Mindfulness, Self Care, and Personal Goals

Talk about one experience over the summer where you had a chance to use one of the mindfulness/self care activities that Libby shared in the June officers meeting. In what other ways have you been able to focus on self care and your personal goals throughout this time?

One of the main mindfulness/self care activities that Libby focused on during the June officer meeting was journaling. Now while journaling has such a wide array of benefits, I have tried it in the past, and it has been extremly hard for me to do. At eye level, journaling seems like such an easy (yet effective) way to reflect, organize your thoughts, relieve stress, become more concentrated, understand yourself and your triggers, and to learn from your experiences. However, though it seems simple and though for some it is, I have had a hard time getting myself to write out my day or to write out something that had upset me. I think there are many different reasons as to why journaling is difficult for me. Firstly, in terms of journaling about what happened through my day, I find it tedious to write out the many things I had done. Don't get me wrong. I can see how journaling can help you take a step back to view a larger picture; however, the process of actually getting everything written out is hard to focus on when I am stressed about the many things I still have to do in the future. Secondly, if I am reflecting on myself or an experience, my thoughts often come a lot faster than the rate at which I can write. I love reflecting on experiences, lessons learnt, and myself when it is during conversation because you are very engaged and constantly thinking, but with journaling it is hard for me to stay as engaged when I have many things to say but I'm still writing out an older thought. Not to mention, though I cannot argue with the fact that thinking by yourself has many benefits, I have found that it can be very helpful to hear someone else's input when you are trying to become more self aware. This is because you are exposed to new ideas and perceptions, and you are encouraged not to limit your growth. When journaling I almost miss that. However, like I said, I recognize the benefits of journaling, and I want to train myself to not need conversation to reflect. Instead, I want to be able to use my own thoughts and mind to challenge to my reflections to not limit themselves and to consider many different aspects, perceptions, and angles. To do this, I bought a journaling book called One Question a Day. This book asks you one question about your day each day. The answers can be as long and deep as you would like them to be. This book helps me 1) train myself to slow down and focus despite having much to do 2) motivate myself to calm down and to think 3) stay committed to my goals and 4) find enjoyment in a part of my day which I dedicate just to myself. Though it has only been a few weeks, I've really enjoyed this practice, and I hope to keep getting better!