Hey lovely person!
Welcome to the very first day of this 21 day self care challenge, and I’m delighted both that you have decided to increase your self care, and that you’re here.
The first thing you’re going to do is look at one of the simplest and most effective activities you can do to care for yourself – journaling.
Have you ever noticed that running commentary in your head?
You know, the one that keeps you awake at night exploring ‘what if’s’ and ‘why did I’s?’ and ‘I can’t believe I said’s’?
It’s maddening – Especially that 3am ‘wide awake and can’t get back to sleep’ one that replays every little thing you ever did wrong, or every little thing you said that you regret, or reminds you of every niggle and worry about the future. Wouldn’t it be amazing if there was a way of just shutting the damn thing up?
Journaling is the way – Journaling takes all the confusion from your head and gets it down on paper. That fog of words and confusion that’s so exhausting yet robs you of sleep can be tamed and quietened by the simple act of writing, helping you to get a good nights sleep.
Firstly, it means you no longer have to hold on to it yourself. It’s written down, so you can delete it from your mind, like clearing your cache or deleting cookies: it frees up space. Imagine how brilliant THAT would feel! Like taking off a heavy backpack!
Also, there’s something about finding the right word to exactly describe the feeling that’s fogging up your thoughts that really brings you clarity – ‘no, it wasn’t irritation I felt, it was exasperation’. See – slight difference, but big change in meaning.
And once you understand more about how you’re feeling, you can go about making changes.
Writing is the perfect release valve for the stresses of everyday life. It’s a place to process events safely, to acknowledge accomplishments and reduce stress, and the therapeutic effects of journaling are widely documented.
By increasing your self knowledge you learn about what you want, like, need and desire, making it more likely that you’ll achieve these.
It also provides a great place to safely express frustration or anger, and a damn good vent and rant can really help to recognize what the real problem is and decide if and how you want to tackle it.
So, todays self care task is to set up a journal, and your first entry will be ‘how does it feel to be embarking on this self care journey’.
You’ll use this journal throughout this challenge as a way of learning about yourself – what you enjoyed, found difficult, didn’t like, found surprising, so don’t skip this step.
Although I recommend using a paper journal, if you live with others and are worried about confidentiality, you may prefer something online that you can password protect.
I recommend Evernote: It’s a free app, and syncs between all devices so you can use anywhere, but what I like most is the organisational side of it: It’s set up as notepads, so perfect to use as a diary and you can add photos, blogs, videos – pretty much anything!
So jump in, get started and reap the benefits!
Don’t be fooled by it’s apparent simplicity, journaling is an incredibly powerful tool.
Stay tuned for Day 2.
Wherever you are in the world, have a lovely day ❤
I’ve just stated. I’ve been having difficulty sleeping because of the inner monologue , it’ll be good to get that voice out before i try to count sheep. Thank you 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for that – I need to try counting sheep ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Check. Evernote user a couple months now. Though been neglecting it of late
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve heard SO many people use evernote – it’s so great!
LikeLike
I am starting this challenge late, but I totally understand the benefits of keeping a journal. I used to be really good at it, but after getting married and having a baby, life is so much busier and its hard to find that time. Unfortunately, this time in my life is the time where I probably need to be doing it most! My mental health has taken unexpected turns and left my brain constantly rattling with emotions and fears. Even writing out my feelings about my day today helped me feel like I was taking a tangible step towards feeling better. I’m excited to keep following along with this challenge. You’re a great writer. I’m loving your blog so far!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Better late than never 😉
I completely understand where you are coming from.
I pray that you keep journaling, you have no idea what it does for you ❤
I love it ❤
It really makes my brain calm down dramatically.
I pray that your journalling journey goes well 🙂
Thank you for your kind words ❤
LikeLike
This is so articulate and beautifully written! I already keep a journal but this reminded me to write more often and just love myself hehe tysm loving your blog/the challenge 😊❤️
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for your kind words ❤
It's always good to keep a journal, to let out how we feel 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I picked up a “Griddiary” app about a week ago to help myself become more mindful and focused, so it seems fitting to use it for this. I have it set up so every day I answer a few self-care oriented questions in the morning and a few at night. I just added a self care challenge section for sometime in between. 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love the sound of this – I will most certainly check this app out 🙂 Thank you for sharing this ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s pretty cool. I posted about it recently, if you want to see what kind of questions I usually set for myself.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sure thing – Please comment back the link + I’ll be sure to look ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
https://atmilliwayswithapen.wordpress.com/2017/07/24/self-care-for-people-trying-to-adult-good/ 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks 🙂 ❤ I love this post 🙂
I am going to add these questions to my daily reflection.
All the best along your journey ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Using my WordPress blog to keep it simple, and Lord willing, to not forget or quit.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love this! ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Done and done 😁
LikeLiked by 1 person
Woohoo! Welcome, woohoo ❤
LikeLike
I’m so following along with this and doing it! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
So happy to hear you are coming along on this journey ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
I already wrote my journal entry for today! And me too. Thank for you doing this series!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are more than welcome ❤ Super happy to hear you are on board ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
I journal anyway (on my second one of this year lol), but I’ll use this topic for tonight’s 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Happy to hear you keep a journal 🙂 I wanted to ease into day one by just prepping everyone w/ getting their journal ready 🙂 ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
Since I started them I noted how my mood and handwriting link together. I honestly never noticed before!
LikeLike
It’s amazing what journals can do for us 🙂
LikeLike
I started a “therapeutic journal” last week with the recovery outreach program. So far I only have one page because I haven’t quite decided what I want its theme to be.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am so happy to hear you’ve started a journal – maybe use that journal to complete the 21 Day Self Care Challenge ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person