Earlier this month, we shared a post talking about our mindset this year. We thought we would dig a bit deeper on what exactly we are doing. Two things have been part of our daily routine lately — meditation and journaling. Since we started doing these consistently, we’ve noticed a huge difference in our mood and overall mental health. We are really focusing on our overall mental health and well-being this year. In the same way you work your physical body, it’s important to work your mind too. We’ve already seen huge improvements in ourselves.
Meditation
We know meditation can seem like a daunting task but we promise it is so much easier than you think — and so worth it. We use a few different apps to help us with our guided meditation. We know some people are able to do this on their own but we prefer using an app that helps us focus. The first one is Insight Timer. This app is free and has a ton of guided meditations that vary in style and length. The other two apps we use do require a subscription but are worth it — Calm and Chopra. We accidentally paid for Calm but it ended up being a good thing! We really like that the Calm app has sleep stories too in case we have issues falling asleep. Regardless of which app you choose, just doing something is worth it. The biggest thing to remember when starting to practice meditation is that it is a practice. That means you aren’t going to be perfect each time. It’s okay if your mind wanders during the session. That’s perfect normally. What matters is bringing your attention back to the session and focusing once more. The more you meditate consistently, the easier it will become. We highly recommend giving it a try.
Journaling
We started using the Five-Minute Journal last year and it’s been so helpful. We like that it’s a prompted journal that only takes one page of writing. We’ve known about this journal for years through a YouTuber we used to follow. Last year, Mike picked one up and was quickly hooked. After seeing how much it helped him, Alex bought one too. With it being only one page, there really isn’t any excuse to not do this. To be specific, you start each morning with a list of what would make today great and a few affirmations. At the end of the day, you reflect on the day and what you are thankful for. Being able to see our thoughts down on paper really does make a difference in our mental health. This has also been a great way to work on our mindfulness and gratitude — both of which are something we are trying to be better at this year. Taking these five minutes every day to reflect and think can be so powerful.
