4 reasons why a Mindfulness Journal can improve your life
When it comes to Mindfulness, it’s really easy to jump immediately to Meditation, that’s because a lot has been written and there’s a lot of urban legends about it, the main one being ‘Mindfulness equals to Meditation’.
In fact, Mindfulness is a practice that can easily become part of our lives without necessarily have to sit down and meditate (but if you have the time and it suits you, do it! It’s really beneficial as well 😊), and starting a Mindful journal is one of the easiest and funniest way to do it.
10 minutes of your day dedicated to journaling can bring many benefits to our lives.
CATHARSIS
Dr. James Pennebaker, a researcher, author of ‘Writing to heal’, found that writing has a tremendous healing component that most people are unaware of. Bu writing about traumatic and emotional experiences, we can better organize fragmented memories, accept the past and release negative thoughts.
GRATITUDE
We can acknowledge and recount the good things instead of taking them for granted. Especially if we live busy and hectic lives, it can be very difficult to truly celebrate the positive sides of our day. We always have a positive experience in our day, it’s just we are really good at forgetting it.
John Tierney in the New York Times (11/21/2011) report a study that links writing about what you’re grateful for is linked to better sleep, lower anxiety levels and even higher satisfaction in romantic relationships.
REWIRING
Writing and other artistic activities can put you in a meditative or “theta” brainwave state, journaling can help rewire your brain. A calmer brain means less reactivity when placed in stressful situations, and an improved ability to make good decisions under pressure. You may not even notice these subtle benefits over time. However, others are likely to notice a calmer, more balanced version of you, as you navigate through your day.
ASSIGNING MEANING
“What happens to us is not as important as the meaning we assign to it,” Michael Hyatt.
Oftentimes, we’re not even aware of why we have certain feelings or experiences throughout the day. We might feel overwhelmed, depressed, or angry as a default response to your environment. It may seem that these recurring feelings arise from small nuisances, like a task at work or a friend making a comment. But recurring feelings always come from a deeper belief, otherwise, you would not experience those small nuisances in such a negative way. Journaling helps us discover what certain events and situations really mean to us.
With this in mind, I've prepared a Mindfulness journal for you to try.
Just click here to get started :)
Happy mindful journaling!