Does Delulu Work? I Tried a 10-Day Journaling Challenge to Find Out

Journaling out loud to find my voice, my people — and a thousand paid subscribers.

Dear Diary is a monthly love letter to the mess and magic of relationships — with others, and with myself. I don’t have answers, just lots of questions, but I believe in connecting through words. That’s why I keep writing.

🥤Grab an iced drink, take a 7-minute break, and enjoy the read. This is a special edition of Dear Diary — the kind you’ll want to save for your next journaling session (and maybe forward to someone you love). 🗝️

Get ready, we’re going on a trip today!

TL;DR
☁️ Is it delusional if someone else already did it? Asking for a friend.
☁️ I made a 10-day delulu prompt challenge — and did it myself.
☁️ Sharing my takeaways, because some of them surprised me.
☁️ Bonus: photos of my journal — yes, it’s chaotic. Yes, it’s honest. Yes, you’ll love it.

Let’s go!

Delulu is an internet slang term that exploded in 2023, with people referring to K-pop fans who lose their minds over the artists. It became a meme and was repeatedly used as a synonym of delusional, to say one is imagining crazy “what if” scenarios. It was used to ridicule, but also to encourage crazy, but wonderful, beliefs people have. It can be a distortion of reality, but also a positive, whimsical, and fun manifesting tool.

I’m a radical optimist, yes. But I still choose manifesting whatever I want, without real expectations — I’d never believe manifesting is enough, but it doesn’t hurt — and maybe it can help our brain to guide our attitudes towards what we want.

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🦖 Short caveat: The world is problematic, and I don’t believe someone who does not have their basic needs met could just be delulu. I know life can be complex in ways I can’t even picture. This is just a whimsical and fun solulu. So, be aware of toxic positivity and use it just for fun and to inspire you to achieve your goals, or at least get closer to them. And, please don’t spend money you don’t have yet.

Now we are good to go!

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I know. Delulu is a bit too 2023, but I didn’t get the hype back then — millennial here, hello. I saw weird memes on Pinterest, but never paid attention until seeing a person selling a delulu “template” on Instagram. It was like a habit/journaling guide, and it got my attention because I thought it was too delulu to be true. I tried to download, but it failed.

After a couple of videos, it clicked: delulu is not that delusional — many times it’s just a young lady being incredibly confident or asking for something big that somebody already has.

Isn’t “delusional” just what the world calls women who dare to dream big and want it all?

Instead of being ashamed of being foolish, delulu ladies allow themselves to manifest what they want, taking a whimsical and fun ride. ‘Cause why not? I think we don’t need permission to dream big, but if it works, I’m in. Let’s go delulu, babe 💋

I couldn’t resist it, so I set a delulu goal, and a 10-day journaling prompt, and I’m sharing it all with you today: the goal, the prompts, photos of my journal, and my takeaways from this process.

DULULU GOAL

First, I found a specific delulu goal, something uncomfortable to say out loud or that people might laugh at. Now that I’m writing this, I’m feeling I could’ve been more delulu.

Here’s mine —

I believe I can reach 1,000 paid subscribers — so I can make this newsletter my full-time thing. I'd be writing more pieces like this one — about being delusional (in the best way) — and inspiring women to live joyfully, loudly, and entirely on their own terms.

I write pretty much to heal myself, and I know it resonates with women around the world. I want my voice to exist, to matter, and yes — to pay me. Specifically: I want at least 1,000 women to say, “Yes, I’ll give you €9.90 for this joy.”

Hope someone is laughing, it’s a good omen!

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I love challenges.

To create a list of prompts to delulu-inspire my newsletter growth, I asked ChatGPT for a massive list, and it was easier than starting from a blank page. Then, I took my Sacred Cycled Oracle deck, which has amazing prompts to reshape them. I spent a good time crafting the perfect prompt list you’ll find below.

After the second day, I felt like skipping some of the prompts, but I resisted and chose to trust the process. Worth it. Plus, I have to admit I went through all 10 days, but I didn’t follow it in 10 days; I think it was thirteen days. Some prompts needed more time to simmer (and some just needed a nap in between). Instead of rushing, I stayed with the ones that hit harder, letting them settle into my brain — and my bones.

It’s highly recommended to find a journaling habit for these days — I already journal in the morning, daily, but you can do it whenever you feel like. Maybe it’s a cup of coffee in the afternoon, or with a cup of tea before sleep. Hot beverages love journaling, you can ask them.

I added photos of my journal to the very end of this newsletter for reference, inspiration, and oversharing. Hope you appreciate it.

Here are the prompts! Feel free to download it to your phone, print and share it with your friends!