Reflections x 3 Bullet Journal: Your Cycle Down Month and Why it’s Important

The real magic happens once you’re closing out your bullet journal (or “bujo” as it’s often touted) with your 90 day reflections. You’re re-experiencing all of your positive confirmations simply by the process of remembering them. Fresh patterns will emerge where you had never before connected the dots. This is why your “cycle down” month (that month in between your last bullet journal and your next) is so important. It gives you time to both appreciate your growth and also plan which tools you want in your next one.

*Note: It took me three 90 day bujos, (each one immediately opened after closing the last) before I finally understood the value of having a cycle down month. Let’s just say, it took having a major shame spiral (Trauma Glossary 2) at the closing of my third bujo (which was what led to my first history comic) and using the creativity I had been developing in order to see my error. So November became my first cycle down month, followed by the other two: March and July.

This is the wrap-up in my series of articles using my Reflections x 3 formula in conjunction with bullet journaling. In case you missed one, here’s the recap:
Part 1: I introduced Reflections x 3, what it is and how to use it
Part 2: I used my first bullet journal as a visual guide-through on how I applied it and busted through my own barriers.
Part 3: Basic setup, no frills or extras, just the standard step by step guide for all bullet journals. My first bullet journal was also included as a visual guide.
Part 4: Suggested tools and why you may want to include them for even more growth.

Now, in this series’ conclusion, I’ll talk to you about what to look for and what to develop upon closing out your 90 day bullet journal. Just two main parts during your cycle down month: Modules and Creativity.

*One more note: Both modules and creativity can be included in your first bullet journal, especially if you have a specific idea of what you’d like to work on (module/s). If there’s something creative you’ve always been curious about trying, by all means, add that as the creative section in your first bullet journal. You will be amazed by how much you develop out of them.

Modules:

This is where you’re essentially, creating your own tool, tailor made just for you. Mind mapping is an excellent tool worth looking up regarding how-to’s. It will help you develop your personal module/s. I started my first bullet journal with a single module because I was trying to work through my critic (Trauma Glossary 2):

I developed three modules for my second bujo based on all the connections I had made out of my first:

Then came my newly developed thought stops for working through my perfectionism and workaholism:

Then followed by my little crossbreed of vision board (creativity) meets module. *Yes, a screenshot of me “role-playing” my vicious inner critic. Long story short, it was a challenge I issued in my group “I Call Your Vicious Inner Critic to the Stand.” The critic must explain themselves in the first person perspective, while referring to the owner of the critic in the 3^rd person. As a firm believer in always leading by example, my critic was, well, as was stated in my group…

Creativity

I will never stop preaching about the healing benefits of creativity itself. There are so many options that fall under the umbrella of this. Believe me when I tell you that there’s an option for everyone, even those who don’t “think” they’re creative. My best advice is to choose something you’re curious about trying. Then just “play around with it” and add it into your bullet journal. Prepare yourself for being pleasantly surprised by what it does for you.

In my first bullet journal, I decided to “play around” with vision boards. As someone who has found history to be instrumental in my own healing, I created my first vision board: Washington Worship. I included lyrics from three different songs that carried special meaning for me:

The vision board I created for my second bullet journal has an interesting backstory. While driving one night, I had a vision of myself. My chains had just broken and I was surrounded by darkness and void. I understood that the void was good because it represented the destruction of my childhood programming. My question was: if something in my faulty programming has just been destroyed, could I replace it with something better? If so, what?

I recreated that scene in this vision board with black construction paper. Then I added two pictures I had found online of broken chains. (Illegally, of course, but I’ve since gotten permission from all sources to show you here.) Then I challenged myself to fill it up and I had 90 days to do it:

Screenshots of the Father’s Day Confrontation Rap that I wrote and performed in my group went in there. I also used the Positive Feedback I practiced recording in defiance of what my enabler (Trauma Glossary 1) father used to tell me like a broken record: “You’re getting more like her everyday; (he was referring to my borderline mother) that makes her child abuse a-okay.” The second line he didn’t say, though it was more than implied:

From that experiment, I learned how much better my vision boards looked with a black background, so black construction paper became my creative must-have. I also realized how much better the above would have looked, had I only used glue instead of tape. So I stocked up on glue sticks.

This grew into my vision board for my third bullet journal. It became yet another tool for managing my summer of ’86 flashbacks. On the right is the picture I found that best defined the hell I endured that summer. Bullet journaling had helped me realize I was born with certain character traits that my borderline mother failed to destroy. What saved me from turning into a human monster that summer was my compassion. I used a quote by Mason Cooley on compassion and included it over the image. The left side represents the person I became in defiance of that trauma:

In closing, my vision boards developed twice more. You see, I made tremendous growth through my first bullet journal. But the leaps and bounds I made in my second bullet journal blew me away. So much so, that I created my first scrapbook-meets-comic book titled “Previously, in Jaena’s World…” commemorating everything I had accomplished through my second bullet journal. As you may guess, I wrote the script from the perspective of a show’s narrator, referring to myself in third person:

This, of course, led to the creation of my first history comic book in my fourth. You see, where I had erred in my first “Previously, in Jaena’s World…” I had gotten addicted to big wins and it caused me to take for granted my smaller and ongoing wins. I had fully expected to continue busting through greater, and greater barriers.

This is not how growth works at all; so naturally, I shame spiraled at the closing of my third bullet journal. (And yes, I may have a long history with shame spirals acting as my companion.) Fortunately, due to the way my creativity had been flourishing, I was able to create my first history comic to yank me out of my funk. Only an imagined pep talk from George Washington could have saved me from my self-defeatist thinking.

With that said, next week, I will show you the digital recreation of my first “Previously, in Jaena’s World…” It’s the prequel to my history comics but it also carries equal parts inspiration and cautionary tales. Yes, you will grow in amazing ways through my bullet journaling formula. Just don’t be so blown away by your growth that you forget to acknowledge and appreciate the small wins. Believe it or not, they’re even more important than the big ones.