If you want to try journaling but feel inhibited by that persistent voice insisting your journal should be aesthetically pleasing or filled with profound insights, I encourage you to keep experimenting. That voice is standing between you and a potentially transformative practice.

I have a strict policy against buying blank books that feel too expensive or precious; I simply don't want that kind of pressure. Journals are tools, not objects of reverence. A journal should be like a hammer or a spatula — you want a tool that fits the task at hand, not one so intimidating that you can't even begin to use it. The best journal is the one you’ll actually use.