often advised to just finish it and get it to launch as soon as possible, but deep down I knew it was not something I could rush. It went through six revisions, and every time I tried to push it forward too fast, mistakes happened or things went wrong. Each time I read through it, I found something to change. I wanted to create the best journal possible, one that would truly help others, and I understood that this would take time. The details mattered, the feedback mattered, and making sure it was checked properly again and again mattered.

There were many weeks when I read the journal repeatedly, always spotting something to improve. It was a slow process, but it was the only way it could become what it needed to be.

By the end of May 2025 I read it again and finally knew it was complete. I stand behind it one hundred percent. I had poured everything into it, done the checks, made the changes, and given more than my best. I learned that things often take longer than you expect and that rushing only creates problems. With this journal I believed the small details mattered just as much as the big ones. When it was finished, it truly felt finished.

 

Challenges Along the Way

There were times I thought I would never complete the journal or launch Honor & Bloom. In March 2023 I completed the New Frontiers programme, which helped me develop the idea. By the end I was burnt out. I had pushed myself so much over the last few years that it was starting to take its toll on me. Just a few weeks after that my dad passed away. On top of the burnout, I honestly did not believe I would ever go back to finishing the journal.

I paused everything and spent three months trying to regulate myself, deal with the loss I was going through, and come out of burnout. Through all this I had learned a valuable lesson: no more burnouts. I now stop myself when I try to take on too much or do things in a rushed, intense way. I am learning to take breaks and not push my limits because of an underlying feeling that I always need to be doing more. When I stay calmer and more relaxed I work from flow and get far more done. Busy does not equal better. I do not need to operate from that place any more. I now look for what naturally slows me down and for activities that add fun, laughter, and connection to my life.

2024 continued to be a year of difficulties, loss, triggers, and deep work on myself. It was probably one of the most challenging years I have had on my journey, apart from when I was really in the thick of things between 2014 and 2017.

I’ve learned on this journey that not everyone will share the same enthusiasm for what you’re working on. I’ve been fortunate to have many amazing people in my life who have supported me wholeheartedly from day one, but there were also times when I shared my idea and didn’t receive the response I was hoping for.

What I’ve come to see, and am still learning, is how much I sometimes seek validation. I wanted to hear, “You’re doing well, I love your idea.” The truth is, not everyone will say that, and that’s okay. What truly matters is that I believe in this idea and in what I am creating. I’ve also learned to be more intentional about who I share with, to keep my ideas close and open up only to those I trust wholeheartedly.

And above all, I’ve made a promise to myself: now more than ever, I will give myself the support and encouragement I used to look for from others, because I deserve that from myself.

Someone once said to me, “You really need to assess if this is something you want to pursue and if it will be worthwhile.” My answer was simple: I would rather follow through and create this than let it remain an idea I never acted on. I felt such a strong pull to do this. Whether it works out or not, even without all the answers, I am going ahead. I would rather do this and fail than never put it out there.

I also had a deeper feeling that there was a reason this idea was given to me in the first place. A big part of my journey had already been about learning to value myself, my creativity and my talents. For so long I doubted my creativity and overlooked the skills I had, but over time I came to see that I was capable of more than I believed. That made me want to use what I had learned, along with the talents and skills I had gathered, to create something with meaning and purpose that could support others on their own journey.

Looking back, I now see that 2024 was actually a year of releasing what had been holding me back. Many things I had avoided surfaced, and I had to face them in order to finish this journal and find the strength to put it out into the world. It was a year of loss, pain, and unbelievable growth. I had to let go of so much to clear the way for the next stage of my journey.

As I stepped into 2025, I felt a real sense of leaving so much behind. I was entering the new year from a different place, with a different outlook. I was now more prepared for what was to come and had released a lot of things that no longer served me. Challenges still arise, but I face them differently now. I notice sooner when I am being reactive and pull myself back more quickly. I am still letting go of things, only now it feels lighter, not as heavy or intense as before.

This way of working is built into the journal too: it is about slowing down, tuning in, and finding balance.

 

Risks, Fear, and Trust

I took some risks with this project, but never without careful thought and research. Along the way, I was told that some of my choices were not good ideas. Still, I went with what felt right, reminding myself that people often give advice based on their own experiences and on what feels safe to them, not necessarily on what is right for me. Trusting my own path, even when it felt uncertain, mattered more than following someone else’s idea of safety. At times, doubt crept in and I wondered if I had made a mistake by doing it this way. When the outcome rested solely on me, it often felt like a heavy weight.

Over time, I learned to tell the difference between fear, anxiety, and intuition. Intuition comes quietly and feels calm and steady. Fear and anxiety, on the other hand, arrive suddenly and feel overwhelming.

More than once I was told that the things required to keep going would not fall into place. Yet my response was simple: I believe it will work out, and I believe in what I am doing, and it that thing doesn't happen, I will find another way. In the end, what I needed did come through, and it reminded me that faith in myself and trusting that things will work out matters more than the doubts of others.

When parts of the process were no longer in my hands, I had to trust that I had made the right calls and accept that the outcome was not mine to control. Creating this journal has taught me to lean into trust, to release what I cannot control, and to allow things to flow. Not everything is within our power, and that is why we must lean on trust and faith.

 

Healing Through Creation

Creating this journal has brought me a lot of healing. I worked through many challenges while making it. At times it felt like being hit with a ton of bricks, the emotional weight was so intense, but I came out the other side. I still have work to do, but I have grown and learned so much about myself.

This is why I believe the journal can guide others too. It carries the lessons, the patience, the healing, and the reminders that helped me along the way.

My Hope For You

Honor & Bloom was born from my own journey of self-discovery, years of learning, unraveling, beginning again, and slowly finding ways to heal. This journal, and Honor & Bloom itself, is my offering to you: a place for reflection, growth, and deeper connection with yourself.

My hope is that it awakens something within you as you continue along your own inward path. Have faith in your strength, listen to your intuition, and trust not only the journey, but yourself. Believe that you can achieve anything you desire, no matter how impossible it may seem. Our potential is limitless when we commit wholeheartedly, we simply need to recognise it, trust it, and go for it. 

Just as one chapter finishes, a new one always begins, and with it come fresh challenges, new choices, unexpected paths, and opportunities for growth. Launching Honor & Bloom has been the start of one such chapter for me. There is still so much to do, to create, and to build, to grow, but I welcome it all with hope and determination, every step forward, no matter how small, is part of blooming into something greater.