Life is busy and unpredictable. It is easy to get caught in the get-up-and-go of college life, making it difficult to reflect on your days and how you are feeling throughout them. One easy way to practice mindfulness in a busy world is by journaling.
What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is being aware and conscious of how you are feeling. The simple act of recognizing your emotions can then help you understand them.
It is important to note that mindfulness is not the act of trying to get rid of or change emotions– especially negative ones– but rather just embracing and becoming aware of them.
How can journaling help?
With the business and stress of everyday life, it can be hard to take a step back and ask yourself how you are feeling. This is why journaling can be a great tool to practice mindfulness.
After a long day of work or class, you can sit down with yourself and check-in to see how you are feeling. Sometimes, it is easier to understand your emotions when you write them down and can see them right in front of you.
Journaling can also help with mindfulness because it can help you become aware of emotions you didn’t even know you were feeling at first.
How to journal for mindfulness
Journaling can be done anywhere at any time. You can keep a specific notebook for your mindfulness journaling or just quickly write down your thoughts in the notes app of your phone. You can set aside a specific time each day to journal or journal whenever you find that you have free time.
If you are journaling throughout the day, make note of when you feel anxious, overwhelmed, sad, angry and any other emotion. If you are journaling at the end of the day, have a conversation with yourself and embrace all the emotions you remember having that day.
When recording your emotions, the goal is not to try and “fix” them, but rather to understand why you may have felt them. With time, you will be better at recognizing your emotions as they are happening, and in turn you will be better at understanding the situations that cause you negative emotions.
