I really hope you are feeling good on this blowy October Thursday.
Sometimes I become consumed by the minutia of life. I worry about the small stuff, I get absorbed in things I have no control over. I find myself forgetting that there is a big wide world out there with billions of perspectives and approaches.
It’s all very gremlin-y, they are running the show when I’m in this space. I know this because I find it more difficult to breathe, and I struggle to focus, and I think about getting stuff done rather than enjoying the process. It doesn’t feel in any way a wholesome or nourishing way of being.
It is, in fact, a highly stressful way of being.
One of the tips I share when delivering wellbeing workshops is to try journalling as an antidote to stress. Journalling is particularly helpful when we feel stuck, or like we’re focussing on the small stuff, or we feel overwhelmed or anxious because it offers us a way to process the emotions and thoughts that are coming up.
Us humans have a tendency to ruminate in our thoughts when we’re feeling stressed and journalling can open up a door to all those thoughts, giving them a way out.
You don’t have to have anything lined up to write about when you journal. You don’t need a fancy book or pen. You just need some time to let your thoughts flow, and permission to write as in-eloquently as you like. No one will read it, it can be garbled and nonsensical, you can stop mid sentence, you can draw a doodle. I find myself writing self-care strategies and lists and ideas and charts and images mid way through writing about how I’m feeling.
Fundamentally, writing onto the blank page means your thoughts have an exit route, and it’s a safe space in which you can feel and process your feelings as well.
And journalling isn’t something that is only useful when we’re feeling stressed. It can be a beautiful stress prevention tool if done on a regular basis. And it can also be a way of articulating how you want to feel, it can be an opportunity to focus on abundance, hope, expansion, clarity. It can be a way of connecting to something greater than you. Journalling, in fact, actually has the power to bring you to your purpose.
I highly recommend giving it a go.
With love, Hannah
*Image by Aaron Burden www.unsplash.com