These are such messy times, and in the words of Robin Sharma, "May I humbly suggest that it's never been so important to strengthen yourself. To reclaim your true power"
Practice Journaling as a way to deepen your mindset. If you have an essential Ink aromatherapy pen, fill it with De-Stress essential oil or your favourite calming oil, get out your favourite journal and start writing.
Here are just 6 benefits of journaling as a way to relieve stress
1. JOURNALING HELPS YOU UNPLUG FROM THE WORLD
I don't need to tell you that It's chaotic out there right now! People are panicking, our news feeds are filled with minute by minute updates. It's good to stay informed on accurate news and to prepare, but don't let fear take over. When you are Journaling, you're not on social media or watching the news...simple as that!
2.GRATITUDE
I read an article yesterday about a lady in Wuhan where they have been in quarantine for 7 weeks...7 weeks!! Her usual posts were about the horrors of COVID-19 and the inconveniences they were experiencing, until her husband asked her if she could see any positives in this situation. And once she started thinking about it, it became the longest post she had written to date. She said, at first the thought of being stuck with her family for weeks on end would end in them killing each other, but it was exactly the opposite. They have never been closer. Finally spending quality time together, not rushing to work or school and activities, but instead, time to read, journal, reflect, play games, talk.... She also said that for the first time, she could HEAR the birds. She always knew they were there, but the busy city noise always blocked it out. Now she sits every morning with her coffee and window open listening to the birds! She saw the blue sky because the smog lifted. With most of the factories being shut down and minimal traffic the pollution has gone down. She's made great friends with people in her complex that before, passed each other in the hall without speaking. People are being generous with each other, sharing what they have when someone runs out of something....even in the eye of the storm she had so many reasons to be grateful.
so I challenge you to find 10 things to be grateful for today, even if's a simple as being grateful that the water you drink is clean. There are always reasons to be grateful, and the more grateful you feel, the happier you feel, the less stress you feel.
3. JOURNALING HELPS REDUCE STRESS QUICKLY
Journaling can help give you a different perspective on the issue at hand (see above post on Gratitude) Just by writing her post, that woman went from feeling anger, resentment and fear to appreciation, gratitude and joy.
4. JOURNALING GIVES YOU A SENSE OF CONTROL
Write your stresses down. Write down how you are feeling, all of it, get it out. Then write what you can do about it, or ways you can try and feel better about it, or good that can possibly come of it. Positive thinking invokes positive emotion which HAS the power to change the outcome as well as your life and writing is one of the ways to get to that state of positive emotion.
5. JOURNALING CAN HELP YOU UNDERSTAND THE SOURCE OF YOUR STRESS AND ANXIETY
Ok, so with this one, seeing as we are dealing with a Pandemic, chances are that is a big source of your stress and anxiety right now, HOWEVER, Journaling opens your eyes to the reality that a lot of what we are stressing about is the fear of the unknown. So, write down how you ideally would like the situation to unfold, what outcome you would like to see. In writing it down, you will start to feel better, and in feeling better, you start to create the reality you want to see.
6. JOURNALING HELPS YOU TRACK YOUR PROGRESS
Write gown your goals. whether it be to eat healthier, exercise more, meditate etc, writing them down helps keeps track of them, and helps give you the confidence to actually accomplish them.
These are just 6 benefits, but there are countless more. Adding Mediation and exercise in with your daily journaling routine is a well rounded way to start your day on a positive and healthy note!
xo
Jada