During the early weeks of Coronavirus it started to become clear to me as a parent that this virus thing wasn’t going away very soon. So I started to think about how could I support my children with embracing this new world of uncertainty. So I started to journal and approach my work as an archaeologist and start to really dig in to my thoughts, experiences and circumstances.
Sometimes when we look into our perspectives and circumstances this can be the foundational steps upon which we take action. Journaling is not a practice of helping you discover what is right and wrong but it does allow you to see how your thoughts are interconnected. We are all learning right now and we all experiencing different triggering moments and journaling can be a regular exercise where you can move from emotions to thoughts over time. Journaling helps you figure out what is the belief that is creating the emotion I am feeling?
In a 2006 study, nearly 100 young adults were asked to spend 15 minutes journaling or drawing about a stressful event, or writing about their plans for the day, twice during one week. The people who journaled saw the biggest reduction in symptoms like depression, anxiety, and hostility, particularly if they were very distressed to begin with. This was true even though 80 percent had seldom journaled about their feelings and only 61 percent were comfortable doing so.
So if you are open to it, I encourage you to see journaling as a practice to gain understanding and practice. And I find just taking a pen to paper; even when I don’t know necessarily what I am going to write about and sometimes writing that as I begin my writing I am not sure what to write about. The exercise starts to become clear as my unconscious flows through the pen and I begin to express myself with absolute freedom. So I suggest practice with patience and enjoy the journey.
If you want to learn tools to strengthen your experience in mindfulness please contact me at info@janujoyfulservices.com or would like more information on bringing a leadership mindfulness-based program to your work please email or visit: http://www.janujoyfulservices.com/
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